WKMS-FM
Encyclopedia
WKMS-FM is a non-commercial National Public Radio-affiliated station operated by Murray State University
in Murray, Kentucky
. WKMS features a variety of National Public Radio programming and local music shows ranging from classical music
, bluegrass
, alternative rock
, jazz
, electronica
and world music
. WKMS signed on May 11, 1970 as a non-commercial, educational FM station licensed to Murray State University.
and Madisonville, KY as well as Paris, TN. In 2009 WKMS will install repeater services for Madisonville, KY as well as Fulton, KY, Martin, TN and Union City, TN.
Terrestrial listening communities are throughout southernmost Illinois
, far western Kentucky
, and northwest Tennessee
. Listeners throughout the world can seek wkms.org for "home-away-from-home" listening experiences.
The station offers 2 independent channels of programming on its digital signal: HD-1 simulcasts programming on analog 91.3 FM while HD-2 offers classical music programming 24 hours a day. WKMS has emergency auxiliary transmitters at its tower on the site of the former Mont, Kentucky in Land Between the Lakes, and at its studios on the 8th floor of Price Doyle Fine Arts Center, Murray State University
.
WKMS broadcasts programming from National Public Radio, American Public Media
, Public Radio International
, the BBC
, the Associated Press
, independent producers from around the nation and from producers who are either on staff or volunteers. WKMS News is a contributing correspondent with the Kentucky Public Radio
News Exchange and a partner in funding the Kentucky Capitol Bureau.
Mission statement:
The Mission of WKMS is to inform, enrich and entertain. WKMS supports the strategic imperatives of its licensee Murray State University: fostering excellence, creating communities, and building partnerships.
owner Chuck Shuffett gave the Murray State drama department an hour a week to broadcast plays adapted for radio. It wasn’t until October 4, 1949 the first broadcast from Murray State College
was heard with Murray State College on the Air. The college studio from which was broadcast consisted of a hand-made control board located in the old economics room on the third floor of Wilson Hall
. The title of the show was changed in the 1950s
to The Thoroughbred Hour and broadcast nightly half-hour segments. The content changed from radio plays to campus information. The Thoroughbred Hour was under the direction of Charles Henry Stamps through the use of a telephone line
.
In 1962, The Thoroughbred Hour’s staff was split into an audio department and into a technical department under the direction of a student program director and a student chief engineer. In the early 1960s
a news department was added emphasizing on in-depth–on-the-spot reporting for the southwestern Kentucky
area. In 1964 an official station manager, program director and engineer was instituted and The Thoroughbred Hour. Also in 1964 special broadcasts came into being with the Homecoming Parade. The Thoroughbred Hour was extended into full our segments Monday through Friday and two hours on Sunday in 1965. During this year live broadcasts expanded and included broadcasts from the Auditorium, the Student Union Building, freshman basketball games, Dr. Wood’s Twentieth Year Banquet, and the Quad-State Band and Choral Festivals. The Thoroughbred Hour Tape Library was formed in 1966. It provided the college with a permanent record of important events. By 1967 a Board of Directors was established.
Up until 1969, WKMS was originally called “The Radio Center, The Voice of Murray State.” Executive assistant Ray Mofield’s pushed for a radio station for the 1965-66 college budgets. Mofield convinced, then President of Murray State College, Ralph Woods of the benefits from a radio station on campus, and as a result $15,000 was set aside for its development. In 1968 Woods applied for a non-commercial educational radio license from the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and requested to be located at 91.7. In 1969 the FCC granted a construction permit for WKMS to operate at 91.3, 91.7 was already taken.
President of Murray State, Dr. Harry Sparks noted this milestone and said, “With this radio station’s audience we lengthen the shadow and multiply the sphere of influence of this University. Every broadcast of whatever type is a public relations message saying something about this school.” Sparks also put forth a mission for WKMS to follow, “We perceive WKMS as the window on the world for our region. It will help cast a longer shadow for Murray State University
and will deliver not only news about Murray State but will also offer culturally and educationally enriched programming throughout the Murray State region.” At first the station only employed Mofield as a general manager and Thomas Morgan as station manager and was assisted by students and volunteers. As a result broadcasts were only manageable while school was in session.
