WUSF (FM)

Last updated

WUSF
Broadcast area Tampa Bay area
Frequency 89.7 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingWUSF News
Programming
Format Public Radio - News - Talk
Subchannels HD2: Classical music (simulcast of WSMR)
Affiliations National Public Radio
American Public Media
Public Radio Exchange
BBC World Service
Ownership
Owner University of South Florida
WSMR
History
First air date
September 1963;61 years ago (1963-09)
Call sign meaning
University of South Florida
Technical information
Facility ID 69122
Class C1
ERP 69,000 watts
HAAT 295 meters (968 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 27°50′53.00″N82°15′48.00″W / 27.8480556°N 82.2633333°W / 27.8480556; -82.2633333
Translator(s) HD2: 103.9 W280DW (Tampa)
Links
Webcast Listen Live
Website wusf.org

WUSF (89.7 FM) is a National Public Radio (NPR) member station in the Tampa Bay area. It is licensed to Tampa and owned by the University of South Florida. WUSF is non-commercial and listener-supported. The station's format features news and talk programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, provided by NPR and other public radio networks. The studios and offices are on East Fowler Avenue in Tampa, on the USF campus.

Contents

WUSF is a Class C1 FM station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 69,000 watts. The transmitter is on Boyette Road at Mosaic Drive in Riverview, Florida. [1] WUSF broadcasts using HD Radio technology. Its HD2 digital subchannel features classical music from sister station 89.1 WSMR. That programming feeds 250-watt FM translator W280DW at 103.9 MHz.

History

WUSF signed on the air in September 1963;61 years ago. [2] That was seven years after USF's founding in 1956. It joined NPR in 1976. It was the first public radio station in the country-—and the first station of any kind in Florida-—to broadcast using HD radio technology. [3]

In 2010, USF acquired Christian radio station WSMR 89.1 MHz in Sarasota. It was previously owned by Northwestern College of Roseville, Minnesota. [4] At the time, WUSF aired a mix of news and information shows along with classical music. USF planned to change WSMR's format to classical music, available around the clock. WSMR inherited the classical music library of WUSF. With WSMR becoming a full-time classical station, WUSF could switch to a format of NPR news along with nighttime jazz programming. WSMR's coverage area is mainly in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, but the station's programming would also be available online and on WUSF's HD2 digital subchannel.

WUSF's format was scheduled to be changed on September 15, 2010. [5] But its relaunch was delayed due to technical problems. [6] WSMR's sale to USF also included FM translator station W280DW, a repeater of WSMR, that broadcasts on 103.9 MHz. It is based in Brandon and serves Pasco and northern Hillsborough counties. The translator continued rebroadcasting WSMR, with its new classical music format. [7]

Two weeks after the failed launch of classical replacement WSMR, station management came under public scrutiny. [8] Critics thought the staff neglected to perform due diligence regarding the purchase of the WSMR transmitter. According to an article in the Bradenton Herald:

Arthur Doak, an engineer for the FCC, said there was no record of WUSF or Northwestern College conducting an inspection on the tower but said stations are entitled to a review of tower sites.
“If the buyer wanted it done to protect themselves, certainly they could,” Doak said. “That’s between the buyer and the seller.”

On October 20, 2022, WUSF announced that it would drop jazz programming later that month. [9] It would have a schedule of all spoken-word programming, with news, information and talk shows, along with the BBC World Service airing overnight.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/WUSF
  2. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-48. Retrieved Jun 18, 2024.
  3. ↑ "L3Harris™ Fast. Forward".
  4. ↑ WSMR: "Life 89.1 Going Off Air August 4th.", July 30, 2010.
  5. ↑ St. Petersburg Times: "Tampa public radio station WUSF-FM to go all NPR and jazz Sept. 15, shifting classical music to Sarasota station", August 4, 2010.
  6. ↑ WUSF: "WSMR On-Air Launch Delayed: WUSF Still to Switch Format", September 14, 2010.
  7. ↑ WUSF First Choice: "WUSF Public Media is Making Exciting New Changes to its Radio Programming and Adding 103.9 FM to the Tampa Area!", August 27, 2010.
  8. ↑ "WUSF works to figure out problems, broadcasting tower causing interference issues" September 30, 2010
  9. ↑ "WUSF To Drop Remaining Jazz Programming". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
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