WCQS

WCQS comenzó el 28 de agosto de 1975, ^{[ 7 ]} como WUNF-FM, una estación de 10 vatios (posteriormente mejorada a una estación de 110 vatios) operada por la Universidad de Carolina del Norte en Asheville desde el Centro Estudiantil Lipinski. Western North Carolina Public Radio compró la estación en 1984, cambió el indicativo a WCQS e inmediatamente obtuvo un acuerdo de membresía con NPR. Si bien la mayor parte del área de cobertura de la estación era atendida por la emisora ​​de Upstate de South Carolina Educational Radio , WEPR en Greenville , WNCPR quería construir una estación que estuviera adaptada a los intereses de la zona.

Eventually, the station increased its power to 1,600 watts, still a fairly modest level for a full NPR member on the FM band. This may be due to the need to protect WRVL in Lynchburg, Virginia, located at adjacent 88.3. As a result, even though its transmitter is located 3,609 feet (1,100 m) above sea level, its coverage area is effectively limited to Asheville and its close-in suburbs in Buncombe, Haywood and Henderson counties.

In 2005, WNCPR bought WVMH, a radio station operated by Mars Hill College, and changed its call sign to WYQS. Originally a straight simulcast of WCQS, it broke off in 2008 to air the BBC World Service full-time, and continued to do so until early 2017.

In the summer of 2010, Jody Evans joined WCQS as executive director, replacing Ed Subkis, who had held the job for 18 years. Evans wanted WCQS to become a source for news and information, and she planned on more local news coverage and working with other news media. One joint project was live broadcasts from Brevard Music Center, which would use the resources of WDAV in the Charlotte area.^[8]

Evans said in February 2011 that WCQS would have more emphasis on local news, and that David Hurand's evening shows Byline, Conversations, and Evening Rounds would be dropped. Hurand added local news reports during the more popular shows Morning Edition and All Things Considered. New national shows being added included Marketplace and The Splendid Table.^[9]

On March 24, 2013, WCQS added WMQS at 88.5 FM, to serve the Murphy area.^[10]

July 2015 saw the arrival of a new general manager and CEO, David Feingold.^[11] Matt Bush replaced Hurand as News Editor the following year.

In the spring of 2017, WCQS and its associated stations rebranded as "Blue Ridge Public Radio". WCQS (and its repeaters and translators) became "BPR Classic", retaining their established format of NPR programming and classical music. As part of the relaunch, on March 6, 2017, WYQS relaunched as "BPR News", an all news-and-talk station airing BBC and NPR programming around the clock.^[12] Its launch ended the 24-hour carriage of the BBC World Service after almost a decade.

Dado que WYQS opera con tan solo 100 vatios, está disponible en el subcanal de radio HD de WCQS , WCQS HD-2, y en línea.

El 11 de octubre de 2022, Blue Ridge Public Radio anunció que intercambiaría los formatos de WCQS y WYQS el 31 de octubre, con "BPR News" transmitiéndose en WCQS y sus satélites y "BPR Classic" pasando a WYQS y WZQS . ^{[ 13 ]}

Los repetidores de Bryson City y Highlands forman parte nominalmente de la licencia de WFQS. Sin embargo, WFQS es una retransmisión simultánea directa de WCQS.

Las áreas de cobertura de WCQS y WYQS se superponen considerablemente en algunas zonas debido a la topografía, lo que ofrece a los oyentes una mayor variedad de programación. La emisora ​​también se esfuerza por impulsar el uso de su aplicación móvil y sus servicios de streaming.

Se trata de antiguos traductores que han sido trasladados a nuevas frecuencias:

• 95.3 W237AR, Hazelwood, Carolina del Norte - se trasladó a 102.9 W275BU ^{[ 14 ]}
• 101.7 W269AY, Highlands, Carolina del Norte - se trasladó a 103.3 W277CU ^{[ 15 ]}

El 31 de octubre de 2022, W213BX intercambió lugares con W268CL, que estaba transmitiendo simultáneamente WCQS-HD2 . ^{[ 16 ]}