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Wikipedia

WPSU (FM)

January 01, 1970

WPSU (91.5 FM) is central Pennsylvania's only National Public Radio member radio station licensed to the Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees as a part of WPSU Penn State. The over-the-air and digital signal reaches 13 counties in central and north central Pennsylvania. The station is rebroadcast on WPSX 90.1 FM in Kane. Both the 91.5 and 90.1 signals transmit in HD.

WPSU
Broadcast areaState College, Pennsylvania
Frequency91.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingWPSU Penn State
Programming
FormatNews/Classical music
Subchannels
AffiliationsAmerican Public Media
National Public Radio
Public Radio International
Ownership
OwnerPennsylvania State University
WPSU-TV
History
First air date
December 6, 1953 (1953-12-06)
Former call signs
WDFM (12/6/1953–8/19/1984)
Call sign meaning
Pennsylvania State University
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID66239
ClassB1
ERP1,700 watts
HAAT365 meters (1,198 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°55′11″N 77°58′28″W / 40.91972°N 77.97444°W / 40.91972; -77.97444 (WPSU (FM))
Translator(s)See § Translators
Repeater(s)See § Simulcast
Links
Public license information
  • Public file
  • LMS
WebcastListen live
Websiteradio.wpsu.org

Its production facilities are located along Innovation Park Boulevard outside State College.

With transmitters located throughout the region, WPSU-FM now serves over 450,000 listeners [1] in 13 central counties of the Commonwealth, 24 hours a day.[2]

Through nationally and locally produced news, features and music programs from NPR, PRI and the station itself, WPSU-FM offers a variety of programming for a widely diverse listening audience.

History edit

The station went on the air December 6, 1953 as WDFM. It was first conceived by the Class of 1951 and given to the University as a class gift.[3] The primary goal of WDFM was to provide a hands-on learning experience for students interested in radio communications, but it also strove to serve the community with unique programming. A faculty member from the College of Communications served as a hands-on manager and full-time adviser. The radio station enjoyed quite a bit of popularity (and even controversy) in its early days, with certain DJs (including future faculty adviser Robert Zimmerman) opting to play cutting-edge artists such as Elvis Presley when doing so was not widely deemed acceptable. In the early days of WDFM the station was limited to jazz and classical music, but Zimmerman staged call-ins and requests to allow a wider variety of music to be featured. According to Lauren Deutsch, a Journalism major who serve in various roles from 1965 - 1969, DJs were limited to play only jazz, folk, Broadway musicals, and Western early and classical music under an agreement with the commercial radio stations in State College and the region. Thus, no rock music was heard until around 1970. According to Scott Hower, a Radio TV major who was a DJ and the Chief Engineer from 1971 - 1974, rock was played in the evenings starting around 1970. A morning oldies format was aired from 6 - 10 am starting around 1971. Rock music, plus the fact that WDFM was in stereo, was a thorn in the side of at least one of the State College commercial radio stations (which did not upgrade to stereo until around 1972). The DJ's on that commercial station were forbidden from working at WDFM.

The station also presented live talk shows, including those with live and taped interviews of performing artists appearing on campus at the time. According to Deutsch, who served as assistant director of News as well as who anchored a Broadway show tune and other cultural programs, the news was gathered from the AP wire machine at the station. (On occasion the national / international news would be missing from the wire, likely taken by someone with a current events project due, and the newscast would be limited to the agricultural report. This "problem" was not a great loss to the listeners studying in that area.

One of the challenges of any noncommercial station is to raise funds. During the mid 1960, according to Deutsch, the WDFM staff would sell FM transistor radios for this purpose. This was a great idea inasmuch as this broadcast mode was relatively new technology.

On August 19, 1984, the station picked up the WPSU call letters, a year after the radio station at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, which had held them, was shuttered in 1983. WPSU became a part of Penn State Public Media under the university's Department of Continuing and Distance Education as opposed to being affiliated with the College of Communications, and is now a unit of Penn State Outreach.

Starting in the mid-1980s, as faculty involvement increased and student involvement decreased, WPSU-FM began syndicating NPR shows to an area where NPR hadn't previously been available. Such programming increased markedly from the late 1980s through the early 1990s. Finally, by 1992, WPSU-FM was a full-fledged NPR affiliate.

