WSHU (1260 AM), is an

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 ...

member

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 A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

. It is owned and operated by

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic uni ...

. By day, WSHU is powered at 1,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s using a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...

. However, at night, to avoid interference with other stations on 1260 AM, it reduces power to nine watts. Programming is also heard on 150-watt

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

W276DY at 103.1

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 ...

in Westport. WSHU primarily features news, talk and informational programming from

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 ...

with local news updates throughout the day. It holds periodic

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

s on the air to support the running of the station. AM 1260 is one of the WSHU news and talk frequencies, which also includes the HD2 digital subchannel of

WSHU-FM WSHU-FM (91.1 FM) is a NPR-affiliated radio station operated by Sacred Heart University. Licensed to Fairfield, Connecticut, it serves the Connecticut and Long Island area with news and classical music programming. Programs produced at WSHU an ...

(

91.1 FM The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 91.1 MHz: Argentina * Aire de Santa Fe in Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, Santa Fe * Amadeus Cultura Musical in Buenos Aires * Amistad in Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz * Aries in Salta * CN Radio ...

) Fairfield, Connecticut, WSTC ( 1400 AM)

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

WSUF WSUF (89.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to Noyack, New York and serves the eastern Long Island and southeastern Connecticut areas. It is owned by Sacred Heart University. It broadcasts a news/talk radio and classical music format that in ...

(

89.9 FM The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 89.9 MHz: Argentina * Del Sol Viale in Viale, Entre Ríos * LRS872 Aire Libre in Acebal, Santa Fe * M90 in Rosario, Santa Fe * Master in Resistencia, Chaco * Onda Latina in San Ca ...

) Greenport, New York and WYBC ( 1340 AM)

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

History

The station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

the air on . For its first three decades, the station's

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

was WMMM. It was a

daytimer A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-co ...

, broadcasting at 1,000 watts by day and required to go off the air at night. Throughout most of its history, WMMM had a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * F ...

middle of the road

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

, featuring popular adult music, local news and sports. For many years, it was co-owned with an FM station at 107.9 MHz (now

WEBE WEBE (107.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Westport, Connecticut, carrying an adult contemporary format known as "WEBE108". Owned by Connoisseur Media, the station serves both the Greater New Haven and Fairfield County areas. The ...

). On June 18, 2015, WSHU was granted a

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) construction permit to change the

community of license In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broad ...

to Seymour, move to a different

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

site, decrease day power to 650 watts and increase night power to 17 watts. The station did not go through with the new construction and the construction permit is no longer listed on the FCC's website.FCC.gov/WSHU
/ref>

Repeaters

Notes:

References

External links

* Sacred Heart University Fairfield, Connecticut Mass media in Fairfield County, Connecticut SHU NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1959 1959 establishments in Connecticut {{Connecticut-radio-station-stub