WXHQ-LP (105.9 FM, "Radio Newport") is a non-commercial radio station licensed to the community of Newport, Rhode Island. The station serves Newport and the greater Providence, Rhode Island, area.[3] The station is owned and operated by the Newport Music Arts Association, a non-profit organization.[4] It airs a jazz and freeform format that, according to the station's website, includes "jazz, blues, r&b, bossa nova, Afro-Cuban, lounge, soul, funk, reggae, ska, electronic, downtempo, acid-jazz, surf, world, country, folk, and even occasionally some rock".[5][6] The music played is almost exclusively instrumental and the station has a policy against playing songs featuring English language vocals.[1]
The station has been assigned the WXHQ-LP call letters by the Federal Communications Commission since May 31, 2001.[7] This is the first FCC-licensed low-power FM station in the state of Rhode Island.[8] WXHQ-LP is also the first public radio station licensed to Newport.[9]
Community involvement
The WXHQ-LP studios are located on in a small office on Marlborough Street.[1] The station's transmitter is located atop the Hotel Viking on Bellvue Avenue in downtown Newport.[10] This transmitter site includes a rooftop container garden used to promote sustainable agriculture and green living by collecting rainwater and growing food.[11]
Other community involvement activities of WXHQ-LP include providing music programming for the annual Newport Island Moving Co. dance festival,[12] broadcasting the Newport Jazz Festival,[4] and serving as a contributing sponsor each year for the Newport International Film Festival.[13]
FCC actions
On October 29, 2007, the FCC issued a $250 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture for WXHQ-LP to licensee Newport Music Arts Association.[14] The fine was levied because the station failed to file a timely license renewal application and did not provide an explanation for the late filing. The standard fine of $3,000 was reduced because the licensee did file a renewal application before the actual expiration of the broadcast license.
^ ab"Newport Musical Arts Association". Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County. Archived from the original on August 31, 2007. The Newport Musical Arts Association has been awarded a Low Power FM radio station license (WXHQ 105.9) by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This license will enable the NMAA, a non-profit organization, to broadcast uniquely diverse programming to the city of Newport and its surrounding areas.