WPSU-FM provides student internship experiences through reporting assignments and on-air hosting, as well as has many community volunteer on-air hosts.

Internet edit

Live streaming edit

WPSU-FM's signal is streamed across the Internet 24-hours a day. [2]

Podcasts edit

WPSU-FM also has podcasts of the following programs:

  • WPSU Morning News
  • WPSU Weekly Features
  • BookMark
  • Penn State Forum
  • Take Note Radio
  • WPSU's Story Corps

Relationship with WKPS edit

When it signed on in December 1953, WPSU-FM was the student station for Penn State under the call letters WDFM. In the mid 1990s, a new station and signal was created—WKPS—that became the full-time student station. WKPS operates independently from WPSU-FM. WPSU-FM provides engineering and technical consultation, and development underwriting sales to support WKPS's efforts.

Simulcast edit

Translators edit

Call sign Frequency City of license FID FCC info Notes
W294AE 106.7 FM Altoona, Pennsylvania 66241 LMS Relays WPSU
W265BB 100.9 FM Bradford, Pennsylvania 86704 LMS Relays WPSX
W284AK 104.7 FM Clearfield, Pennsylvania 86099 LMS Relays WPSU
W221BD 92.1 FM Dubois, Pennsylvania 85865 LMS Relays WPSX
W273BE 102.5 FM Huntingdon, Pennsylvania 157398 LMS Relays WPSU

See also edit

  • WPSU-TV - a PBS TV station
  • WKPS - The Lion 90.7FM - Penn State Student Radio
  • WPSE - Penn State Erie's Money Station

References edit

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WPSU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ . Archived from the original on 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  3. ^ . Penn State University Archives. May 4, 2005. Archived from the original on January 24, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2006.

External links edit

  • WPSU website
  • WPSU in the FCC FM station database
  • WPSU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
  • FCC History Cards for WPSU

