WEAA (88.9 FM) is a non-profit,

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

affiliate station that serves

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It is licensed and owned by

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...

. WEAA is located on campus, with studios at the School of Global Journalism and Communication, and a transmitter on Hillen Road. WEAA was named 1999

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

Station of the Year by '' Gavin Magazine''. The station has been noted for its willingness to host intense discussions of issues like racism and sexuality. Although WEAA is based at Morgan State, most of its staff are non-students, and it serves a larger community within Baltimore. However, the station does take on many student interns and volunteers, who learn skills connected to radio broadcasting.

History

WEAA went live on January 10, 1977. It debuted at 88.9 MHz as an educational, non-commercial station. Its first format was "black progressive," which featured a wide range of music by black performers: jazz, Caribbean, a gospel show, some blues, some soul, and album tracks by black artists. The station also had a news department and broadcast some educational programs. Some sources have claimed that the call letters stood for "We Educate African-Americans." Program manager Al Stewart said his vision was for the station to both educational and entertaining. And because the station was on the campus of Morgan State, students would be given valuable experience gathering news or producing public affairs programs, in addition to serving as deejays. After beginning with 18 hours a day of programming, WEAA tried to move to a 24-hour a day operation in mid-May 1977. However, the station was not able to sustain this, and instead returned to a regular schedule of being on air from 6 AM to midnight, 7 days a week."Morgan Radio Fund Drive Exceeds Expectations." ''Baltimore Sun'', May 1, 1979, p. 21. Within a few months, WEAA was gaining positive attention for its news coverage: student reporters focused on events of interest to the black community, in addition to events occurring on campus. Members of the news department also began winning awards for their news features. The station also covered college sports, including Morgan State football. WEAA soon proved to be successful at fundraising, getting listeners to support the station's programs. By 1979, the station was able to raise more than $50,000 during a pledge drive, exceeding the station management's expectations. Additionally, WEAA became home to several people who went on to become famous. Among them was

Kweisi Mfume Kweisi Mfume ( ; born Frizzell Gerald Gray; October 24, 1948) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Maryland's 7th congressional district, first serving from 1987 to 1996 and again since 2020. A member of the Democratic ...

, who served as program director of WEAA, beginning in the late 1970s, and also hosted a popular talk show; Mfume subsequently went on to a career in politics. Another famous alum of WEAA was April Ryan, who began working there as a disc jockey and then began hosting a news program in the late 1980s; she went on to become a news reporter for the American Urban Radio Networks, and a political analyst for CNN. Some professional announcers also worked at WEAA, mentoring young students interested in broadcasting: one well-known veteran of black radio in Baltimore, Larry Dean (real name: Lawrence D. Faulkner), helped to start WEAA's news department and worked as the station's news director for nearly eight years.

Station Controversies

In 1998, white Baltimore activist Robert Kaufman accused WEAA of

reverse racism Reverse racism, sometimes referred to as reverse discrimination, is the concept that affirmative action and similar color-conscious programs for redressing racial inequality are a form of anti-white racism. The concept is often associated wi ...

when they turned down his offer to host a show for free. Kaufman's complaint with the Maryland Commission on Human Rights was unsuccessful. In 2007, a coalition of WEAA listeners took to the streets in protest when "The Powers Report" with Tyrone Powers went off the air. Powers and his supporters alleged that newly elected governor Martin O'Malley had used his political clout to force Powers off the air in retaliation for critical remarks. Powers filed a lawsuit alleging that O'Malley ordered him fired, with WEAA manager Donald Lockett and NAACP president

acting as intermediaries. O'Malley and Mfume denied the allegations completely. In 2008, WEAA hired Marc Steiner (after Steiner's dismissal from

WYPR WYPR (88.1 FM) is a public radio station serving the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area. Its studio is in the Charles Village neighborhood of northern Baltimore, while its transmitter is in Park Heights. The station is simulcast in the Fred ...

)Evan Serpick,
Radio Static
, ''Baltimore'' magazine, February 2009. and began running

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

. These changes increased the ratio of news to music and added white voices, prompting observers to ask, "Will whites listen to a majority black station?" In the following months, WEAA gained 20,000 listeners for a total of 100,000.

