WRNI (AM)
Encyclopedia
WRNI is a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island
broadcasting Spanish-language
public radio programming. It is owned by Rhode Island Public Radio, but brokers its airtime to Latino Public Radio.
programming as WRCP in 1983.
In the 1990s, a group of Rhode Islanders formed the Foundation for Ocean State Public Radio in order to bring a local public radio station to the state. At the time, Rhode Island was the only state in New England
(traditionally one of the bedrocks of support for NPR) and one of only two in the entire country (the other being Delaware
) that didn't have a full-service NPR station within its borders. Most of the state got at least a grade B signal from Boston's WGBH
(with Providence itself receiving a city-grade signal) and WBUR
. After a few years of looking, they found a partner in Boston University
, owner of WBUR. BU agreed to buy WRCP for $1.9 million; the foundation conducted a statewide drive to help raise the funds.
On May 1, 1998; WRCP's calls officially changed to WRNI, and the license was officially transferred to the WRNI Foundation, a separate fundraising group set up by WBUR to handle local underwriting.
Even though BU doubled WRNI's transmission power from 5,000 watts to 10,000 watts, its signal was not strong enough to reach the southern and western portion of the state (though it provides a city-grade signal to Newport
, southern Rhode Island's biggest city). Accordingly, in 1999, BU bought WERI in Westerly, which had been on the air since 1949
. BU changed WERI's calls to WXNI, and made it a full-time satellite of WRNI. The station brought a city-grade NPR signal to southern Rhode Island for the first time ever.
BU and WBUR had very big plans for WRNI at first. It moved WRNI from its longtime studio on Douglas Avenue to a state-of-the-art facility at Union Station. It also started a daily two-hour local news magazine, One Union Station. It also had plans to set up a third station to fill the gaps in WXNI's 1,000-watt signal. However, budget problems brought on by the September 11, 2001 attacks
forced One Union Station's cancellation. It was replaced with a one-hour news magazine that was canceled in 2004. At that point, WRNI's local operations were significantly cut back, with most of the station's staff either laid off or transferred to Boston. Since then, WRNI's schedule has been almost identical to that of WBUR.
The reaction in Rhode Island was, not surprisingly, hostile. In an editorial, The Providence Journal
said that WBUR had made numerous long-term commitments to WRNI. The Journal claimed that if the station's local backers had to buy WRNI, it would be tantamount to buying the station twice.
The announcement led state attorney general Patrick Lynch
to open an investigation into WBUR and WRNI.
On September 27, BU interim president Aram Chobanian
delayed the sale of WRNI and WXNI, citing concerns raised by both Lynch and Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri. Memos obtained by The Boston Globe
revealed that WBUR felt the Rhode Island stations were money bleeders, and had decided to either lease or sell the stations at the earliest opportunity. The furor over the WRNI sale was one factor in Christo's resignation almost a month later.
In June 2005
, BU took WRNI and WXNI off the market. It promised to hire a full-time general manager based in Providence, and also stepped up local news coverage. As a result, Lynch closed his investigation in November 2006.
On March 21, 2007, WBUR announced that it was selling WRNI to Rhode Island Public Radio—formerly the Foundation for Ocean State Public Radio—for $2 million. Rhode Island Public Radio also announced it was buying WAKX in Narragansett Pier from Davidson Media to serve as a repeater for WRNI in southern Rhode Island. WAKX, which signed on in 1989, had been a smooth jazz
station. As part of the sale agreement, BU will continue to provide engineering and programming assistance to RIPR for five years.
RIPR officially took control of WAKX on May 17, 2007; changing the calls to WRNI-FM. The addition of WRNI-FM made WXNI redundant, and BU has sold that station separately to Diponti Communications, which renamed it WBLQ. RIPR took control of WRNI on September 1, 2008.
RIPR registered the domain name ripr.org on February 13, 2007; the site was live as of June 2007.
(88.1 FM); that station replaced WRNI as flagship of the Rhode Island's NPR network, which also includes WRNI-FM and WCVY
in Coventry
. The move also makes LPR eligible for Corporation for Public Broadcasting
funding.
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
broadcasting Spanish-language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
public radio programming. It is owned by Rhode Island Public Radio, but brokers its airtime to Latino Public Radio.
History
The station went on the air in 1947 as WICE. During the 1960s and 1970s, WICE presented a top 40 music format, and was owned by Susquehanna Radio. It switched to PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
programming as WRCP in 1983.
As an English-language public radio station
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
(traditionally one of the bedrocks of support for NPR) and one of only two in the entire country (the other being Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
) that didn't have a full-service NPR station within its borders. Most of the state got at least a grade B signal from Boston's WGBH
WGBH (FM)
WGBH is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of NPR and PRI. The license-holder is the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns WGBH-TV and WGBX-TV....
(with Providence itself receiving a city-grade signal) and WBUR
WBUR
WBUR refers to two radio stations in Massachusetts, WBUR AM and FM, both owned by Boston University. WBUR is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, Massachusetts, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM, and the only one to focus exclusively on news and talk...
. After a few years of looking, they found a partner in Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, owner of WBUR. BU agreed to buy WRCP for $1.9 million; the foundation conducted a statewide drive to help raise the funds.
