Connecticut Public Radio Flagship Station | |
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Broadcast area | |
Frequency | 90.5 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | Connecticut Public Radio |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | News/Talk (Public radio) |
Affiliations | |
Ownership | |
Owner | Connecticut Public Broadcasting |
Connecticut Public Television | |
History | |
First air date | June 1978 |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning |
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Technical information [3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 13627 |
Class | B |
ERP | 18,500 watts |
HAAT | 251 meters (823 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°33′42.3″N72°50′39.3″W / 41.561750°N 72.844250°W |
Translator(s) | See § Translators |
Repeater(s) | See § Repeaters |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | www |
Connecticut Public Radio, commonly known as WNPR, is a network of public radio stations in the state of Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and eastern Long Island, affiliated with NPR (National Public Radio). It is owned by Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network, which also owns Connecticut Public Television (CPTV).
The radio network airs primarily news and talk from NPR along with several locally produced programs. It is headquartered with CPTV in Hartford, and operates an additional studio in New Haven.
In the early 1970s, WTIC in Hartford dropped its longtime classical music format in favor of adult contemporary music, and sold its library to CPTV. Looking for a way to put the library to use, CPTV decided to get into radio. At the time, while Hartford got a fairly decent signal from WFCR in Amherst, Massachusetts, and much of southwestern Connecticut was covered by WNYC in New York City, most of the rest of the state did not even get a grade B signal from an NPR station. New Haven, for instance, had to content itself with a translator of WFCR on 90.5 FM. Finding available frequencies proved difficult, however. In addition to the crowded state of the noncommercial end of the FM dial in the Northeast, there was a considerable glut of 10-watt stations in the state. Ultimately, CPTV bought the 90.5 frequency from the Friends of WFCR, the New Haven group that owned the WFCR translator, and used it as the linchpin for what would become Connecticut Public Radio. [4]
The network's first station, WPBH, [1] signed on in June 1978. [5] The station was licensed to Meriden, halfway between Hartford and New Haven, to serve both cities (Hartford and New Haven, then as now, are separate radio markets). CPBI originally wanted the WNPR calls, but the FCC turned it down due to objections from WPLR in New Haven, which claimed the calls sounded too similar.[ citation needed ] It became WPKT in 1984 [1] after board chairman Homer D. Babbidge Jr. requested the FCC change the call letters to honor CPBN head Paul K. Taff.
WNPR (89.1 FM) in Norwich followed in 1981, [6] WEDW-FM (88.5 FM) in Stamford in 1985 [7] and WRLI-FM (91.3 FM) on Long Island in 1993. [8]
On September 15, 2011, WPKT and WNPR swapped call signs. [1] [6] Although 90.5 FM has always been the flagship station, the network had been using WNPR as its on-air name since the 1990s.
For the first 20 years of its existence, the network broadcast a mix of classical music, jazz and NPR talk. However, starting in the late 1990s, WNPR began gradually increasing the news programming on its schedule. One of the first casualties of this change was the popular classical music program Morning pro musica , which was fed from WGBH-FM in Boston. The program had aired on WNPR as part of the terms by which the Friends of WFCR sold the 90.5 frequency to CPBI. However, by the late 1990s, this resulted in WNPR only being able to run the first hour of Morning Edition . Ultimately, WNPR decided to cancel Morning pro musica, even though network executives knew it would cause a major loss in funding. However, the increased willingness of NPR member stations to focus on news, especially after the September 11 attacks occurred, made the format change palatable. [4] Ultimately, in 2006, WNPR dropped classical music altogether in favor of a full-time news and information format. In 2013, the station launched a new online service, WNPR News.
