KTEP
Encyclopedia
KTEP is a non-commercial radio station broadcasting a National Public Radio format from the Communication Department at the University of Texas at El Paso
in the United States
. Jazz
music is broadcast from 1am to 5am.
The station began in October 1946 as WTCM, a carrier current
station based at what was then Texas College of Mines. In 1947, it changed its calls to KVOF after finding out the WTCM
call letters were already being used by a station in Traverse City, Michigan
. In 1950, it applied for and won a full license. The station began broadcasting educational programming aimed at elementary school students as well. Originally broadcasting at 10 watts, in 1966 it moved to space on KROD-TV (now KDBC-TV
)'s tower, boosting its coverage area to every zip code in El Paso. In 1967, the station moved to its current call letters of KTEP along with the university name change to The University of Texas at El Paso.
In 1971, the station became a charter member of National Public Radio and increased its broadcast day to 18 hours and to 24 hours in 1997. In 1980, it moved its tower to its current location on KVIA-TV
's tower.
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music is broadcast from 1am to 5am.
The station began in October 1946 as WTCM, a carrier current
Carrier current
Carrier current is a method of low power AM radio transmission that uses the AC electrical system of a building to propagate a medium frequency, AM signal to a relatively small area, such as a building or a group of buildings...
station based at what was then Texas College of Mines. In 1947, it changed its calls to KVOF after finding out the WTCM
WTCM (AM)
WTCM is an AM radio station broadcasting in Traverse City, Michigan, operating on 580 kHz. The two stations are owned by Midwestern Broadcasting, which started WTCM-AM in 1940...
call letters were already being used by a station in Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse...
. In 1950, it applied for and won a full license. The station began broadcasting educational programming aimed at elementary school students as well. Originally broadcasting at 10 watts, in 1966 it moved to space on KROD-TV (now KDBC-TV
KDBC-TV
KDBC-TV is the CBS affiliate in El Paso, Texas. The station is owned by the Titan TV Broadcast Group. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 18. Its new digital subchannel carries My Network TV...
)'s tower, boosting its coverage area to every zip code in El Paso. In 1967, the station moved to its current call letters of KTEP along with the university name change to The University of Texas at El Paso.
In 1971, the station became a charter member of National Public Radio and increased its broadcast day to 18 hours and to 24 hours in 1997. In 1980, it moved its tower to its current location on KVIA-TV
KVIA-TV
KVIA-TV is an ABC affiliate television station in El Paso, Texas. It broadcasts its digital signal on channel 7 and channel 17. It is owned by and was the flagship television station of the News-Press & Gazette Company of St. Joseph, Missouri before the company acquired KRDO-TV. Its transmitter is...
's tower.