![]() | |
| |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Baltimore, Maryland |
Frequency | 88.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | 88.1 WYPR |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Public radio (News/Talk/Jazz) |
Subchannels | HD2: BBC World Service HD3: Classical |
Ownership | |
Owner | Baltimore Public Media |
WTMD | |
History | |
First air date | 1979carrier current 1945–1979) (as WJHU) | (originally
Former call signs | WJHU (1979–2002) |
Call sign meaning | We're Your Public Radio |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 65753 |
Class | B1 |
ERP | 15,500 watts |
HAAT | 129.6 meters |
Repeater(s) | 88.1 WYPF (Frederick) 106.9 WYPO (Ocean City) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live Listen Live (HD2) Listen Live (HD3) |
Website | wypr.org |
WYPR (88.1 FM) is a public radio station serving the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area. Its studio is in the Charles Village neighborhood of northern Baltimore, while its transmitter is in Park Heights. The station is simulcast in the Frederick and Hagerstown area on WYPF (88.1 FM) and in the Ocean City area on WYPO (106.9 FM).
WYPR is Baltimore's flagship National Public Radio member station, carrying content from NPR, American Public Media (the distribution arm of Minnesota Public Radio), Public Radio Exchange and the BBC World Service (on HD2). WYPR also provides Classical 24 on its HD3 subchannel. In addition, WYPR produces several of its own shows, including the public affairs-focused programs Midday and On The Record, the award-winning, sonic-storytelling series Out of the Blocks as well as local news coverage and special newsroom series.
Starting in 2015, the Baltimore Magazine Reader's Poll has named WYPR the Best Radio Station in Baltimore three years in a row. The station also won Best Radio Show Host, and Best News Website in 2017.
The station signed on in 1979 as WJHU, a 10-watt student-run station owned by Johns Hopkins University. It took over from a carrier current station that had operated under the same calls on AM 830 since 1945. Originally a typical freeform college radio station, it boosted its power to 25,000 watts in 1985, allowing it at least secondary coverage of the entire Baltimore/Washington corridor. Soon after the power increase, Johns Hopkins converted the station into a full-time professional operation, allowing it to become Baltimore's NPR member station. [1] It originally aired a mix of classical music and NPR programming, but on June 23, 1995, switched to a primarily news/talk format.
Johns Hopkins put the station up for sale in 2000 due to the expense of maintaining it, as well as a change in focus that no longer included radio. [1] [2] In 2002, Your Public Radio Corp., a community group, bought the station and changed its calls to WYPR. In 2004 Your Public Radio Corp. bought religious broadcaster WJTM in Frederick, which became a relay of WYPR with the call letters of WYPF. WYPF's signal also covers Hagerstown. On July 30, 2007, Your Public Radio Corp. bought Ocean City, Maryland alternative rock station 106.9 WRXS, which began simulcasting WYPR starting September 10, 2007. That station was renamed WYPO on October 3, 2007. The three stations provide at least distant-grade coverage to almost two-thirds of Maryland.
For much of the time from the late 1990s to 2008, it operated at only 10,000 watts. While this provided a decent signal to Baltimore itself and most of its close-in suburbs, many of Baltimore's outer suburbs, including Annapolis, only got a grade B signal. In 2008, it increased its power to 15,500 watts, giving it a coverage area roughly comparable to the other major Baltimore stations. Two years earlier, University of Maryland student station WMUC in College Park, which at the time also broadcast at 88.1MHz, raised concerns about co-channel interference due to its class D license that does not protect it from interference, in contrast to WYPR's class A license. [3] [4]
In May 2021, WYPR announced plans to acquire Towson-based WTMD, an adult album alternative station owned by Towson University. The $3 million deal is contingent on Federal Communications Commission approval. [5] WTMD will retain its format and programming. The sale was closed on November 10, 2021, officially making WTMD a sister station to WYPR. [6]
In 2024, the stations' parent changed its name to Baltimore Public Media and introduced new sonic identities for both WYPR and WTMD. [7]
Call sign | Frequency (MHz) | City of license | ERP W | Class | FCC | First airdate | Former callsigns |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WYPF | 88.1 | Frederick, Maryland | 1,000 | B1 | FCC (WYPF) | 1991 | WFXM (1984–1986) WJTM (1986–2004) |
WYPO | 106.9 | Ocean City, Maryland | 4,500 | A | FCC (WYPO) | 1994 | WLGE (1993) WRXS (1993–2007) |
WYPR is a media sponsor of the local Patterson Park Concert Series throughout the summer months. [10] In addition, the radio station is also a media partner of Stevenson University's Baltimore Speakers Series at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. [11]
WPGC-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Morningside, Maryland, and serving the Washington metropolitan area. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs an urban contemporary format.