The two rooms in the northwest corner of Wilson Hall just weren’t meeting the productive professional environmental needs of educational radio broadcasts Mofield had first envisioned. Mofield and other faculty of Murray State recruited about a million dollars to build the Price Doyle Fine Arts Building, the new location for WKMS. In September 1971 the building was officially open for use. In its permanent home on the sixth floor (in the late nineties the sixth floor became known as the eighth floor), WKMS was fully equipped with offices, soundproof studios, state-of-the-art RCA
equipment, and a new stereo with FM
capability. In the September of 1972 WKMS affiliated itself with National Public Radio. NPR’s news programs set the standard for comprehensive and enlightening reporting. 91.3 was among the first public radio stations to affiliate with National Public Radio. When NPR was created, stations affiliated receive support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
, a nonprofit organization funded by the United States Congress
. With finances from CPB, the station was able to upgrade its network interconnection: a high-quality telephone line. As NPR and WKMS converged, All Things Considered
became the only daily newscast at the station and was an instant success. In 1973, WKMS received its first underwriter for thirteen weeks from the Cleveland Orchestra
. Businesses took a queue from the Orchestra and began participating in underwriting
. 1973 was also a landmark year as the Watergate Hearings were in progress. WKMS provided the only radio source in western Kentucky for the hearings. WKMS has since provided a service for the region in equally important moments in United States
history, such airing the hearings regarding the nomination of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
to the Supreme Court of the United States
, complete coverage of the Columbia Shuttle Disaster, complete coverage of the beginning of U.S. operations in Afghanistan
, the Presidential impeachment proceedings of 1999, complete coverage of the events following the September 11 attacks in 2001, and complete coverage of the January 2009 Central Plains and Midwest ice storm
that hit most of western Kentucky and the surrounding region.
October 1976 marked the first year WKMS started membership coordination. “Student friends” could donate three dollars, “friends” could donate five dollars, “good friends” could donate ten dollars, “great friends” could donate twenty-five dollars, and “best friends” to the station could donate fifty dollars. These membership donation applications were sent in the mail and found on the back of the first programming guide. The programming guides were a membership type of magazine released monthly at first and then seasonally. It always started off with a letter from the station manager discussing new programs added to the schedule and the reasons some others were taken away. There were statements of the current financial situation as well as a reminder of the importance of listener support. The guide would also have a grid of a regular week’s program schedule in it, and the breakdown of each show’s features. Later it would include features on staff, volunteers, musicians, and/or composers. In later guides it would also eventually mention the involvement of WKMS in the community and community feedback.
The advent of advanced technology took place in the late seventies with a sophisticated system of satellite interconnection of radio and televisions around the country. Before the new technology, stations were linked by terrestrial land lines that were leased from AT&T
. Costly telephone lines delivered a low quality signal, and were only suitable for talk programs to be sent through. This new, however, would transmit all programs, music and talk, through satellite
and, “be of the highest quality.” The satellite transmissions would also permit stereo and quadraphonic network broadcasts, therefore allowing WKMS to broadcast live stereo concerts from anywhere in the world. Consequently content for the air was enlarged and the station was given more options to choose from.
On November 5, 1979 Morning Edition
premiered and became an instant hit like its counterpart All Things Considered. It also was the first show to transmit from NPR through the new satellite terminal. That year WKMS received a $150,000 facilities grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to increase power and upgrade studio facilities, a milestone acquisition. The station moved its transmission from the old KET
tower in Farmington, KY to its present co-location with the Kentucky Early Warning System in Land between the Lakes. The 501 feet (152.7 m) tower and the station’s two transmitters receive the WKMS signal from the studios at Murray State University by microwave.
The eighties were a notable decade for WKMS-FM. On March 30, 1980 at 5 p.m. WKMS boosted its power to 100,000 watts, Dick Estell
from Radio Reader stopped by the studios in 1983 to help a fundraiser, and listener Joy Thomas of Murray won the “Powdermilk Biscuit” recipe contest. Weekend Edition premiered on Saturday November 2, 1985. At first it was only aired on Saturdays. It took until January 18, 1987 to debut a Sunday Weekend Edition. It was at this time NPR provided a full news service for seven mornings and seven evenings. Furthermore, both NPR news shows were well received by WKMS listeners.
91.3 experienced nationwide recognition with homegrown shows that were syndicated through NPR around the country. Twenty-seven NPR stations in sixteen states (ten percent of the network at the time) picked up The Black Cats Jump; a WKMS produced show hosted by Bobby Bryan. The Black Cats Jump was a thirteen week series of hour long programs on big band music. The series featured some of the great black big band leaders, sidemen, vocalists, and arrangers. The first show was aired live on Friday October 3, 1980 at 8 p.m. Bryan was inspired to do the show with the re-release of many of the big band sides on re-mastered 33⅓ and 45 rpm vinyl
which featured the contributions of the black band leaders, sidemen, vocalists and arrangers from 1934 to 1950. He explained, “During the ‘30s and ‘40s, the big hotels and ballrooms played by white bands controlled most of the air time for big bands, and black bands simply did not get the exposure they deserved. And if you didn’t get air time, your records didn’t sell very well.” He said most every white musician copied and learned from black musicians, but the public didn’t know. It wasn’t until the likes of Benny Goodman
, Charlie Barnet
, Artie Shaw
, and others began to integrate the bands and share the spot light. Bryan later created another thirteen-hour series about Billie Holliday and the musical biographies of over forty major artists that had played with her over three decades. He named it Lady Day and the Cats. Nearly one hundred stations in thirty-six states picked up Lady Day.
