WNCW 88.7 FM

A non-commercial public radio station operating at 88.7 FM, licensed to Spindale, North Carolina, and owned by Isothermal Community College. The station signed on in October 1989 from a tower on Clingman's Peak near Mount Mitchell, at an elevation of 6,634 feet above sea level, giving it broad coverage across most of western North Carolina with secondary coverage reaching portions of South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia. Programming spans Americana, folk, blues, jazz, reggae, Celtic, world music, rock, bluegrass, and indie genres, complemented by NPR News. The station also carries programming on WSIF in Wilkesboro and on four FM translators. WNCW maintains an in-house recording facility, Studio B, where artists perform and are interviewed for regular live programs; selected recordings are compiled into annual charity albums available to station donors, and video sessions are shared online. The station was established with support from the State of North Carolina and the federal government, receiving its FCC construction permit in October 1986 following a planning process initiated by Isothermal Community College.