WEPS
Encyclopedia
WEPS is a radio station
licensed
to serve Elgin, Illinois
, USA. The station is owned by the Elgin Area School District U46
and licensed to Board of Education School District U-46. Founded in 1950, WEPS is the oldest non-commercial educational
radio station in the state of Illinois.
WEPS broadcasts a public radio format as a member of Wisconsin Public Radio
. WEPS also airs programming from National Public Radio and the BBC World Service
. The Illinois-based station joined Wisconsin Public Radio on September 28, 2005, as part of the Ideas Network, WPR's news and information service.
Originally licensed in 1950 to broadcast at 88.1 MHz, WEPS originally broadcast instructional programs to the Elgin Public Schools, local high school sporting events, and was partially staffed by students to give them experience in high school radio
station operation. The effort to bring WEPS on the air was led by Ernest C. Waggoner, director of audio-visual education for the school district. WEPS moved to its current 88.9 MHz frequency in the late 1970s.
, filed an application to force WEPS to share time on the 88.9 MHz frequency with a new non-commercial station as part of a larger filing against high school radio
stations across the United States. The school district filed a petition to deny this application on April 27, 2005, RB Schools filed its opposition to the petition on May 12, 2005, and the district replied on May 24, 2005. The application was ultimately dismissed and the WEPS license was renewed on May 26, 2005. RB Schools filed a petition for reconsideration on July 1, 2005, and the school district filed its opposition to the petition on July 13, 2005. After due consideration, the petition was granted in part but mostly denied by the FCC on June 29, 2006. RB Schools filed an application for review on August 23, 2006. The district filed its opposition to this application on September 5, 2006, and RB Schools replied on September 15, 2006. As of early December 2008, the Elgin School District remains the sole licensee.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to serve Elgin, Illinois
Elgin, Illinois
Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...
, USA. The station is owned by the Elgin Area School District U46
Elgin Area School District U46
Elgin Area School District U46, often referred to as "U-46", is a unit school district headquartered in Elgin, Kane County, Illinois. Covering , the district serves portions of eleven communities in the northwest suburbs of Chicago in Cook, DuPage and Kane Counties. School District U-46 serves over...
and licensed to Board of Education School District U-46. Founded in 1950, WEPS is the oldest non-commercial educational
Non-commercial educational
The term non-commercial educational applies to a radio station or TV station that does not accept on air advertisements , as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission . NCE stations do not pay broadcast license fees for their non-profit uses of the radio spectrum...
radio station in the state of Illinois.
WEPS broadcasts a public radio format as a member of Wisconsin Public Radio
Wisconsin Public Radio
Wisconsin Public Radio is a network of 32 radio stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct analog services, the Ideas Network and the NPR News and Classical Network, as well as the "HD2 Classical Service," a digital-only, full-time classical music service.-Ideas...
. WEPS also airs programming from National Public Radio and the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
. The Illinois-based station joined Wisconsin Public Radio on September 28, 2005, as part of the Ideas Network, WPR's news and information service.
Originally licensed in 1950 to broadcast at 88.1 MHz, WEPS originally broadcast instructional programs to the Elgin Public Schools, local high school sporting events, and was partially staffed by students to give them experience in high school radio
High school radio
High school radio within the United States is almost as old as radio broadcasting itself. Simply defined as a radio station, with its studios located at a high school and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision, stations fitting this description existed in the mid-1920s...
station operation. The effort to bring WEPS on the air was led by Ernest C. Waggoner, director of audio-visual education for the school district. WEPS moved to its current 88.9 MHz frequency in the late 1970s.
2004 license renewal objection by outside party
On July 28, 2004, the Elgin School District filed a routine license renewal request, as required by FCC regulations. On November 1, 2004, a non-profit educational organization with religious ties known as "RB Schools" based in Keene, TexasKeene, Texas
Keene is a city in Johnson County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,196 in 2006.-Geography:Keene is located at ....
, filed an application to force WEPS to share time on the 88.9 MHz frequency with a new non-commercial station as part of a larger filing against high school radio
High school radio
High school radio within the United States is almost as old as radio broadcasting itself. Simply defined as a radio station, with its studios located at a high school and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision, stations fitting this description existed in the mid-1920s...
stations across the United States. The school district filed a petition to deny this application on April 27, 2005, RB Schools filed its opposition to the petition on May 12, 2005, and the district replied on May 24, 2005. The application was ultimately dismissed and the WEPS license was renewed on May 26, 2005. RB Schools filed a petition for reconsideration on July 1, 2005, and the school district filed its opposition to the petition on July 13, 2005. After due consideration, the petition was granted in part but mostly denied by the FCC on June 29, 2006. RB Schools filed an application for review on August 23, 2006. The district filed its opposition to this application on September 5, 2006, and RB Schools replied on September 15, 2006. As of early December 2008, the Elgin School District remains the sole licensee.