The eighties also saw the switch from vinyl records and cassette tapes to compact discs, or CDs. WKMS took the opportunity to provide the community with tips on how to buy CDs, who to buy from, what genres sounded better, and so forth. On August 21, 1988 a lighting strike set off a chain reaction that, “fried many components and circuitry,” within the transmitter. As a result the station had noticeably long dead air. Station manager Janet Kenney cleverly named it, “Sounds of Silence,” and used it to WKMS’s advantage. In the fall 1988 programming guide she addressed the situation to listeners and challenged them to recall the need they had for public radio during the silence, and reminded them of the importance of their support. The fall Friendship Festival that year easily met the fundraiser goal and surpassed it.
, Fredric J. Cowan, wrote to WKMS. He commended the station for fulfilling Murray and western Kentucky with information, “that is crucial in our system of democracy." WKMS celebrated its twentieth birthday that year, and as a special birthday treat, Bob Edwards
, host of Morning Edition, came to WKMS for a Special Guest open house informal seminar. He also joined the WKMS staff and volunteers at the Paducah Symphony’s Concert in the Park at Kentucky Dam Village State Park. On July 15, 1994 the old fine arts center, a connecting building to the Doyle Price Fine Arts Center, caught fire. 91.3 was off the air at 9 a.m. until the next day. WKMS remained unharmed, but with a few smoky studios as an exception.
During the nineties WKMS expanded airing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week in a five state area. The creation on on-line streaming offers world wide listening opportunities. Translators have been put up to expand broadcasts to 92.1 Paducah
, 99.5 Paris, TN, and 105.1 Madisonville
. Two studios were also added to the station.
In the late spring of 2007 WKMS-FM provided a new digital signal
which virtually eliminates noise in broadcasting such as static, hissess, pops, and fades. The new techonology also provides a second channel in which WKMS airs 24/7 classical music. NPR and Public Radio International
(PRI) now send shows through the internet
. It is only a matter of minutes that a show can be received. This new process is much faster than the 1979 satellite transmission that recorded shows in real time.
, power was temporarily lost to the regional signal at the tower and HD radio
digital transmission system in Land Between the Lakes and operated on its studio site auxiliary
system, a low-power transmitter and line that reached most of Calloway County and the WKMS transmitter in Paris, Tennessee
.
By January 31, a generator obtained with the assistance of the Calloway County Emergency Operations Center and the Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Service, enabled the station to resume its regional analogue service, however the HD radio
signal remained damaged and inoperable. Tower inspections revealed icing damage to a flange weld connecting the digital antenna to its transmission line, resulting in water damage to the line itself. Repairs estimated nearly $40,000 in previously unbudgeted expenditures for the public radio service licensed to Murray State University
. All services, including the HD radio
signal, have since resumed normal operations.
In March 2010, WKMS signed on a new repeater service, 90.9 FM, WKMD, Madisonville. Additionally, the station put its all-classical WKMS HD-2 service on its 105.1 FM, Madisonville translator. The repeater service at 90.9 FM,transmits from a tower on campus at Madisonville Community College
. This is repeater transmitter broadcasts a signal at a power just over 20,000 watts. 90.9 FM WKMD, Madisonville rebroadcasts 91.3 FM, Murray areas of Union, Webster, Davies, McLean, Ohio, Muhlenberg and Christian counties previously outside a public radio service coverage area and boosts the reception for listeners in Hopkins County.
In June 2010, WKMS improved reception for listeners in Fulton, South Fulton, Martin and Union City, Tennessee with repeater service 89.5 FM WKMT, Fulton. WKMT restores a strong signal from WKMS to Fulton, one of the communities that experienced reduced reception when WKMS moved its transmission site from Farmington, Kentucky
, to Land Between the Lakes in 1980. WKMS is using a data-link connection to transmit programming to the WKMT tower from its studios in Price Doyle Fine Arts Building at Murray State.
, individual listener contributors, businesses and corporations, and grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
administering funds appropriated by the U.S. Congress. The proportion of funding and funding sources vary from station to station across the nation. WKMS listeners provide the lion’s share of the part of the budget which WKMS must raise to match support from Murray State University. For every public radio station listener support is the single most important source of funding, because listener dollars inspire ALL other revenue providers.
, Pennington Festival in Princeton, Kentucky
, concert broadcasts with Paducah Symphony Orchestra, and other art agencies.
, Talk of the Nation
, All Things Considered
, World Café
, Car Talk
, A Prairie Home Companion
, Fresh Air
and Hearts of Space
.
WKMS produces several local programs, which focus on regional news or a specific genre of music.
, which plays classical music
around the clock, co-created by Minnesota Public Radio
and Public Radio International
. HD Radio
broadcasting has dramatically higher quality audio with far more programming choice and compelling new wireless data services brought to you by your local radio station. HD radio eliminates static, hiss, pops and fades. In addition, the wireless data feature enables text information – titles, artists, weather and traffic alerts – to be broadcast directly to your receiver’s display screen. Another feature of HD radio is FM Multicasting – the ability to broadcast multiple program streams over a single FM frequency, for example: 91.3-1, 91.3-2, etc.
