Home-Broadcast FM Station Surprise Ratings Hit

by Jason Antoniewicz

Mt. Pleasant-based WQOS, a low-power FM classic rock station broadcasting out of a home, came out on top against some of the more established traditional stations in the summer ratings books.

Patricia Heitman, who is now in charge of the station, said the surprise was mutual.

"We got a call from Arbitron," she said. "The guy literally asked, 'who the hell are you guys? Do you guys even know how popular you are?'"

The grass roots success of the station has had commercial impact - but not for the station owner.

"We are the sore thorn in the side of (W)UPS," she said. "They have a hard time selling advertisements in this area because of us."

WQOS emanates from a regular household located a block off of Mission Street, playing music automatically from a desktop computer. It broadcasts approximately three miles in each direction from the antenna.

The station was the brainchild of John Heitman, a former Central Michigan University student who graduated from Ferris University with a broadcasting degree. Heitman, who grew up in the area, had a love for audio and video production.

"He always wanted a radio station," said his daughter Jennifer.

John picked the music on the station because of what he perceived to be a lack of good rock stations in the area.

"There isn't enough rock 'n' roll here," said his wife Patricia, paraphrasing her husband. "There's too much country and not enough rock 'n' roll. The college doesn't exactly know what their format is. And CZY is CZY."

WQOS always tried to be more than just another station playing rock songs.

"It's not just the top 40 music," Patricia said. "It's b-sides and live tracks."

When it came time to pick the station's call letters, daughter Jennifer was assigned the task. But the options were slim.

"Everything I thought of was taken," she said. "So I came up with WQOS. It stands for 'we question our sanity.'"

Initially, the station was more than just classic rock. On its launch, WQOS had news, weather, and even a morning show featuring station founder John Heitman. His daughter Jennifer remembers the first day.

"They would play a song, then talk. Play a song, then talk," she said. "I yelled at them to play at least three songs, THEN talk."

Shortly after the station launched, John passed away, leaving the station's care in the hands of friends and family.

Under Federal Communications Commission regulations, the station cannot accept advertising. WQOS uses the aid of underwriters to pay for operating costs, which includes a yearly payment for music licensing.

"Right now we're not playing any underwriters," Patricia said.