Listeners tuning in to WWHK in Concord might remember the station as the “The Hawk,” which had a classic rock format.
Now, the station has changed its tune in a big way. Classical covers of songs like “Pour Some Sugar on Me” are all that have played on 102.3 for weeks. The music, recorded by the L.A.-based Vitamin String Quartet, is a placeholder, and not likely to last.
Industry journalist Scott Fybush says the station’s owner is satisfying a federal requirement prohibiting dead air. He compares 102.3 to an empty store at a mall, except unlike a defunct Circuit City, FM airwaves are public and subject to regulation.
"This would perhaps be the radio equivalent of that Halloween store that shows up in the otherwise vacant storefront, just this time, Congress is saying it has to be there."
WWHK has been in limbo since 2009. The ongoing bankruptcy proceedings of The Hawk’s former operator have stalled the station’s re-launch under Birch Broadcasting, a Pennsylvania group headed by conservative blogger Andrew Sumereau.
