WIAA (88.7 FM) is a

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 radi ...

Interlochen, Michigan Interlochen ( ') is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 694, up from 583 at the 2010 census. The community is located with ...

. The station is owned by Interlochen Center for the Arts, and is an affiliate of the

Interlochen Public Radio Interlochen Public Radio (IPR), established in 1963, is the National Public Radio member network for Northern Michigan. It broadcasts classical music and news on five stations in the northwestern Lower Peninsula. It is operated by the Interloch ...

's "Classical IPR" network, consisting of classical music.

History

WIAA is the flagship station of the IPR Music Radio network, and began broadcasting in 1963 at 88.3 FM. Interlochen Center founder Joe Maddy had long dreamed of bringing a fine arts station to Northern Michigan, in part as a way to increase exposure to performances at the

National Music Camp Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. In ...

(now

Interlochen Arts Camp Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. ...

). WIAA was a charter member of NPR. In 1989, WIAA moved from 88.3 FM at 115,000 watts to 88.7 FM at 100,000 watts. WIAA's signal covers a large portion of northwestern and west-central lower Michigan, from Howard City to Gaylord and beyond. Interlochen Center for the Arts acquired and launched sister station WICA in 2000 to feature a news- and talk-oriented format, and since that time WIAA and its two satellites (WICV and WIAB) have devoted almost all of their broadcast schedule to classical music and have not aired NPR news shows such as "

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...

" and "

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 ...

", although they do feature hourly news updates from NPR. NPR news shows are, however, available over a portion of IPR Music Radio's listening area on CMU Public Radio, and within the coverage areas of the IPR News Radio stations (see below). WICA programming is also heard in on WLMN

Manistee, Michigan Manistee ( ') is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in southwestern Manistee County, it is part of the northwestern Lower Peninsula. Manistee is the county seat of Manistee County, and its population was 6,259 at the 2020 census. Th ...

and on WHBP

Harbor Springs, Michigan Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County, Michigan. The population was 1,194 in the 2010 census. Harbor Springs is in a sheltered bay on the north shore of the Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan. The Little Traverse Lig ...

. WIAA also formerly operated a translator station in Traverse City, W264AC (100.7 FM), meant to fill in dead spots in the main signal's coverage in Traverse City; this translator went off the air in 2000. Studios for WIAA and other Interlochen Public Radio stations have always been located on the Interlochen Center for the Arts campus in Interlochen, Michigan.

Sources

Michiguide.com - WIAA History

External links

Classical IPR
* IAA NPR member stations {{Michigan-radio-station-stub