WFSU-FM

Last updated

WFSU-FM and WFSW
Frequencies
  • WFSU-FM: 88.9MHz
  • WFSW: 89.1MHz
BrandingWFSU Public Media
Programming
Format Public radio
Affiliations NPR
Public Radio Exchange
Ownership
Owner Florida State University
WFSU-TV
History
First air date
  • WFSU-FM: July 1954 (1954-07) and to 88.9 in 1990
  • WFSW: March 18, 1996 (1996-03-18)
Call sign meaning
Florida State University
Technical information [1] [2]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID
  • WFSU-FM: 21799
  • WFSW: 93708
Class
  • WFSU-FM: C
  • WFSW: C1
ERP
  • WFSU-FM: 90,000 watts
  • WFSW: 100,000 watts
HAAT
  • WFSU-FM: 379 m (1,243 ft)
  • WFSW: 123 m (404 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
Translator(s) See § Stations
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Website WFSU website
WFSQ and WFSL
Frequencies
  • WFSQ: 91.5MHz
  • WFSL: 90.7MHz
BrandingWFSU Public Media
Programming
Format Classical music
Ownership
Owner Florida State University
History
First air date
  • WFSQ: October 14, 1990 (1990-10-14)
  • WFSL: April 15, 2003 (2003-04-15)
Technical information [3] [4]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID
  • WFSQ: 21803
  • WFSL: 21798
Class
  • WFSQ: C1
  • WFSL: A
ERP
  • WFSQ: 86,000 watts
  • WFSL: 250 watts
HAAT
  • WFSQ: 224 m (735 ft)
  • WFSL: 47 m (154 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
Translator(s) See § Stations
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website WFSU website

WFSU is the callsign (or variations thereon) for public radio stations operated by Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

Contents

Stations

WFSU operates three radio stations that serve northern Florida:

WFSU-FM

WFSU-FM (88.9 FM) is a Tallahassee-based news/talk/public affairs station carrying several NPR programs and overnight BBC World Service programming. Also relays to the following translators:

Broadcast translators for WFSU-FM
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class FCC info
W229AD93.7 FM Tallahassee, Florida 2180225044  m (144  ft)D LMS
W244BM96.7 FM Apalachicola, Florida 429425085 m (279 ft)D LMS
W246AX97.1 FM Carrabelle, Florida 14522612039 m (128 ft)D LMS

WFSQ & WFSL

WFSQ (91.5 FM) is a Tallahassee-based classical music station. Also heard on WFSL (90.7 FM) in Thomasville, Georgia, and relays to the following translator:

Broadcast translator for WFSQ
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class FCC info
W224AT92.7 FM Tallahassee, Florida 6544025069  m (226  ft)D LMS

WFSW

WFSW (89.1 FM) is a Panama City-based news/talk/public affairs station. Offers many of the same programs as WFSU. Also relays to the following translators:

Broadcast translators for WFSW
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class FCC info
W216BT91.1 FM Port St. Joe, Florida 1226778048  m (157  ft)D LMS
W291AD106.1 FM Marianna, Florida 42934087 m (285 ft)D LMS

History

Florida State entered radio on January 21, 1949, when WFSU started as a student-run radio station at 660 AM. Due to the terms of its license, the signal was limited to the confines of the Florida State campus. It was on the air for three hours every night during the week, with a lineup of campus news, interviews, music and an occasional radio drama.

The station was forced off the air in April 1953 due to complaints that the signal was leaking off campus. Florida State applied for a low-powered FM license, and WFSU returned to the air at 91.5 FM in July 1954. Soon afterward, it joined the National Association of Educational Broadcasters, allowing it to significantly upgrade its programming with offerings from BBC World Service and Radio France. It also began carrying Seminoles football games because no commercial station in Tallahassee would carry them.

In 1970, WFSU-FM became a charter member of NPR, and was one of the 90 stations to carry the initial broadcast of All Things Considered. In the 1970s, it shifted to a format of mostly classical music.

The station continued to grow during the 1980s, but was somewhat hampered by problems with its signal. Unlike most NPR stations of the time, it had no backup power source for its transmitter, resulting in frequent outages. The station's reception was also marginal at best in the northeastern part of the city, which is very hilly. To solve the problem, WFSU won approval for a new station on 88.9 FM, operating from a new tower northeast of Tallahassee. All NPR news and information programming moved there on October 14, 1990. Classical music remained on 91.5, which received new call letters, WFSQ. However, due to the legal structure of the changeover, the Federal Communications Commission considers WFSQ to be the same station as the old WFSU. To improve its coverage on the Georgia side of the market, Florida State started WFSL in 2003.

WFSW signed on in 1996, providing Panama City with a second NPR service, alongside Gulf Coast Community College's WKGC-FM. Panama City is one of the smallest cities in the country with separate NPR stations.

Controversy

In June 2011, it was revealed that WFSU will receive $2.8 million in funding for various services related to Florida government. This is despite the $4.8 million of funding to other public radio and television stations vetoed by Governor Rick Scott in May 2011. [5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WFSU-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WFSW". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WFSQ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WFSL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ↑ "St. Petersburg Times: "Gov. Rick Scott's veto of public TV and radio funds spares capital's WFSU", June 6, 2011". Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2011.

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