WFIU (103.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) is a

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 broadcasting from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

(IUB) in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

, United States. The station is a member station of

NPR 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 ...

Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programm ...

and

American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and oper ...

. Together with IUB-owned television station

WTIU WTIU, virtual channel 30 ( UHF digital channel 33), is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station serving Indianapolis, Indiana, United States that is licensed to Bloomington. Owned by Indiana University, it is a sister st ...

(channel 30), it is known as Indiana Public Media. Studios are located in the Radio-Television Building on the IUB campus, and the transmitter is located at a site on South Sare Road in Bloomington. Seven translators broadcast WFIU and its second

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 ...

subchannel, primarily in areas outside of the main transmitter's coverage area, including

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

and Kokomo. WFIU was established in 1950 and initially served as a training ground for IUB students. It moved to its present frequency in 1951 and was one of NPR's charter members.

History

Indiana University had been producing radio programming since 1937, but it was not until 1942 that the university filed to established a radio station in the then-new FM service. The original application specified 42.9 MHz; after the FM band was changed to 88–108 MHz in 1945, IU amended its proposal to specify 91.9 MHz, in the noncommercial reserved portion of the new band, and the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) granted the application on March 27, 1947. WFIU began broadcasting on September 30, 1950. While its launch was a landmark for the university, it heralded problems for some television viewers. Local station WFBM-TV broadcast on channel 6, and its audio was at 87.75 MHz, close to WFIU's frequency. Many early sets were not sensitive enough to prevent interference, resulting in viewers hearing WFIU while they watched WFBM-TV and a deluge of complaints to the university. This problem would be solved by moving the station out of the reserved band. As it happened, there was an unused FM frequency in Bloomington. In June 1949, radio station WSUA had put WSUA-FM 103.7 on the air. However, its owners, three men from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, were run out of business by the saturation of small Bloomington with three AM and one FM stations and a new newspaper all entering the market within the span of several years. They sold the physical plant and advertising contracts to

Sarkes Tarzian Sarkes Tarzian (October 5, 1900 – October 7, 1987) was an Ottoman-born American engineer, inventor, and broadcaster. He was ethnic Armenian born in the Ottoman Empire. He and his family immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States in ...

, owner of station

WTTS WTTS is an FM radio station serving Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States, licensed to Trafalgar, Indiana, and broadcasting at 92.3 FM. The station's format is classified as adult album alternative or "triple A." WTTS u ...

, and shut it down on January 5, 1950. In 1951, WFIU applied to move to 103.7 MHz; this was accepted. The first studios of WFIU were a

Quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I ...

with a single hallway "that went through it like a bowling alley", according to Dick Bishop, a student announcer from 1959 to 1961 who later served as the development director for WFIU and

, the IUB television station started in 1968. It functioned as a "laboratory station"; students produced and announced many of the programs, which were of a "local nature". One notable early WFIU product was sportscaster

Dick Enberg Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including N ...

. The Radio-Television Building on the IUB campus was completed in 1963, and the station began to take its modern direction with the launch of NPR in 1971; it was one of the initial 90 stations to carry ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''. From 1960 until 1972, WFIU transmitted with an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...

(ERP) of 75,000 watts from the center of the IU campus. At that time, it moved to the taller tower used by WTIU on the south side of Bloomington. The move increased WFIU's range, even though the power was reduced to 29,000 watts. The combined WFIU-WTIU news team has won numerous journalism awards including

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and

Edward R. Murrow Awards The Edward R. Murrow Award may refer to one of several awards named after American journalist Edward R. Murrow: * Edward R. Murrow Award (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), given out to individuals in public radio since 1977 * Edward Murrow Awa ...

for its local television, radio and web reporting in Indiana. In 2008, WFIU began

broadcasts and started a secondary service, "WFIU 2", which provides alternate public radio programs to complement WFIU's output.

Nationally syndicated programs

*'
Afterglow
'' - One hour program of jazz and American popular songs. *'
Earth Eats
'' - Hosted by Kayte Young with Daniel Orr *'
Harmonia
'' - A one-hour weekly program featuring

early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

(e.g.,

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

) music. Hosted by musician Angela Mariani and written by harpsichordist Bernard Gordillo. *'
Kinsey Confidential
'' - three-minute weekly program of sexual health information in partnership with the

Kinsey Institute The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (often shortened to The Kinsey Institute) is a research institute at Indiana University. Established in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1947 as a nonprofit, the institute merged with Indi ...

. *'
A Moment of Science
'' - Daily two-minute modules on various scientific topics. *'
Night Lights
'' - A one-hour weekly program of classic jazz hosted by David Brent Johnson.

Translators

WFIU has five translators that extend its coverage and two that provide the HD2 service on analog radio: *

: W236AE (95.1 FM) * Greensburg: W255BG (98.9 FM) *

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

: W264AL (100.7 FM) * French Lick/West Baden: W269BU (101.7 FM) * Kokomo: W291AM (106.1 FM) * Seymour: W261CM (100.1 FM, rebroadcasts HD2) * Bloomington: W270BH (101.9 FM, rebroadcasts HD2)

References

External links

WFIU Homepage
with programming availabl
as podcasts
an
as a live web stream
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wfiu Radio stations established in 1950

FIU Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida ...

NPR member stations

Indiana University 1950 establishments in Indiana