Current programs

Programs produced in-house at WEAA

Public Affairs programming

*
Today with Dr. Kaye
hosted by Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead'' * ''The Marc Steiner Show'' hosted by Marc Steiner and produced by the Center for Emerging Media * ''First Edition'' with journalist Sean Yoes * ''Keep It Moving'' with Marsha Jews * ''Wealthy Radio'' with Deborah Owens * ''Urban Health Beat'' with Marilyn Harris-Davis * ''The Anthony McCarthy Show'' with Anthony McCarthy * ''Listen Up!'' and ''Final Call Radio'' with Farajii Muhammad * ''The Caribbean Affair'' with Neil Mattei * ''Africa and Worldbeat'' * ''Briefcase Radio'' with Omar Muhammad * ''The Ellison Report'' with political analyst Charles D. Ellison * ''The Rise of Charm City''

Music programming

* ''The Baltimore Blend'' hosted by Baltimore drummer and musician Robert Shahid and co-hosted by Mykel Hunter * ''The Hip Hop Chronicles'' hosted and produced by Mike Nyce with contributions from Dr. Jared Ball and the Chuck D * ''In the Groove'' and ''Cool Jazz Countdown'' with Marcellus ''Bassman'' Shepard * ''The Audio Infusion'' with DJ Patrick Scientific and DJ Henry Da Man * ''Reggae, Roots & Culture'' with Papa Wabe * ''Cool Vibes For Your Midday'' with Sandi Mallory * ''Fiesta Musical'' with Guillermo Brown * ''In the Tradition'' with George ''Doc'' Manning * ''Jazz Straight Ahead'' produced and hosted by John Tegler and currently hosted by his two sons Eric Tegler and Jan Tegler * ''Blues in the Night'' and ''Turning Back the Hands of Time'' with host James ''Big Jim'' Staton * ''The Friday Night Jazz Club'' with Angela Thorpe and DJ Phaze * ''Strictly Hip Hop'' Baltimore's longest running underground hip-hop show which originated in 1990. * ''Gospel Grace''

Syndicated programs on WEAA

* ''

Democracy NOW! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

'' with

Amy Goodman Amy Goodman (born April 13, 1957) is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement, Morocco's occupation ...

and Juan Gonzales * ''Jazz After Hours'' with

Bob Parlocha Robert "Bob" Parlocha (April 18, 1938 – March 15, 2015) was an American jazz expert who was best known as a radio host and programmer. He was also a professional saxophone player and gourmet cook. He was in wide syndication with his nighttime ...

* ''

Latino USA ''Latino USA'' is a nationally syndicated public radio program and podcast produced by The Futuro Media Group and distributed nationwide by the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), after 27 years of being distributed by NPR. The program is anchored by M ...

'' hosted by

Maria Hinojosa Maria de Lourdes Hinojosa Ojeda (born July 2, 1961) is a Mexican-American journalist. She is the anchor and executive producer of ''Latino USA'' on National Public Radio, a public radio show devoted to Latino issues. She is also the founder, pres ...

Past programs

* ''The

Michael Eric Dyson Michael Eric Dyson (born October 23, 1958) is an American academic, author, ordained minister, and radio host. He is a professor in the College of Arts and Science and in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. Described by Michael A. Fletch ...

Show'' (2010–2012)Richard Prince
Michael Eric Dyson Quits Radio Show
''Urban Radio Nation'', 13 March 2012. * ''The Powers Report'' with Tyrone Powers (–2007) * ''Underground Experience'' with Oji Morris and Brian Pope (1989–2002)Bret McCabe, Clearing the Air: WEAA Moves Out of the Underground, ''CityPaper'', 27 February 2002. * ''Sisters Circle'' with Nalonga Sayyed and Faraja Lewis * ''Dialogue with the African-American Male'' with Richard Rowe and Earl El-Amin

References

External links

WEAA Website

Video interview with The Bassman
{{coord, 39.342, N, 76.587, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title 1977 establishments in Maryland African-American history in Baltimore EAA Jazz radio stations in the United States Morgan State University NPR member stations Public Radio International stations Radio stations established in 1977 EAA