WGUC

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

WGUC
Crosley Telecommunications Center, location of WGUC studios
Broadcast area Cincinnati metropolitan area
Frequency 90.9 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingClassical 90.9 WGUC
Programming
Format Classical music (Public)
Subchannels HD2: Jazz
HD3: Adult album alternative
Ownership
Owner Cincinnati Public Radio
WVXU
History
First air date
September 21, 1960
Technical information
Facility ID 6126
Class B
ERP 18,500 watts
HAAT 209.2 meters (686 ft)
Links
Webcast Listen live
Website wguc.org

WGUC (90.9 FM) is a public radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is owned by Cincinnati Public Radio and has a classical music format. WGUC broadcasts using HD Radio technology and plays jazz on WGUC-HD2 and adult album alternative on WGUC-HD3. WGUC has radio studios in the same building as PBS Network affiliate WCET Channel 48, the Crosley Telecommunications Center on Central Parkway in Cincinnati.

Contents

WGUC has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 18,500 watts. Its transmitter is on Symmes Street, near Interstate 71, in Cincinnati. [1]

History

In the late 1950s, a group of Cincinnati-area residents launched a campaign for a radio station devoted to cultural and public affairs programming, particularly classical music. A committee of the Queen City Association sought to bring either a repeater of WOSU-AM -FM in Columbus or a standalone fine-arts station to Cincinnati.

On September 21, 1960, WGUC first signed on the air. The station was originally licensed to the University of Cincinnati, at the time owned by the City of Cincinnati. WGUC broadcast mostly classical music and was a training ground for students interested in a career in broadcasting. When National Public Radio was first formed in the early 1970s, WGUC began airing All Things Considered. However, the creation of additional NPR programming in the 1980s created the need for an additional NPR outlet in Cincinnati, at which time WVXU (then licensed to Xavier University) became a member of NPR.

While the two stations both carried some NPR programs, the two NPR daily flagship newsmagazines aired separately. WVXU carried Morning Edition, while WGUC carried All Things Considered. With both stations now under the same licensee, program duplication, sometimes a problem in markets with more than one public radio station, were eliminated. This means that WGUC broadcasts almost exclusively classical music, while WVXU carries news and information programming, including both Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

WGUC was one of the first stations in the nation to meet the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's qualification standards; a charter member of NPR; and a founder of another network, American Public Radio (now Public Radio International). WGUC also had one of the first NPR satellite uplinks, the first digital west-to-east transatlantic broadcast, and is the only U.S. public radio station with an ongoing program to commission new music.

In 1994, UC outsourced WGUC's operations to Cincinnati Classical Public Radio, a community-based nonprofit organization. UC retained the station's license until 2002, when it sold the license to Cincinnati Public Radio. When Cincinnati Public Radio purchased Xavier University's "X-Star Network" (a group of stations headed by WVXU-FM) in 2005, WGUC moved its National Public Radio news and talk programming, including All Things Considered, which had aired on WGUC since the 1970s, to WVXU. The only NPR-produced show still airing on WGUC is the youth classical performance program From the Top, while the news and information programming is heard on WVXU around the clock, except for a couple hours of specialty music programming late nights.

In 2003, WGUC became the first public radio station in Ohio to broadcast a digital HD Radio signal. In June 2005, WGUC became one of the first stations in the nation to receive FCC authorization to experiment with FM multicasting. In 2006, the station added a full time digital subchannel of jazz music (formerly heard on WVXU), along classical music on its primary digital channel. It has since added adult album alternative music to an HD-3 subchannel.

Programming

WGUC broadcasts local musical events, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concerts, the Cincinnati May Festival, and the Cincinnati Opera season. The station produces and distributes The 90 Second Naturalist and Classics for Kids nationally. Holiday programs, such as Tunes From the Crypt (Halloween),A Feast For the Ears (Thanksgiving), and Love Greetings (Valentine's Day) have also had national carriage. One weekday feature, Cincinnati Spotlight, which airs weekdays during the 9:00 a.m. hour, highlights events in the listening area, local artists and musicians, and national and international performers who visit greater Cincinnati.