Murray State University
Murray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...
in Murray, Kentucky
Murray, Kentucky
Murray is a city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,741 at the 2010 census and has a micropolitan area population of 37,191. It is the 22nd largest city in Kentucky...
. WKMS features a variety of National Public Radio programming and local music shows ranging from classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, 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...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
. WKMS signed on May 11, 1970 as a non-commercial, educational FM station licensed to Murray State University.
Overview
The station now broadcasts in analog FM stereo and HD Digital on 91.3 MHz, with 100,000 watts analog and 1,000 watts digital, from antennas nearly 600 feet above average terrain currently located at Land Between the Lakes, and streams these signals at wkms.org. The station also operates translators in PaducahPaducah
Paducah is the name of multiple places in the United States of America:* Paducah, Kentucky, a city on the Ohio River* Paducah, Texas, a small town named after the city in Kentucky...
and Madisonville, KY as well as Paris, TN. In 2009 WKMS will install repeater services for Madisonville, KY as well as Fulton, KY, Martin, TN and Union City, TN.
Terrestrial listening communities are throughout southernmost Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, far western Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and northwest Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Listeners throughout the world can seek wkms.org for "home-away-from-home" listening experiences.
The station offers 2 independent channels of programming on its digital signal: HD-1 simulcasts programming on analog 91.3 FM while HD-2 offers classical music programming 24 hours a day. WKMS has emergency auxiliary transmitters at its tower on the site of the former Mont, Kentucky in Land Between the Lakes, and at its studios on the 8th floor of Price Doyle Fine Arts Center, Murray State University
Murray State University
Murray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...
.
WKMS broadcasts programming from National Public Radio, American Public Media
American Public Media
American Public Media is the second largest producer of public radio programs in the United States of America after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota, California, and Florida. Its station brands are Minnesota Public Radio,...
, Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, independent producers from around the nation and from producers who are either on staff or volunteers. WKMS News is a contributing correspondent with the Kentucky Public Radio
Kentucky Public Radio
Kentucky Public Radio is a grassroots public radio network. While it maintains a statehouse bureau, the network has seen itself as providing support services. Instead of a focus on production, KPR promotes cooperation between partner-stations through a story exchange, a statehouse bureau, and...
News Exchange and a partner in funding the Kentucky Capitol Bureau.
Mission statement:
The Mission of WKMS is to inform, enrich and entertain. WKMS supports the strategic imperatives of its licensee Murray State University: fostering excellence, creating communities, and building partnerships.
Early history
In 1948 WNBSWNBS
WNBS is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Murray, Kentucky, USA. The station is currently owned by Forever Communications, Inc...
owner Chuck Shuffett gave the Murray State drama department an hour a week to broadcast plays adapted for radio. It wasn’t until October 4, 1949 the first broadcast from Murray State College
Murray State College
Murray State College, is a public, co-educational community college located in southeastern Oklahoma with the main campus located in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. The college is named in honor of former Oklahoma Governor William H...
was heard with Murray State College on the Air. The college studio from which was broadcast consisted of a hand-made control board located in the old economics room on the third floor of Wilson Hall
Wilson Hall
Wilson Hall may refer to:*Wilson Hall , listed on the NRHP in Maine*Wilson Hall-Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR, listed on the NRHP in Arkansas*Wilson Hall, a member of music group God's Pottery...
. The title of the show was changed in the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
to The Thoroughbred Hour and broadcast nightly half-hour segments. The content changed from radio plays to campus information. The Thoroughbred Hour was under the direction of Charles Henry Stamps through the use of a telephone line
Telephone line
A telephone line or telephone circuit is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system...
.
In 1962, The Thoroughbred Hour’s staff was split into an audio department and into a technical department under the direction of a student program director and a student chief engineer. In the early 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
a news department was added emphasizing on in-depth–on-the-spot reporting for the southwestern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
area. In 1964 an official station manager, program director and engineer was instituted and The Thoroughbred Hour. Also in 1964 special broadcasts came into being with the Homecoming Parade. The Thoroughbred Hour was extended into full our segments Monday through Friday and two hours on Sunday in 1965. During this year live broadcasts expanded and included broadcasts from the Auditorium, the Student Union Building, freshman basketball games, Dr. Wood’s Twentieth Year Banquet, and the Quad-State Band and Choral Festivals. The Thoroughbred Hour Tape Library was formed in 1966. It provided the college with a permanent record of important events. By 1967 a Board of Directors was established.
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) and requested to be located at 91.7. In 1969 the FCC granted a construction permit for WKMS to operate at 91.3, 91.7 was already taken.
