WHRV

Last updated

WHRV
Broadcast area Hampton Roads
Frequency 89.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingWHRV 89.5
Programming
Format Public radio, talk, jazz and Americana
Subchannels HD2: Adult album alternative
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association
WFOS, WHRE, WHRF, WHRG, WHRJ, WHRL, WHRO-FM, WHRO-TV, WHRX
History
First air date
July 15, 1973 (1973-07-15)
Former call signs
  • WTGM (1973–1978)
  • WHRO-FM (1978–1990) [1]
Call sign meaning
Hampton Roads Virginia
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 25933
Class B
ERP 34,000 watts
HAAT 181.7 meters (596 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
36°48′32.0″N76°30′13.0″W / 36.808889°N 76.503611°W / 36.808889; -76.503611
Translator 101.7 W269BQ (Virginia Beach)
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Website WHRV.org/radio

WHRV (89.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States. [3] It is the primary NPR member station for the Hampton Roads section of Virginia, and is sister to PBS member WHRO-TV (channel 15). 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. [4]

Contents

WHRV's transmitter is sited on Nansemond Parkway in Suffolk. Programming is also heard on four repeater stations and an FM translator. WHRV broadcasts in HD Radio; the HD2 digital subchannel plays adult album alternative (AAA) music and is known as "AltRadio." [5]

History

The station signed on the air in July 15, 1973. [1] Its original call sign was WTGM. It was owned by the Virginia Cultural Foundation. [1] WTGM-FM aired a mix of classical music, NPR news and community programs. [6]

Within only two years, however, the station ran into severe financial problems. That forced HRETA (then known as the Hampton Roads Educational Television Association) to step in and rescue the station. [7]

HRETA changed the call letters to WHRO-FM in 1978. The new call sign would match the radio and television stations. In the early 1980s, a feasibility study indicated that a second public radio station could be viable. [1] The plan was one station would specialize in classical music, while the other would concentrate on informational and news programs, along with some other genres of music. However, it was not until 1988 that HRETA won a second noncommercial license, on 90.3 MHz. [8] On September 21, 1990, 90.3 FM signed on as a full-time classical music station, taking the WHRO-FM call letters. NPR news and information programming remained on 89.5 under new call letters, WHRV. [9]

Programming

On weekdays, WHRV airs news and talk programming from NPR and other public radio networks. Weekday programs include Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, 1A, Here and Now and Marketplace . Shows heard once a week, either middays or on weekends, include The TED Radio Hour, Radiolab, Reveal, The Splendid Table, On The Media, Science Friday, A Way with Words, Selected Shorts, With Good Reason, Snap Judgment, Left, Right and Center and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me . The BBC World Service runs all night.

Nights and weekends, there are programs featuring multiple genres of music not found on commercial radio stations. Locally produced shows include Out of the Box with Paul Shagrue, a mix of Americana, Blues, Reggae, Singer-Songwriter, Cajun and World Beat. Friday evenings feature The R&B Chronicles with Jae Sinnett airing classic Rhythm & Blues music. Pickin' airs on Sunday evenings, featuring two hours of bluegrass and traditional country music. Acoustic Highway with Barry Graham ranges from classic bluegrass and traditional Appalachian music to songs of the new folk movement. WHRV also carries NPR's The Thistle and Shamrock with Fiona Ritchie, featuring Celtic music from Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the U.S.

HD Radio

WHRV's HD Radio Channels on a SPARC Radio with PSD. WHRV HD.png
WHRV's HD Radio Channels on a SPARC Radio with PSD.
Channel Format Branding
HD-1 Public Radio 89.5 WHRV
HD-2 Adult Album Alternative AltRadio

Repeaters

WHRV operates a number of full-powered repeater stations to serve portions of the Eastern Shore and Southside Virginia.

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) Class FCC info
WHRE91.9 FM Eastville, Virginia 1739724,400A LMS
WHRG88.5 FM Gloucester Point, Virginia 1739629,600B1 LMS
WHRL88.1 FM Emporia, Virginia 1759074,200A LMS
WHRX90.1 FM Nassawadox, Virginia 9150546,000B LMS

Additionally, the station operates a 250 watt translator station, W269BQ, at 101.7 MHz in Virginia Beach, which serves sections of that community that do not get a clear signal from 89.5.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 2010 annual report
  2. "Facility Technical Data for WHRV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings . Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  4. "WHRV Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  5. http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=40 Archived 2016-09-18 at the Wayback Machine HD Radio Guide for Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News
  6. Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-221. Retrieved June 24, 2024
  7. Broadcasting Yearbook 1975 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 1975. p. 45. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  8. "Archive of WHRO history page". Archived from the original on September 14, 2001. Retrieved September 14, 2001.
  9. "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 25, 2015.