WBEW (89.5 FM) is a

non-commercial educational A non-commercial educational station (NCE station) is a radio station or television station that does not accept on-air advertisements (TV ads or radio ads), as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and was or ...

(NCE), Class B1

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

at Chesterton in Northwest Indiana. Since June 2007, the station has been branded Vocalo, initially airing listener submitted content and later airing an urban format. It is owned by

Chicago Public Media Chicago Public Media (CPM) is a not-for-profit media company that operates as the primary National Public Radio member organization for Chicago. It owns three non-commercial educational FM broadcast stations and one FM translator, and produc ...

and is a sister station to

WBEZ WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and lis ...

in Chicago. WBEW broadcasts in the

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

format.

History

The station began broadcasting in early 2001, holding the call letters WAJW.Call Sign History
fcc.gov. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
, BostonRadio.com. July 15, 2002. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2003-2004
',

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcast ...

, 2003. p. D-158. Retrieved January 6, 2022.Format Changes & Updates
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 18, No. 06. February 7, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2022. It was owned by Auricle Communications.Radio Business
, ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

''. July 12, 2002. Retrieved January 6, 2022. WAJW aired a Freeform radio format, largely simulcasting WFMU 91.1 in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

. In November 2002, the station was purchased by

for $550,000 and its call letters were changed to WBEW. Chicago Public Media simulcast 91.5

on the station from November 2002 until June 2007.

Vocalo

The station split from its simulcast with WBEZ in June 2007 and was branded "Vocalo". Initially, Vocalo

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

s played content that listeners had uploaded to the Vocalo.org website. It was launched with the desire to reach a more racially diverse and younger audience than NPR. By August 2010, Vocalo had begun to base their playlist on hip-hop, dance, and R&B, and in 2014 adopted the slogan "Chicago's Urban Alternative". In January 2016, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) gave Chicago Public Radio $450,000 to refine Vocalo's format, so that the format's viability in other markets could be researched.Falk, Tyler.
Chicago's Vocalo reins in eclectic approach but keeps focus on younger audience
, Current.org. July 21, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2022.

References

External links

Vocalo.org
WBEW's official site * {{Northwest Indiana Radio BEW Radio stations established in 2001 2001 establishments in Indiana