1970s
WKMS-FM, the broadcasting service of Murray State, signed on air May 11, 1970.President of Murray State, Dr. Harry Sparks noted this milestone and said, “With this radio station’s audience we lengthen the shadow and multiply the sphere of influence of this University. Every broadcast of whatever type is a public relations message saying something about this school.” Sparks also put forth a mission for WKMS to follow, “We perceive WKMS as the window on the world for our region. It will help cast a longer shadow for Murray State University
Murray State University
Murray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...
and will deliver not only news about Murray State but will also offer culturally and educationally enriched programming throughout the Murray State region.” At first the station only employed Mofield as a general manager and Thomas Morgan as station manager and was assisted by students and volunteers. As a result broadcasts were only manageable while school was in session.
The two rooms in the northwest corner of Wilson Hall just weren’t meeting the productive professional environmental needs of educational radio broadcasts Mofield had first envisioned. Mofield and other faculty of Murray State recruited about a million dollars to build the Price Doyle Fine Arts Building, the new location for WKMS. In September 1971 the building was officially open for use. In its permanent home on the sixth floor (in the late nineties the sixth floor became known as the eighth floor), WKMS was fully equipped with offices, soundproof studios, state-of-the-art RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
equipment, and a new stereo with FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
capability. In the September of 1972 WKMS affiliated itself with National Public Radio. NPR’s news programs set the standard for comprehensive and enlightening reporting. 91.3 was among the first public radio stations to affiliate with National Public Radio. When NPR was created, stations affiliated receive support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
, a nonprofit organization funded by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. With finances from CPB, the station was able to upgrade its network interconnection: a high-quality telephone line. As NPR and WKMS converged, All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
became the only daily newscast at the station and was an instant success. In 1973, WKMS received its first underwriter for thirteen weeks from the Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
. Businesses took a queue from the Orchestra and began participating in underwriting
Underwriting
Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products . The name derives from the Lloyd's of London insurance market...
. 1973 was also a landmark year as the Watergate Hearings were in progress. WKMS provided the only radio source in western Kentucky for the hearings. WKMS has since provided a service for the region in equally important moments in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history, such airing the hearings regarding the nomination of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
to the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
, complete coverage of the Columbia Shuttle Disaster, complete coverage of the beginning of U.S. operations in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, the Presidential impeachment proceedings of 1999, complete coverage of the events following the September 11 attacks in 2001, and complete coverage of the January 2009 Central Plains and Midwest ice storm
January 2009 Central Plains and Midwest ice storm
The January 2009 ice storm was a major ice storm that occurred over parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The storm produced widespread power outages for over 2 million people due to heavy ice accumulation...
that hit most of western Kentucky and the surrounding region.
October 1976 marked the first year WKMS started membership coordination. “Student friends” could donate three dollars, “friends” could donate five dollars, “good friends” could donate ten dollars, “great friends” could donate twenty-five dollars, and “best friends” to the station could donate fifty dollars. These membership donation applications were sent in the mail and found on the back of the first programming guide. The programming guides were a membership type of magazine released monthly at first and then seasonally. It always started off with a letter from the station manager discussing new programs added to the schedule and the reasons some others were taken away. There were statements of the current financial situation as well as a reminder of the importance of listener support. The guide would also have a grid of a regular week’s program schedule in it, and the breakdown of each show’s features. Later it would include features on staff, volunteers, musicians, and/or composers. In later guides it would also eventually mention the involvement of WKMS in the community and community feedback.
The advent of advanced technology took place in the late seventies with a sophisticated system of satellite interconnection of radio and televisions around the country. Before the new technology, stations were linked by terrestrial land lines that were leased from AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
. Costly telephone lines delivered a low quality signal, and were only suitable for talk programs to be sent through. This new, however, would transmit all programs, music and talk, through satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
and, “be of the highest quality.” The satellite transmissions would also permit stereo and quadraphonic network broadcasts, therefore allowing WKMS to broadcast live stereo concerts from anywhere in the world. Consequently content for the air was enlarged and the station was given more options to choose from.
On November 5, 1979 Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
premiered and became an instant hit like its counterpart All Things Considered. It also was the first show to transmit from NPR through the new satellite terminal. That year WKMS received a $150,000 facilities grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to increase power and upgrade studio facilities, a milestone acquisition. The station moved its transmission from the old KET
Ket
Ket can also refer to:*Ket people, a people of Siberia*Ket language, the language of the Ket people*Ket River, a river in Siberia*Keť, a village in south-west Slovakia...
tower in Farmington, KY to its present co-location with the Kentucky Early Warning System in Land between the Lakes. The 501 feet (152.7 m) tower and the station’s two transmitters receive the WKMS signal from the studios at Murray State University by microwave.
1980s
Dick Estell
Dick Estell is the host and producer of The Radio Reader, a serial public radio program in which the host reads aloud from contemporary novels...
from Radio Reader stopped by the studios in 1983 to help a fundraiser, and listener Joy Thomas of Murray won the “Powdermilk Biscuit” recipe contest. Weekend Edition premiered on Saturday November 2, 1985. At first it was only aired on Saturdays. It took until January 18, 1987 to debut a Sunday Weekend Edition. It was at this time NPR provided a full news service for seven mornings and seven evenings. Furthermore, both NPR news shows were well received by WKMS listeners.