January 01, 1970
wpsu, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, march, 2011, learn, when, remove, this, message, wpsu, central, pennsylv. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations March 2011 Learn how and when to remove this message WPSU 91 5 FM is central Pennsylvania s only National Public Radio member radio station licensed to the Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees as a part of WPSU Penn State The over the air and digital signal reaches 13 counties in central and north central Pennsylvania The station is rebroadcast on WPSX 90 1 FM in Kane Both the 91 5 and 90 1 signals transmit in HD WPSUState College PennsylvaniaBroadcast areaState College PennsylvaniaFrequency91 5 MHz HD Radio BrandingWPSU Penn StateProgrammingFormatNews Classical musicSubchannelsHD2 WPSU 2 News Classical music HD3 Jazzworks Jazz AffiliationsAmerican Public MediaNational Public RadioPublic Radio InternationalOwnershipOwnerPennsylvania State UniversitySister stationsWPSU TVHistoryFirst air dateDecember 6 1953 1953 12 06 Former call signsWDFM 12 6 1953 8 19 1984 Call sign meaningPennsylvania State UniversityTechnical information 1 Licensing authorityFCCFacility ID66239ClassB1ERP1 700 wattsHAAT365 meters 1 198 ft Transmitter coordinates40 55 11 N 77 58 28 W 40 91972 N 77 97444 W 40 91972 77 97444 WPSU FM Translator s See TranslatorsRepeater s See SimulcastLinksPublic license informationPublic fileLMSWebcastListen liveWebsiteradio wbr wpsu wbr org Its production facilities are located along Innovation Park Boulevard outside State College With transmitters located throughout the region WPSU FM now serves over 450 000 listeners 1 in 13 central counties of the Commonwealth 24 hours a day 2 Through nationally and locally produced news features and music programs from NPR PRI and the station itself WPSU FM offers a variety of programming for a widely diverse listening audience Contents 1 History 2 Internet 2 1 Live streaming 2 2 Podcasts 3 Relationship with WKPS 4 Simulcast 5 Translators 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory editThe station went on the air December 6 1953 as WDFM It was first conceived by the Class of 1951 and given to the University as a class gift 3 The primary goal of WDFM was to provide a hands on learning experience for students interested in radio communications but it also strove to serve the community with unique programming A faculty member from the College of Communications served as a hands on manager and full time adviser The radio station enjoyed quite a bit of popularity and even controversy in its early days with certain DJs including future faculty adviser Robert Zimmerman opting to play cutting edge artists such as Elvis Presley when doing so was not widely deemed acceptable In the early days of WDFM the station was limited to jazz and classical music but Zimmerman staged call ins and requests to allow a wider variety of music to be featured According to Lauren Deutsch a Journalism major who serve in various roles from 1965 1969 DJs were limited to play only jazz folk Broadway musicals and Western early and classical music under an agreement with the commercial radio stations in State College and the region Thus no rock music was heard until around 1970 According to Scott Hower a Radio TV major who was a DJ and the Chief Engineer from 1971 1974 rock was played in the evenings starting around 1970 A morning oldies format was aired from 6 10 am starting around 1971 Rock music plus the fact that WDFM was in stereo was a thorn in the side of at least one of the State College commercial radio stations which did not upgrade to stereo until around 1972 The DJ s on that commercial station were forbidden from working at WDFM The station also presented live talk shows including those with live and taped interviews of performing artists appearing on campus at the time According to Deutsch who served as assistant director of News as well as who anchored a Broadway show tune and other cultural programs the news was gathered from the AP wire machine at the station On occasion the national international news would be missing from the wire likely taken by someone with a current events project due and the newscast would be limited to the agricultural report This problem was not a great loss to the listeners studying in that area One of the challenges of any noncommercial station is to raise funds During the mid 1960 according to Deutsch the WDFM staff would sell FM transistor radios for this purpose This was a great idea inasmuch as this broadcast mode was relatively new technology On August 19 1984 the station picked up the WPSU call letters a year after the radio station at Penn State Wilkes Barre which had held them was shuttered in 1983 WPSU became a part of Penn State Public Media under the university s Department of Continuing and Distance Education as opposed to being affiliated with the College of Communications and is now a unit of Penn State Outreach Starting in the mid 1980s as faculty involvement increased and student involvement decreased WPSU FM began syndicating NPR shows to an area where NPR hadn t previously been available Such programming increased markedly from the late 1980s through the early 1990s Finally by 1992 WPSU FM was a full fledged NPR affiliate WPSU FM provides student internship experiences through reporting assignments and on air hosting as well as has many community volunteer on air hosts Internet editLive streaming edit WPSU FM s signal is streamed across the Internet 24 hours a day 2 Podcasts edit WPSU FM also has podcasts of the following programs WPSU Morning News WPSU Weekly Features BookMark Penn State Forum Take Note Radio WPSU s Story CorpsRelationship with WKPS editWhen it signed on in December 1953 WPSU FM was the student station for Penn State under the call letters WDFM In the mid 1990s a new station and signal was created WKPS that became the full time student station WKPS operates independently from WPSU FM WPSU FM provides engineering and technical consultation and development underwriting sales to support WKPS s efforts Simulcast editCall sign Frequency City of license Facility ID ERPW Heightm ft Class Transmitter coordinates WPSX 90 1 FM HD Kane Pennsylvania 66240 17 000 232 m 761 ft B 41 37 4 N 78 48 14 W 41 61778 N 78 80389 W 41 61778 78 80389 WPSX Translators editCall sign Frequency City of license FID FCC info Notes W294AE 106 7 FM Altoona Pennsylvania 66241 LMS Relays WPSU W265BB 100 9 FM Bradford Pennsylvania 86704 LMS Relays WPSX W284AK 104 7 FM Clearfield Pennsylvania 86099 LMS Relays WPSU W221BD 92 1 FM Dubois Pennsylvania 85865 LMS Relays WPSX W273BE 102 5 FM Huntingdon Pennsylvania 157398 LMS Relays WPSUSee also editWPSU TV a PBS TV station WKPS The Lion 90 7FM Penn State Student Radio WPSE Penn State Erie s Money StationReferences edit Facility Technical Data for WPSU Licensing and Management System Federal Communications Commission WPSU About Coverage Area Archived from the original on 2013 04 12 Retrieved 2013 07 30 Special Collections Library Senior Class Gifts Penn State University Archives May 4 2005 Archived from the original on January 24 2007 Retrieved December 16 2006 External links editWPSU website WPSU in the FCC FM station database WPSU in Nielsen Audio s FM station database FCC History Cards for WPSU Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title WPSU FM amp oldid 1180792005, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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