WRBS-FM is a radio station in Baltimore, Maryland, serving the Baltimore metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Christian adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Peter & John Radio Fellowship, Inc.
Maryland Public Television (MPT) is the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member state network for the U.S. state of Maryland. It operates under the auspices of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission, an agency of the Maryland state government that holds the licenses for all PBS member stations licensed in the state.
WXPN is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format shows. WXPN produces World Cafe, a music program distributed by NPR to many non-commercial stations in the United States. The station's call sign, which is often abbreviated to XPN, stands for "Experimental Pennsylvania Network". The broadcast tower used by WXPN is located at, in the antenna farm complex in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.
WMUC-FM is the student-run non-commercial radio station licensed to the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, broadcasting at 30 watts. It is a freeform radio station staffed entirely by volunteer UMD students and community members.
WLZL is a commercial radio station licensed to serve College Park, Maryland. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. through licensee Audacy License, LLC and broadcasts a Spanish hits format. Studios are located in Washington, D.C. while the station's broadcast tower is located east of Crofton, Maryland at.
WBAL is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Baltimore, Maryland. It is owned by the broadcasting division of Hearst Communications and broadcasts a news/talk radio format. The station shares its studios and offices with sister stations WBAL-TV and WIYY on Television Hill in Baltimore's Woodberry neighborhood. WBAL and WIYY are the only two radio stations owned by Hearst, which is primarily a publishing and television company.
WCHS is a news/talk/sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charleston, West Virginia, serving Southern West Virginia and Southwestern West Virginia. WCHS is owned and operated by WVRC Media.
WJFK is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a sports gambling radio format. Licensed to Morningside, Maryland, and serving the Washington metropolitan area, the station is owned by Audacy, Inc. The radio studios are in Southeast DC in the Navy Yard neighborhood. Programming is supplied by the co-owned BetQL Network and CBS Sports Radio.
WITF-FM is a non-commercial, public FM radio station licensed to serve Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by WITF, Inc., and broadcasts NPR talk and news programming. It is co-owned with the area's Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member station, WITF-TV. Both stations are based at the Public Media Center in Swatara Township, and broadcast from a shared tower located on Blue Mountain in Susquehanna Township.
WRYR-LP was a low power radio station licensed to Sherwood, Maryland, United States. It served portions of Anne Arundel, Calvert, Queen Anne, Talbot, Dorchester, and Caroline Counties, including Maryland's capital city of Annapolis. The station was owned by WRYR Community Radio Inc. Its license was cancelled October 2, 2019.
WBJC is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to Baltimore, Maryland. The station is owned by Baltimore City Community College and it airs a classical music radio format. WBJC holds periodic fundraisers on the air to pay for the station's expenses. The radio studios and offices are on Reisterstown Road in Baltimore.
WPOC is a commercial radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It airs a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are at The Rotunda Shopping Center, on West 40th Street, in Baltimore.
Dan Rodricks is a longtime columnist for The Baltimore Sun newspapers, and former host of the Roughly Speaking podcast for baltimoresun.com. He was previously the host of Midday, a two-hour, daily talk show on WYPR FM 88.1, the NPR station in Baltimore, and the host of "Rodricks For Breakfast" on WMAR-TV,.
WCBM is a Baltimore, Maryland commercial radio station. It is owned by WCBM Maryland, Inc., and broadcasts a talk radio format, calling itself "Talk Radio 680 WCBM". Studios and offices are on York Road in Lutherville, off the Baltimore Beltway.
WTMD is a non-commercial public radio station licensed to Towson, Maryland, and serving the Baltimore metropolitan area. It broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format and is owned by Baltimore Public Media, along with NPR affiliate WYPR 88.1 FM. It holds periodic on-air fundraisers and seeks donations on its website.
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.
WHGM is a commercial radio station in Havre De Grace, Maryland. It is owned by Steve Clendenin, through licensee Maryland Media One, LLC, and it airs an oldies - classic hits radio format. In middays, it carries the syndicated Intelligence for Your Life with John Tesh. Studios are in the Arts & Entertainment District of Havre De Grace at 331 North Union Avenue.
WJHU is a radio station based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Johns Hopkins University owns the station, a community radio station with student volunteers, who are mainly on-air deejays and other program hosts. Programming blocks are divided into formats, dealing mostly with music, sports and cultural life: classical, dance, folk, jazz, public affairs, sports, rap, and rock formats — along with a few specialty shows outside any of the formats. Its studios are located on the Homewood campus.
Marc Steiner is an American radio talk show and podcast host.