91.3 experienced nationwide recognition with homegrown shows that were syndicated through NPR around the country. Twenty-seven NPR stations in sixteen states (ten percent of the network at the time) picked up The Black Cats Jump; a WKMS produced show hosted by Bobby Bryan. The Black Cats Jump was a thirteen week series of hour long programs on big band music. The series featured some of the great black big band leaders, sidemen, vocalists, and arrangers. The first show was aired live on Friday October 3, 1980 at 8 p.m. Bryan was inspired to do the show with the re-release of many of the big band sides on re-mastered 33⅓ and 45 rpm vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
which featured the contributions of the black band leaders, sidemen, vocalists and arrangers from 1934 to 1950. He explained, “During the ‘30s and ‘40s, the big hotels and ballrooms played by white bands controlled most of the air time for big bands, and black bands simply did not get the exposure they deserved. And if you didn’t get air time, your records didn’t sell very well.” He said most every white musician copied and learned from black musicians, but the public didn’t know. It wasn’t until the likes of Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, Charlie Barnet
Charlie Barnet
Charles Daly Barnet was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.His major recordings were "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffle".-Early life:...
, Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
, and others began to integrate the bands and share the spot light. Bryan later created another thirteen-hour series about Billie Holliday and the musical biographies of over forty major artists that had played with her over three decades. He named it Lady Day and the Cats. Nearly one hundred stations in thirty-six states picked up Lady Day.
The eighties also saw the switch from vinyl records and cassette tapes to compact discs, or CDs. WKMS took the opportunity to provide the community with tips on how to buy CDs, who to buy from, what genres sounded better, and so forth. On August 21, 1988 a lighting strike set off a chain reaction that, “fried many components and circuitry,” within the transmitter. As a result the station had noticeably long dead air. Station manager Janet Kenney cleverly named it, “Sounds of Silence,” and used it to WKMS’s advantage. In the fall 1988 programming guide she addressed the situation to listeners and challenged them to recall the need they had for public radio during the silence, and reminded them of the importance of their support. The fall Friendship Festival that year easily met the fundraiser goal and surpassed it.
1990s
January 24, 1990 the Attorney General of KentuckyAttorney General of Kentucky
The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. . Under Kentucky law, he serves several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor , the state's chief law enforcement officer , and the state's chief law officer...
, Fredric J. Cowan, wrote to WKMS. He commended the station for fulfilling Murray and western Kentucky with information, “that is crucial in our system of democracy." WKMS celebrated its twentieth birthday that year, and as a special birthday treat, Bob Edwards
Bob Edwards
Robert Alan Edwards is a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was the first broadcaster with a large national following to join the field of satellite radio...
, host of Morning Edition, came to WKMS for a Special Guest open house informal seminar. He also joined the WKMS staff and volunteers at the Paducah Symphony’s Concert in the Park at Kentucky Dam Village State Park. On July 15, 1994 the old fine arts center, a connecting building to the Doyle Price Fine Arts Center, caught fire. 91.3 was off the air at 9 a.m. until the next day. WKMS remained unharmed, but with a few smoky studios as an exception.
During the nineties WKMS expanded airing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week in a five state area. The creation on on-line streaming offers world wide listening opportunities. Translators have been put up to expand broadcasts to 92.1 Paducah
Paducah
Paducah is the name of multiple places in the United States of America:* Paducah, Kentucky, a city on the Ohio River* Paducah, Texas, a small town named after the city in Kentucky...
, 99.5 Paris, TN, and 105.1 Madisonville
Madisonville
Places named Madisonville in the United States include:* Madisonville, Kentucky* Madisonville, Louisiana* Madisonville, Cincinnati, Ohio* Madisonville, Tennessee* Madisonville, Texas...
. Two studios were also added to the station.
2000s
Digital signal
A digital signal is a physical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values , for example of an arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized analog signal...
which virtually eliminates noise in broadcasting such as static, hissess, pops, and fades. The new techonology also provides a second channel in which WKMS airs 24/7 classical music. NPR and Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
(PRI) now send shows through the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. It is only a matter of minutes that a show can be received. This new process is much faster than the 1979 satellite transmission that recorded shows in real time.
The January 2009 Central Plains and Midwest ice storm
During the January 2009 Central Plains and Midwest ice stormJanuary 2009 Central Plains and Midwest ice storm
The January 2009 ice storm was a major ice storm that occurred over parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The storm produced widespread power outages for over 2 million people due to heavy ice accumulation...
, power was temporarily lost to the regional signal at the tower and HD radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
digital transmission system in Land Between the Lakes and operated on its studio site auxiliary
Auxiliary
Auxiliary may refer to:* A backup site or system* Auxiliary input jack, generally for audio* Auxiliary verb* International auxiliary language* Auxiliary police* Auxiliaries, troops supporting the main force of an army** Auxiliaries...
system, a low-power transmitter and line that reached most of Calloway County and the WKMS transmitter in Paris, Tennessee
Paris, Tennessee
Paris is a city in Henry County, Tennessee, United States, west of Nashville, on a fork of the West Sandy River. In 1900, 2,018 people lived in Paris, Tennessee; in 1910, 3,881; and in 1940, 6,395. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 9,763. It is the county seat of Henry...