Classics for Kids

Classics for Kids debuted December 5, 1998 and is designed to help adults introduce children to classical music. The program, heard Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings, features a composer and his/her music, along with games, quizzes and curriculum materials for primary grade school students and teachers. The show is heard on several other classical-formatted public radio stations in the U.S.

Radio Reading Service

WGUC's subcarrier signal has served the local blind and visually impaired community since 1985. Through an agreement with the Cincinnati Association for the Blind, WGUC carries the audio broadcasts for the Radio Reading Service (RRS) on its alternate band. RRS serves more than 8,000 listeners, according to the station.

Related Research Articles

WFCR is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Amherst, Massachusetts. It serves as the National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Western Massachusetts, including Springfield. The station operates at 13,000 watts ERP from a transmitter on Mount Lincoln in Pelham, Massachusetts, 968 feet above average terrain. The University of Massachusetts Amherst holds the license. The station airs NPR news programs during the morning and afternoon drive times and in the early evening. Middays and overnights are devoted to classical music and jazz is heard during the later evening hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNOW-FM</span> Radio station in St. Paul, Minnesota

KNOW-FM is the flagship radio station of Minnesota Public Radio's news and information network. It is licensed to St. Paul and serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. The station is non-commercial and listener-supported. The studios are in the MPR Broadcast Center on Cedar Street in downtown St. Paul.

KUHF is a public radio station serving Greater Houston metropolitan area. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Houston System, and is operated by Houston Public Media, also known as Houston Public Radio. KUHF is housed in the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, along with KUHT, on the campus of the University of Houston. Local productions include The Engines of Our Ingenuity, Houston Matters, Town Square, and Next Question.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCET (TV)</span> TV station in Cincinnati

WCET is a PBS member television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The station is owned by the Greater Cincinnati Television Educational Foundation, a subsidiary of Public Media Connect. WCET was the first licensed public television station in the United States. Its studios are located in the Crosley Telecommunications Center on Central Parkway in Cincinnati, and its transmitter is located on Chickasaw Street in the CUF section of Cincinnati. Master control operations are based at the studios of sister PBS member station WPTD in Dayton.

WRKF is a non-commercial public FM radio station in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is owned and operated by Public Radio, Inc., with studios and offices on Valley Creek Drive in Baton Rouge. WRKF is listener-supported, with periodic on-air fundraisers.

WCNY-FM is a public radio station in Syracuse, New York, that plays classical music and is an NPR member station. The station is owned and operated by The Public Broadcasting Council of Central New York, Inc. and shares studios with WCNY-TV on West Fayette Street in Syracuse's Near Westside neighborhood. The station broadcasts Spanish-language programming as "Pulso Central" on its second HD Radio subchannel and community affairs programming as "Community FM" on a third channel. Jazz music may be heard on the third HD channel during times when talk shows are not broadcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPLN-FM</span> Public radio station in Nashville

WPLN-FM, is a non-commercial public radio station in Nashville, Tennessee. It airs a news, talk and information radio format and is owned by Nashville Public Radio along with sister station WNXP. The station's studios and offices are located on Mainstream Drive north of downtown Nashville, which are considered among the finest radio production facilities in the U.S. WPLN-FM is simulcast on two low-powered repeaters on the fringes of the Middle Tennessee area: WHRS in Cookeville and WTML in Tullahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBHM</span> Public radio station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States

WBHM is a non-commercial public FM radio station in Birmingham, Alabama. The station is licensed to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where it maintains its radio studios on 11th Street South. WBHM features programming from National Public Radio, American Public Media and Public Radio Exchange. On weekdays, it carries news and information programming, with classical music heard late nights, seven days a week. Weekend programming includes public radio shows such as Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, On The Media, The Moth Radio Hour and Travel with Rick Steves, as well as Bluegrass music and New Age music.

