Monday, June 05, 2000
Vandals knock WCIN off air
By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Owner John Thomas surveys damage to a 125-foot antenna.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
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Vandals knocked radio station WCIN-AM (1480) — home of R&B oldies and talk — off the air early Sunday.
“My gut tells me that it's random,” station owner John Thomas said. “My heart hopes it is.”
The overnight DJ spotted the problem when the music quit playing over speakers at the station.
It's the second time in several months that WCIN's 11-acre transmission site near Drake Hospital in Hartwell was vandalized, Mr. Thomas said.
This time, vandals turned off electricity — taking WCIN off the air for more than two hours — and broke into the transmitter building.
They also detached a guy wire supporting one of WCIN's five 125-foot antennas, toppling it. Mr. Thomas estimated it will cost $30,000 to $50,000 to replace the bent tower.
“Both times it was like they had a party — there were beer cans everywhere,” Mr. Thomas said. It was the same brand of beer both times.
However, Mr. Thomas does not think WCIN — a 46-year-old station that's a force in Cincinnati's black community — has been targeted intentionally.
Three local TV stations have satellite dishes on adjacent land with more secure anchors and fencing. Also, no sign identifies the tower as WCIN's.
Electricity was turned off at meters outside the transmitter building, resulting in dead air from about midnight to 2:30 a.m., when the station engineer got power restored, Mr. Thomas said.
During the earlier incident, the vandals broke the electric meters and tried unsuccessfully to get into the building.
Cincinnati police responded to WCIN's call, but no one available Sunday could say whether there is an investigation.
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