.
By January 31, a generator obtained with the assistance of the Calloway County Emergency Operations Center and the Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Service, enabled the station to resume its regional analogue service, however the HD radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
signal remained damaged and inoperable. Tower inspections revealed icing damage to a flange weld connecting the digital antenna to its transmission line, resulting in water damage to the line itself. Repairs estimated nearly $40,000 in previously unbudgeted expenditures for the public radio service licensed to Murray State University
Murray State University
Murray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...
. All services, including the HD radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
signal, have since resumed normal operations.
2010s
In February 2010, WKMS changed the frequency and the programming on its Paducah translator, to carry a 24-hour classical music service. The Paducah translator, formerly 92.1, has been switched to 92.5 FM. Broadcasts include the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, concerts from Murray State University and nationally syndicated programs like From the Top and Sunday Baroque. The Paducah translator broadcasts at 27 watts, designed to improve WKMS reception for area listeners in low spots due to the proximity of the Ohio River where lack of clear line of sight challenged reception from the main WKMS 100,000 watt transmitter in LBL.In March 2010, WKMS signed on a new repeater service, 90.9 FM, WKMD, Madisonville. Additionally, the station put its all-classical WKMS HD-2 service on its 105.1 FM, Madisonville translator. The repeater service at 90.9 FM,transmits from a tower on campus at Madisonville Community College
Madisonville Community College
Madisonville Community College , located in Madisonville, KY, is one of 16 two-year, open-admissions colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System . MCC was originally established as a member of the University of Kentucky's Community College System in 1968...
. This is repeater transmitter broadcasts a signal at a power just over 20,000 watts. 90.9 FM WKMD, Madisonville rebroadcasts 91.3 FM, Murray areas of Union, Webster, Davies, McLean, Ohio, Muhlenberg and Christian counties previously outside a public radio service coverage area and boosts the reception for listeners in Hopkins County.
In June 2010, WKMS improved reception for listeners in Fulton, South Fulton, Martin and Union City, Tennessee with repeater service 89.5 FM WKMT, Fulton. WKMT restores a strong signal from WKMS to Fulton, one of the communities that experienced reduced reception when WKMS moved its transmission site from Farmington, Kentucky
Farmington, Kentucky
Farmington is a census-designated place in Graves County, Kentucky, United States. Farmington is located 7 miles southeast of Mayfield and 13 miles west of Murray...
, to Land Between the Lakes in 1980. WKMS is using a data-link connection to transmit programming to the WKMT tower from its studios in Price Doyle Fine Arts Building at Murray State.
Funding
The WKMS operating budget comes from four main sources: Murray State UniversityMurray State University
Murray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...
, individual listener contributors, businesses and corporations, and grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
administering funds appropriated by the U.S. Congress. The proportion of funding and funding sources vary from station to station across the nation. WKMS listeners provide the lion’s share of the part of the budget which WKMS must raise to match support from Murray State University. For every public radio station listener support is the single most important source of funding, because listener dollars inspire ALL other revenue providers.
Events
WKMS co-sponsors several events with regional organizations such as Murray State University’s Lovett Live (The Annual January Music from the Front Porch Concert), Land Between the Lake’s Pickin’ Party, Lowertown Art and Music Festival in PaducahPaducah
Paducah is the name of multiple places in the United States of America:* Paducah, Kentucky, a city on the Ohio River* Paducah, Texas, a small town named after the city in Kentucky...
, Pennington Festival in Princeton, Kentucky
Princeton, Kentucky
Princeton is a city in Caldwell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 6,329 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Caldwell County.-History:...
, concert broadcasts with Paducah Symphony Orchestra, and other art agencies.
Programming
WKMS hosts a diverse programming schedule comprising both national and local news and music programs. WKMS employs a news team, mainly composed of Murray State University students, to cover news and events in the region in the format of newscasts and features, which appear in the weekly locally-produced hour-long program The Front Page. Generally news and talk programming is heard during the day, with arts and culture programming on the weekends. National programming on WKMS includes well-known staples such as Morning EditionMorning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
, Talk of the Nation
Talk of the Nation
Talk of the Nation is a talk radio program based in the United States, produced by National Public Radio, and is broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Its focus is current events and controversial issues....
, All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, World Café
World Cafe
World Cafe is a two-hour long, nationally syndicated music radio program that originates from WXPN, a non-commercial station licensed to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The program began in 1991 and was originally distributed by Public Radio...
, Car Talk
Car Talk
Car Talk is a radio talk show broadcast weekly on National Public Radio stations throughout the United States and elsewhere. Its subjects are automobiles and repair, and it often takes humorous turns...