On May 1, 1998; WRCP's calls officially changed to WRNI, and the license was officially transferred to the WRNI Foundation, a separate fundraising group set up by WBUR to handle local underwriting.
Even though BU doubled WRNI's transmission power from 5,000 watts to 10,000 watts, its signal was not strong enough to reach the southern and western portion of the state (though it provides a city-grade signal to Newport
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, southern Rhode Island's biggest city). Accordingly, in 1999, BU bought WERI in Westerly, which had been on the air since 1949
1949 in radio
The year 1949 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.-Events:*1 April – The facilities and staff of the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland are transferred to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation....
. BU changed WERI's calls to WXNI, and made it a full-time satellite of WRNI. The station brought a city-grade NPR signal to southern Rhode Island for the first time ever.
BU and WBUR had very big plans for WRNI at first. It moved WRNI from its longtime studio on Douglas Avenue to a state-of-the-art facility at Union Station. It also started a daily two-hour local news magazine, One Union Station. It also had plans to set up a third station to fill the gaps in WXNI's 1,000-watt signal. However, budget problems brought on by the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
forced One Union Station's cancellation. It was replaced with a one-hour news magazine that was canceled in 2004. At that point, WRNI's local operations were significantly cut back, with most of the station's staff either laid off or transferred to Boston. Since then, WRNI's schedule has been almost identical to that of WBUR.
Controversy over sale
On September 17, 2004, with no advance warning, WBUR Group general manager Jane Christo announced that WRNI and WXNI were being put on the market. She wouldn't give any specifics, only saying that it was time for Rhode Islanders to buy the stations if they wanted to keep NPR programming in the state. Indeed, WBUR claimed that it never intended to operate WRNI on a long-term basis, and had only intended to help develop it into a self-sustaining service.The reaction in Rhode Island was, not surprisingly, hostile. In an editorial, The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal, nicknamed the ProJo, is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper, first published in 1829 and the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the United States, was purchased...
said that WBUR had made numerous long-term commitments to WRNI. The Journal claimed that if the station's local backers had to buy WRNI, it would be tantamount to buying the station twice.
The announcement led state attorney general Patrick Lynch
Patrick Lynch
Patrick Lynch is the name of:*Patrick Neeson Lynch , Catholic bishop during the American Civil War*Patrick Lynch , Irish Roman Catholic bishop...
to open an investigation into WBUR and WRNI.
On September 27, BU interim president Aram Chobanian
Aram Chobanian
Aram V. Chobanian was president ad interim of Boston University from 2003 until June 9, 2005, when, in recognition of Chobanian’s work, the Board of Trustees voted to remove “ad interim” from his title and designate him the ninth president of Boston University. He had succeeded controversial B.U...
delayed the sale of WRNI and WXNI, citing concerns raised by both Lynch and Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri. Memos obtained by The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
revealed that WBUR felt the Rhode Island stations were money bleeders, and had decided to either lease or sell the stations at the earliest opportunity. The furor over the WRNI sale was one factor in Christo's resignation almost a month later.
In June 2005
2005 in radio
The year 2005 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*April 29 - KFRC 610 AM in San Francisco, switches formats as a result of ownership change. KFRC becomes KEAR, the "Sound of the New Life", a listener-supported, gospel/religious only station. It had been previously KFRC from...
, BU took WRNI and WXNI off the market. It promised to hire a full-time general manager based in Providence, and also stepped up local news coverage. As a result, Lynch closed his investigation in November 2006.
On March 21, 2007, WBUR announced that it was selling WRNI to Rhode Island Public Radio—formerly the Foundation for Ocean State Public Radio—for $2 million. Rhode Island Public Radio also announced it was buying WAKX in Narragansett Pier from Davidson Media to serve as a repeater for WRNI in southern Rhode Island. WAKX, which signed on in 1989, had been a smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
station. As part of the sale agreement, BU will continue to provide engineering and programming assistance to RIPR for five years.
RIPR officially took control of WAKX on May 17, 2007; changing the calls to WRNI-FM. The addition of WRNI-FM made WXNI redundant, and BU has sold that station separately to Diponti Communications, which renamed it WBLQ. RIPR took control of WRNI on September 1, 2008.
RIPR registered the domain name ripr.org on February 13, 2007; the site was live as of June 2007.
As a Spanish-language public radio station
On October 8, 2011, RIPR dropped its English-language public radio programming from the 1290 AM signal and brokered its airtime to Latino Public Radio. LPR's programming had previously been heard part-time on The Wheeler School's WELHWELH
WELH is a radio station owned by The Wheeler School of Providence, Rhode Island. Originally signing on in February 1995 with a modern rock format programmed by student D.J.s as "Extreme 88", and later offering programming from various groups , today WELH broadcasts programming from...
(88.1 FM); that station replaced WRNI as flagship of the Rhode Island's NPR network, which also includes WRNI-FM and WCVY
WCVY
WCVY is a local student-run high school radio station in Coventry, Rhode Island that broadcasts on 91.5 FM. The station is owned by Coventry Public Schools of Rhode Island, and broadcasts from Coventry High School. The station broadcasts a combination of adult album alternative and modern rock...
in Coventry
Coventry, Rhode Island
Coventry is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 35,014 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of . of it is land and of it is water...
. The move also makes LPR eligible for 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...
funding.