From 2011 to 2016, Connecticut Public Radio operated WAIC (91.9 FM), the college radio station of American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. WAIC first went on air in February 1967, going stereo in 1985. Initially programmed from American International College (at various points programming top 40 and adult hits), it became a full-time relay of Connecticut Public Radio on November 1, 2011. [9] This ended in 2016, when WNPR turned over operation of WAIC to WFCR, the NPR member for Western Massachusetts. WFCR made WAIC a satellite of its all-news network. [10]
Connecticut Public Radio features the programs Where We Live , The Colin McEnroe Show, Audacious with Chion Wolf, Seasoned, and Disrupted with Khaliah Brown-Dean, all based in Hartford. The station also syndicates NPR programming. [11] Connecticut Public Radio also produces the regional news show Next with the New England News Collaborative.
From 1982 to 2019, Faith Middleton hosted various shows out of the New Haven studio. She hosted The Faith Middleton Show and The Faith Middleton Food Schmooze, until she retired in 2019. [12]
In 2020, The Wheelhouse, a Wednesday weekly political round table talk show was absorbed into Where We Live's schedule on Wednesday mornings, and still with a focus on local and national politics.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria which hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, WNPR produced a documentary entitled "The Island Next Door", focused on the impact of the storm on the island and the links between New England and Puerto Rico. The documentary was released in late 2018 to coincide with the one year mark since the storm ravaged Puerto Rico.
WNPR has received many awards over the past few decades. It has received two George Foster Peabody Awards, five Ohio State Awards and two Gracie Allen Awards. It has also gotten over 60 Associated Press Awards, which include eight Mark Twain Awards for Overall Station Excellence.
Faith Middleton has been voted Best Radio Talk-Show Host by Connecticut Magazine readers for the past 10 years. [13]
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | Class | ERP (W) | Height (m (ft)) | Transmitter coordinates | Call sign meaning |
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WPKT | 89.1 FM (HD) | Norwich, Connecticut | 13618 | B1 | 5,100 | 180 meters (590 ft) | 41°31′11.3″N72°10′2.2″W / 41.519806°N 72.167278°W | Paul K. Taff |
WEDW-FM | 88.5 FM | Stamford, Connecticut | 13619 | A | 2,000 | 92 meters (302 ft) | 41°2′49.3″N73°31′34.4″W / 41.047028°N 73.526222°W | Educational Western Connecticut (shared with CPTV's station in the area) |
WRLI-FM | 91.3 FM | Southampton, New York | 13598 | B1 | 10,000 | 95 meters (312 ft) | 40°56′5.3″N72°23′13.3″W / 40.934806°N 72.387028°W | Radio Long Island |
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W258AC | 99.5 FM | Storrs, Connecticut | 13611 | 117 m (384 ft) | D | 41°48′50.4″N72°15′34.3″W / 41.814000°N 72.259528°W | LMS |
W249CW | 97.7 FM | Torrington, Connecticut | 147304 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | 41°50′26.3″N73°9′44.4″W / 41.840639°N 73.162333°W | LMS |
W206BW | 89.1 FM | Westville, Connecticut | 123260 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | 41°20′58.8″N72°58′20.7″W / 41.349667°N 72.972417°W | LMS |
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.
WFSB is a television station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Denise D'Ascenzo Way in Rocky Hill and a transmitter on Talcott Mountain in Avon, Connecticut.
WGBY-TV is a PBS member television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the Boston-based WGBH Educational Foundation, it is a sister station to that organization's flagship and namesake, WGBH-TV, channel 2 ; New England Public Media, which also controls Amherst-licensed NPR member WFCR, operates WGBY-TV under a program service agreement. WGBY-TV provides programming to much of western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut, with studios based in the Irene Mennen Hunter Public Media Center on Hampden Street alongside I-91 in downtown Springfield. Its transmitter is located on the peak of Mount Tom in Holyoke with the area's commercial television stations. WGBY-TV is also available on Comcast Xfinity channel 2 in Windham County, Vermont.
Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) is the PBS member network for the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is owned by Connecticut Public Broadcasting, a community-based non-profit organization that holds the licenses for all PBS member stations licensed in the state, and also owns the state's NPR member, Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR). Together, the television and radio stations make up the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN). CPBN is the state's only locally owned media organization producing TV, radio, print and Internet content for distribution across the state. As of 2019, Mark Contreras was announced as the new President / CEO. The organizational structure of CPTV also includes a Board of Trustees. The network co-produced the long-running children's television series, Barney & Friends until the show were transferred to WNET.