, A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
, Fresh Air
Fresh Air
Fresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. The show is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its longtime host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 450 stations and claimed 4.5 million listeners. The show...
and Hearts of Space
Hearts of Space
Hearts of Space is a United States weekly syndicated public radio show featuring music of a contemplative nature drawn largely from the ambient, New Age and electronic genres, while also including classical, world, Celtic, experimental, and other music selections...
.
Local programming
- Beyond the Edge – An eclectic, three-hour mix of folk, rock, pop, alt-country, Americana, blues and other genres, weekly with host Tracy Ross. (Saturdays at 8 p.m.)
- Café Jazz – Two-hours of mainstream jazz, weeknights. Cafe Jazz is hosted by Tracy Ross, Todd Hill, George Eldred and Brian Clardy. (Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m)
- Classical Encore – A weekly two-hour showcase of classical music with host Dr. John Dressler. The show is an encore of On Stage, another classical music show airing in the time slot prior.(Sundays at 9 p.m.)
- The Front Page – A regional news magazine looking at the people, issues and events of the Four Rivers Region, which comprises the WKMS listening-area of western Kentucky, southern Illinois and northwest Tennessee. Issues range from socio-economic issues to cultural events and notable people in the area. The Front Page is hosted by Todd Hatton and features reports from Kentucky Public RadioKentucky Public RadioKentucky Public Radio is a grassroots public radio network. While it maintains a statehouse bureau, the network has seen itself as providing support services. Instead of a focus on production, KPR promotes cooperation between partner-stations through a story exchange, a statehouse bureau, and...
correspondents and the WKMS news team. (Split into 30-minute segments on Fridays at 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., combined into an hour-long program Sundays at 9 a.m.) - House Blend – A weekly, two-hour music program featuring groove beats, funk, soul music and jazz fusion, with host David Weatherly. (Fridays at 7 p.m.)
- Imported - A weekly, hour-long music program featuring new contemporary international music, featuring artists from around the world in an eclectic and genre-blending presentation by Chris Taylor and Georgena Ware. (Sunday evenings at Midnight)
- The Jazzman Show – A weekly, hour-long music program featuring the pioneers and innovators in jazz as well as world jazz and big band music, with host Andy “Jazzman” Smith. (Sundays at 2 p.m.)
- Juke Joint Shuffle – A weekly, two-hour music program featuring a mix of blues, jazz and roots music, hosted by WKMS veteran host, John Griffin and co-host Rick Nance. According to the WKMS website, Griffin “hits the shuffle button” on his mp3 player as a means of selecting the playlists for each show. (Saturdays at 2 p.m., alternates with locally-produced Rick's Kitchen Sink and nationally-syndicated All Songs Considered)
- Music from the Front Porch – A weekly staple on WKMS for over ten years, Music From the Front Porch is a three-hour music program featuring folk music, bluegrass, acoustic music and western swing, from musicians old and new alike, with hosts John McMillen and Mark Welch. (Saturdays at 10 a.m.)
- On Stage – A weekly two-hour showcase of regional and national performances recorded live from a host of musical genres. The program often features music from Paducah Symphony Orchestra and from the Music Department of Murray State UniversityMurray State UniversityMurray State University, located in the city of Murray, Kentucky, is a four-year public university with approximately 10,400 students. The school is Kentucky’s only public university to be listed in the U.S.News & World Report regional university top tier for the past 20 consecutive years...
. (Sundays at 7 p.m.) - Rick's Kitchen Sink - A weekly 30-minute locally-produced music program alternating with Juke Joint Shuffle. Juke Joint co-host Rick Nance plays rhythm and bluesRhythm and bluesRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, soul musicSoul musicSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and funk music. - Sounds of the Silver Screen - An hour-long seasonal show on WKMS, which typically airs weekly in the spring/summer months, features music from film scores and soundtrackSoundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s, with host David Weatherly. - Weekend Energy – A weekly, two-hour-long music program featuring techno, electro, trance music, drum and bass and other high-energy styles of contemporary electronica, with host Matt “McG” Markgraf. (Saturdays at 11 p.m.)
WKMS HD 2
WKMS HD 2 airs the nationally syndicated satellite-delivered public radio service, Classical 24Classical 24
Classical 24 is a syndicated, satellite-delivered public radio service providing classical music to its carrying stations. It generally airs overnights on many non-commercial and a handful of commercial classical music stations. However, the service is operated 24 hours a day and is used by some...
, which plays classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
around the clock, co-created by Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
and Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
. HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
broadcasting has dramatically higher quality audio with far more programming choice and compelling new wireless data services brought to you by your local radio station. HD radio eliminates static, hiss, pops and fades. In addition, the wireless data feature enables text information – titles, artists, weather and traffic alerts – to be broadcast directly to your receiver’s display screen. Another feature of HD radio is FM Multicasting – the ability to broadcast multiple program streams over a single FM frequency, for example: 91.3-1, 91.3-2, etc.