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WPKN (89.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to
WPKN was founded in 1963 as the college radio station of the University of Bridgeport, but became independent of the university in 1989. The call letters originally stood for "Purple Knights Network," named after the university's sports teams.
Many stations below the 92 MHz FM band receive funds from commercial entities despite being part of the non-commercial radio band. This is thought by some to present the potential for conflicts of interest. WPKN only takes funds from private donors with no stipulations for their expenditure attached. This allows the music and news programmers complete freedom to produce their own shows with no outside pressure.
WPKN also had a carrier current on 540 AM.
In a 2021 article for The New Yorker,
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
. WPKN is a freeform radio station, staffed by volunteer programmers presenting a wide variety of music and public affairs programming. The syndicated weekly radio newsmagazine ''Between the Lines,'' a weekly show, was first produced in 1991 with Scott Harris, Denise Manzari, Bob Nixon, environmental journalist Jim Motavalli and many others at WPKN. Since 1993, Harris has been Between The Lines' executive producer.
History
WPKN was founded in 1963 as the college radio station of the University of Bridgeport, but became independent of the university in 1989. The call letters originally stood for "Purple Knights Network," named after the university's sports teams.
Many stations below the 92 MHz FM band receive funds from commercial entities despite being part of the non-commercial radio band. This is thought by some to present the potential for conflicts of interest. WPKN only takes funds from private donors with no stipulations for their expenditure attached. This allows the music and news programmers complete freedom to produce their own shows with no outside pressure.
WPKN also had a carrier current on 540 AM.
In a 2021 article for The New Yorker, David Owen
David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen, (born 2 July 1938) is a British politician and physician who served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as a Labour Party (UK), Labour Party MP under James Callaghan from 1977 t ...
labeled WPKN "the greatest radio station in the world", praising its human-made playlists in comparison to "corporate algorithms" on other radio stations.
See also
* List of community radio stations in the United StatesReferences
External links
* Radio stations established in 1963 University of Bridgeport Mass media in Hartford County, Connecticut PKN Mass media in Bridgeport, Connecticut Mass media in Fairfield County, Connecticut Community radio stations in the United States 1963 establishments in Connecticut {{Connecticut-radio-station-stub