WLRN-FM and WKWM (91.5 MHz) are non-commercial, listener-supported, public radio stations for South Florida and the Florida Keys. WLRN-FM is licensed to Miami and WKWM is licensed to Marathon. They are owned by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The offices and studios are on NE 15th Street in Miami.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KANW</span> Public radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico

KANW is a non-commercial public radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico. KANW is owned and operated by the Albuquerque Public Schools. On weekdays it airs New Mexico music and local public radio programming afternoons and nights, with NPR news programming in the morning, including Morning Edition, Fresh Air, On Point and 1A. Weekends feature New Mexico music, classical music and classic country music, as well as some NPR weekend shows such as The New Yorker Radio Hour, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and The Moth Radio Hour.

WKAR-FM is a non-commercial public radio station in East Lansing, Michigan. It is owned by Michigan State University, along with sister stations WKAR and WKAR-TV. They are owned by Michigan State University, with studios in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building, at Wilson and Red Cedar Roads on the MSU campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVXU</span> Public radio station in Cincinnati

WVXU is a public radio station located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is owned by Cincinnati Public Radio (CPRI), which also operates station WGUC and WMUB. It airs public radio news and talk syndicated programming from NPR, American Public Media and Public Radio Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHRV</span> Radio station in Norfolk, Virginia

WHRV is a non-commercial, listener-supported, public radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia. It is the flagship NPR member station for the Hampton Roads section of Virginia, and is a sister station to the area's PBS member, WHRO-TV 15. They are owned by the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association, a consortium of 19 school districts in Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore. Studios are in the Public Telecommunications Center on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWMU</span> Public radio station in St. Louis

KWMU is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. It airs a public radio format of news, talk and information, as a member station of National Public Radio (NPR). KWMU is operated by St. Louis Public Radio, with its license held by the Curators of the University of Missouri System. The studios and offices are on Olive Street in Grand Center, near the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVTF</span> Public radio station in Roanoke, Virginia

WVTF is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Roanoke, Virginia, featuring a public radio format branded "Radio IQ". Owned by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University through its fundraising arm, the Virginia Tech Foundation, the station carries programming from NPR, the Public Radio Exchange, American Public Media and the BBC World Service. WVTF is a listener-supported station, holding periodic fundraisers on the air. The studios and offices are on Kingsbury Lane in Roanoke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFYI-FM</span> Public radio station in Indianapolis, IN, USA

WFYI-FM is a public radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is operated by Metropolitan Indianapolis Public Broadcasting, a public broadcasting community licensee which also operates the area's Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member station, WFYI Public Television via on-air digital channels 20.1, 20.2 and 20.3. WFYI-FM is a member of National Public Radio (NPR) and carries news and information programming, plus weekly shows featuring the Indianapolis Symphony the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Harmonia, and the possible return of Classics by Request, Evening Concert, and Opera Hour.

WGCU-FM is an National Public Radio-member station on Florida's Gulf Coast. Licensed to Fort Myers, it is owned by Florida Gulf Coast University with studios along FGCU Boulevard, on campus. WGCU also operates WMKO 91.7, a full-time simulcast station licensed to Marco Island to serve the Naples area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLBL-FM</span> Radio station in Wausau, Wisconsin

WLBL-FM is a radio station licensed to Wausau, Wisconsin. The station is part of Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), and airs WPR's "Ideas Network", consisting of news and talk programming. WLBL-FM also broadcasts local news and programming from studios in the Center for Civic Engagement at the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County in Wausau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WXXO (FM)</span> Radio station in Rochester, New York

WXXO is a public, listener-supported radio station in Rochester, New York, airing a classical music radio format. Its programs can also be heard in Houghton on WXXY and on the seventh digital subchannel of WXXI-TV. It's owned by the WXXI Public Broadcasting Council, which also owns WXXI-TV and a two-station news and information service, WXXI and WXXI-FM (105.9). WXXO holds periodic fundraisers on the air to support the station.

KUAF is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Fayetteville, Arkansas, serving Northwest Arkansas. The station is owned by the University of Arkansas, with studios and offices near the school's campus in Downtown Fayetteville.

References

39°07′30″N84°29′56″W / 39.125°N 84.499°W / 39.125; -84.499