WPNI was an American radio station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to serve the community of Amherst, Massachusetts.
WUCS is a commercial sports formatted radio station licensed to Windsor Locks, Connecticut. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and serves as the Hartford media market's Fox Sports Radio network affiliate. The station broadcasts from studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford.
WLIW-FM is a radio station licensed to Southampton, New York, and serving eastern Long Island and coastal Connecticut. Owned by The WNET Group, it is a sister station to PBS member television station WLIW, and features programming from American Public Media, NPR and Public Radio Exchange. The station also broadcasts in HD.
WPOP is a commercial radio station in Hartford, Connecticut, broadcasting a news–talk–sports radio format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford.
WDRC is a commercial AM radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by Red Wolf Broadcasting and airs a talk radio format. The studios and transmitter site are located on Blue Hill Avenue in Bloomfield, Connecticut, with other radio stations.
Rhode Island Public Radio, doing business as The Public's Radio, is the NPR member radio network for the state of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Its studios are in the historic Union Station in downtown Providence. The network airs a format of news and talk from NPR, APM, PRX and other sources, such as Morning Edition, On Point, KERA's Think and All Things Considered, as well as extensive local news coverage.
WELI is a commercial AM radio station licensed to New Haven, Connecticut, and serving the New Haven and Bridgeport areas. It broadcasts a news/talk format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios are in Radio Towers Park on Benham Street in Hamden, where it shares facilities with sister stations WKCI-FM and WAVZ. Transmitting towers for WELI are also at this location.
WSHU, is an NPR member radio station licensed to Westport, Connecticut. It is owned and operated by Sacred Heart University. By day, WSHU is powered at 1,000 watts using a directional antenna. However, at night, to avoid interference with other stations on 1260 AM, it reduces power to nine watts, effectively limiting its nighttime footprint to the area immediately around Westport. Programming is also heard on 150-watt FM translator W276DY at 103.1 MHz in Westport.
Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc. (CPBI), doing business as Connecticut Public or Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN) is the parent organization of Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) and Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR). It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
WYBC is a radio station operating on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The station is owned by Yale Broadcasting Company, Inc.; however, it is programmed by Sacred Heart University under a time brokerage agreement. WYBC is a public radio station, airing a news/talk format.
WBOM is a commercial radio station licensed to Meriden, Connecticut, and covering Central Connecticut. The station broadcasts an urban adult contemporary format, aimed at the Hartford area. The station is owned by Full Power Radio, through Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation. WBOM's programming is also heard on FM translator W273DS (102.5); the station's branding emphasizes the FM frequency.
WSNG is a radio station licensed in Torrington, Connecticut, broadcasting a talk radio format. WSNG is simulcasting 1360 WDRC (AM), Hartford. The stations use the slogan "The Talk of Connecticut" featuring Mornings with Gary Byron and syndicated programs the rest of the day, including Michael Savage. The station is owned by Red Wolf Broadcasting and features programming from Fox News Radio, Salem Radio Network, and Westwood One. The Talk of Connecticut stations also broadcast sporting events such as New York Yankees major league baseball, New Britain Rock Cats minor league baseball, Hartford Hawks college basketball and high school sports.
WSKP is an AM radio station licensed to Hope Valley, Rhode Island. The station is owned by John Fuller's Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation and airs an oldies radio format. WSKP operates as part of the "Kool Radio" simulcast, along with 990 WNTY in Southington, Connecticut, and formerly with 1270 WACM in Springfield, Massachusetts.
WMNR is a radio station licensed to Monroe, Connecticut. The station is municipally owned by the Town of Monroe and broadcasts mainly classical music.
WSUF is a radio station licensed to Noyack, New York and serves the eastern Long Island and southeastern Connecticut areas. It is owned by Sacred Heart University.
Faith Middleton is a retired public radio talk show host. She is best known as the former host of The Faith Middleton Show on Connecticut Public Radio.