Shortwave Broadcasting In The United States

Shortwave broadcasting in the United States allows private ownership of commercial and non-commercial shortwave stations that are not relays of existing AM/MW or FM radio stations, as are common in Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania except Australia and Latin America. In addition to private broadcasters, the United States also has government broadcasters and relay stations for international public broadcasters. Most privately owned shortwave stations have been religious broadcasters, either wholly owned and programmed by Roman Catholic and evangelical Protestant charities or offering brokered programming consisting primarily of religious broadcasters. To better reach other continents of the world, several stations are located in far-flung US territories. Shortwave stations in the USA are not permitted to operate exclusively for a domestic audience; they are subject to antenna and power requirements to reach an international audience.

Private shortwave broadcasting is fairly rare around the world. Critics of private broadcasting in the USA have argued that the service allows extremists to spread their message to others without fear of censorship (despite the First Amendment guarantee of Freedom of Speech), while others argue that private shortwave broadcasters provide an important service in providing programming to people without access to other forms of uncensored media.

Non-religious private broadcasters

While many private shortwave broadcasters in the United States are operated by religious groups or carry mostly religious programming, there have also been attempts at starting non-religious shortwave stations.

Two such stations were WRNO in New Orleans and KUSW in Salt Lake City, both of them with a rock and roll music format. Both stations were well received by shortwave listeners, but could not make the format successful in the long run. KUSW was eventually sold to the Trinity Broadcasting Network and converted into religious broadcaster KTBN. WRNO kept its rock & roll format going for most of the 1980s but eventually switched formats to selling brokered airtime to political and religious broadcasts, suffered a damaged transmitter, and eventually ceased broadcasting following the death of its owner, Joe Costello. WRNO was acquired by Dr. Robert Mawire and Good News World Outreach in 2001. After installing a new transmitter, the station was within just days of returning to the air when Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005. The new transmitter was spared from flood waters, but the antenna was severely damaged by high winds. WRNO finally returned to broadcasting in 2009, operating 4 hours per day. On March 13, 2010, WRNO began transmitting a weekly religious broadcast in Arabic for a portion of its broadcast schedule.

A notable exception is WBCQ, a non-religious private station operated by Allan Weiner in Maine. WBCQ has been a success by brokering much of their airtime to fringe cults like Brother Stair and World's Last Chance, while also carrying some music and entertainment programs. WTWW primarily operated as an oldies station targeted at amateur radio and DXing audiences, along with a country music feed targeting eastern Europe; the station leased out one of its channels to LaPorte Church of Christ mainly to subsidize the other channels. WTWW went out of business November 9, 2022 and moved most of its programming to WRMI, one of the nation's largest shortwave broadcasters.

Other private shortwave stations that air a mix of religious and non-religious programs include WRMI (which also relays several International broadcast services), and WWCR.

Pirate radio

Numerous pirate radio stations have operated sporadically in or just outside the shortwave broadcast bands. Most are operated by hobbyists for the amusement of DX'ers with broadcasts typically only a few hours in length.

Few American pirates are political or controversial in their programming. Pirates have tended to cluster in unofficial "pirate bands" based on the current schedules of licensed shortwave stations and the retuning of amateur radio transmitters to operate outside the "ham" radio bands.

Most pirate activity takes place on weekends or holidays, Halloween and April Fool's Day being traditional favorites of pirates. Most broadcasts are only a few minutes to a few hours at a time. One notable exception was Radio Newyork International, a short-lived attempt to establish a permanent broadcasting station operating from international waters.

Some European nations have recently begun allowing privately owned shortwave stations on a far more limited scale.

Notable personalities

Preachers/Religious broadcasters

* Tony Alamo
* Kirby Anderson
* Mother Angelica - founder of WEWN
* Harold Camping
* E. C. Fulcher
* Texe Marrs
* Robert Mawire
* Dr. Gene Scott
* Melissa Scott (replaced Dr. Gene Scott)
* Brother Stair
* Peter J. Peters

Commentators

* Jack Anderson – was heard on AFRTS Radio in the 1980s
* Art Bell – via a Canadian affiliate's 49-meter shortwave relay service and WFLA's 11-meter relay. Also a ham radio operator (deceased)
* Willis Conover
* William Cooper
* Mort Crim
* Chuck Harder
* Paul Harvey – Paul Harvey News & Commentary/Rest of the Story was carried on AFRTS Radio
* Glenn Hauser – World of Radio
* Marie Lamb – DXing With Cumbre
* Rush Limbaugh – his show was carried on WRNO-Worldwide in the 1990s
* Stan Monteith
* The Report Of The Week – YouTube Food Critic, hosts Voice of the Report of the Week
* Jay Smilkstein – WBCQ
* John Stadtmiller on WWCR – notorious for setting up Mark Koernke
* Hal Turner on WBCQ - The Hal Turner Radio Show
* John from Staten Island & Frank from Queens – hosting "The Right Perspective" on WWCR

Shortwave stations

Government broadcasters (USA)

* Voice of America worldwide news service
* Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty targeting Europe and Asia
* Radio Free Asia targeting Asia
* Radio Sawa targeting the Middle East
* Radio Farda targeting Iran
* Radio Martí targeting Cuba
* WWV/ WWVH - time stations from the National Institute of Standards and Technology
* American Forces Network - focused on the military

Current privately owned US broadcasters

* KNLS – World Christian Broadcasting – Anchor Point, Alaska
* KSDA – Adventist World Radio – Agat, Guam
* KTWR – Trans World Radio – Agana, Guam
* KVOH – "Voice of Hope" – Rancho Simi, California
* WBCQ – "The Planet" – Monticello, Maine
* WEWN – "Eternal Word Network" – Irondale, Alabama
* WHRI – "World Harvest Radio International" – Furman, South Carolina
* WINB – "World International Broadcasting" – Red Lion, Pennsylvania
* WJHR – Milton, Florida (unique for broadcasting in Upper Side Band modulation)
* WMLK – Assemblies of Yahweh – Bethel, Pennsylvania
* WRMI – "Radio Miami International" – Okeechobee, Florida
* WTWW – "We Transmit World Wide" – Lebanon, Tennessee
* WWCR – "Worldwide Christian Radio" – Nashville, Tennessee
* WWRB – Manchester, Tennessee (successor to WGTG and WWFV)
* WRNO – "WRNOradio.com" – New Orleans, Louisiana

Defunct broadcasters

* KAIJ – Dallas, Texas
* KFBS – Far East Broadcasting Company – Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
* KGEI – San Francisco, California (studios and transmitter in Redwood City, California)
* KHBN – High Adventure Ministries Piti, Guam (now T8BZ in Palau)
* KHBI – Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands (Formerly KYOI)
* KIMF – Pinon, New Mexico (licensed, but never built)
* KJES – "The Lord's Station" – Vado, New Mexico
* KRHO – Honolulu, Hawaii
* KSAI – Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
* KTBN – Trinity Broadcasting Network – Salt Lake City, Utah
* KUSW – "Superpower" – Salt Lake City, Utah (station sold, and became KTBN)
* KWHR – "World Harvest Radio" – Naalehu, Hawaii
* KYOI – Saipan (1982-1989) "Super Rock" commercial station, later KHBI
* NDXE – (never built)
* WCSN – Maine -Operated by the Christian Science Monitor
* WGEO - Schenectady, NY - originally owned and operated by General Electric, acquired by Voice of America during World War II
* WGTG – McCaysville, Georgia
* WHRA – "World Harvest Radio" – Greenbush, Maine
* WJIE – Evangel World Prayer Center – Louisville, Kentucky
* WNRI: Bound Brook, New Jersey

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