WHHS (99.9 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 ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

licensed to the

School District of Haverford Township The School District of Haverford Township is a school district in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was created in 1944. The district serves all parts of the township, including Havertown. The current superinte ...

Havertown, Pennsylvania Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ZIP Code is 19083 and "Havertown" is a posta ...

(a suburb of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

), and run by the students of

Haverford High School Haverford Senior High School is the public high school of Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States, operated by the School District of Haverford Township. It is at 200 Mill Road in Havertown. The school serves the entirety of Haverford To ...

. Studios are located within the school, and the transmitter is located on top of the building. Typical show formats include

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

, rap/hip-hop,

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

, political talk, and sometimes more eclectic genres like classical or

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 major ...

. Occasionally, shows feature live performances from local or school-based bands. Students apply for a radio show (usually 90 minutes long), and a typical show has 2-4 hosts. On the basis of interviews and previous experience with the station, students are chosen to fill several positions, including general manager, technical director, programming director, promotions director, music director, and sports director. The radio station provides an introduction into the radio or

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

s industries for students interested in careers in these fields.

History

WHHS is the oldest high school-run radio station in the country. The station was originally assigned to 89.3 MHz and was granted its first license on February 21, 1950. In 1992, the

FCC 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 ...

forced the station to change frequencies to 107.9 MHz. In 2004, a new radio station licensed to Radio One to serve

Pennsauken, New Jersey Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 37,074, reflecting an increase of 1,189 (+3.3%) from the 35,885 count ...

and the Philadelphia market (WRNB, now

WPPZ-FM WPPZ-FM (107.9 FM) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Pennsauken, New Jersey in the Philadelphia radio market. The station is owned by Urban One, through licensee Radio One Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an Urban Oldies format. St ...

) signed on, requiring WHHS to change frequencies again. With Radio One's help, WHHS moved to 99.9 MHz in 2005. In 2006, the station began broadcasting live sporting events such as football and hockey. The station has broadcast election day specials and interviews with such politicians and Congressman

Curt Weldon Wayne Curtis Weldon (born July 22, 1947) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. He was defeated in November 2006 ...

and Congressman elect

Joe Sestak Joseph Ambrose Sestak Jr. (born December 12, 1951) is an American politician and retired United States Department of the Navy, U.S. Navy officer. He represented in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from ...

. WHHS celebrated 70 years of broadcasting in 2019.

References

External links

* * * * High school radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1949 Haverford Township, Pennsylvania HHS 1949 establishments in Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-radio-station-stub