WERN
Frequency88.7 MHz
BrandingWisconsin Public Radio
Programming
FormatPublic radio - Classical music - News and Talk
SubchannelsHD2: All Classical
HD3: Ideas (News and Talk)
AffiliationsNational Public Radio
American Public Media
Classical 24
Ownership
OwnerWisconsin Educational Communications Board
WHA
History
First air date
March 30, 1947 (1947-03-30)
Former call signs
WHA-FM (1947-1974)
Call sign meaning
Wisconsin Educational Radio Network (early branding for network)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID63030
ClassB
ERP20,500 watts
HAAT385 meters (1,263 ft)
Translator(s)HD3: 90.5 W213CE (Madison)
Links
Public license information
WebcastLive Stream
WebsiteWPR.org

WERN (88.7 FM) is a non-commercial public radio station in Madison, Wisconsin. It is part of Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), and is the flagship of WPR's "News and Classical Network." In morning and afternoon drive time, WERN carries NPR news shows with local news inserts. Middays feature classical music with Wisconsin hosts. Classical 24 is heard overnight, with Jazz on Friday and Saturday evenings. The studios are at 821 University Avenue in Madison.

WERN is a Class B FM station, with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 20,500 watts. The transmitter is off South Pleasant View Road on Madison's southwest side in the Junction Ridge neighborhood, on a tower shared with WIBA-FM.[2] WERN broadcasts using HD Radio technology.[3] Its HD-2 digital subchannel carries all classical nusic. Its HD-3 signal rebroadcasts sister station WHA 970 AM and feeds FM translator W213CE at 90.5 MHz.[4]

History

The station signed on the air on March 30, 1947.[5] It was the first FM station in the network that would become Wisconsin Public Radio. The call sign was WHA-FM, co-owned with its sister station, WHA 970 AM. At first, the two stations simulcast their programming, a mix of classical music, news, university lectures and public affairs shows. Originally WHA 970 was a daytimer station. When it had to go off the air at night, 88.7 WHA-FM continued its programming.

By the late 1960s, WHA-FM began airing some programming that was separate from 970 AM. Eventually, simulcasting was reduced and the FM station sought its own identity. The call letters became WERN in 1974.[6]

Because WHA-FM/WERN began broadcasting before current maximum levels were set by the Federal Communications Commission, the station's signal is grandfathered. It runs at a higher power for its height above average terrain (HAAT) than would be permitted today. It covers a large area which affords WPR's "News and Classical Network" a strong signal across Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois including the Rockford area and Metro Milwaukee.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WERN". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/WERN
  3. ↑ "HD Radio Guide for Madison, Wisconsin"
  4. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/W213CE
  5. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-233, Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved Aug. 25, 2023.
  6. ↑ http://www.wpr.org/about/hd_innovation.cfm

43°03′22″N 89°32′06″W / 43.056°N 89.535°W / 43.056; -89.535

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