WVPW 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 ...
formatted
broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
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
Buckhannon, West Virginia
Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, West Virginia, Upshur County, West Virginia, United States, and is located along the Buckhannon River. The population was 5,299 at the 2020 United States Census ...
, serving Central West Virginia.
WVPW is owned and operated by West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority.
History
The station was originally licensed to
West Virginia Wesleyan College
West Virginia Wesleyan College is a private college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist E ...
in Buckhannon, WV as WVWC. WVWC was believed to be the first high power public radio station in West Virginia. WVWC became a founding member of National Public Radio in 1971, broadcasting the first episode of NPR’s flagship program All Things Considered in May, 1971. WVWC was given authorization to broadcast at the relatively high power signal of 14,000 watts because of the United States National Radio Quiet Zone.
West Virginia Wesleyan College is located within the USNRQZ. The tower for WVWC was located 5 miles west of Weston, WV, just outside of the USNRQZ. The station’s powerful signal was given because the tower’s location was approximately 18 miles from Buckhannon, and a strong signal was needed to reach Buckhannon. In 1975, West Virginia Wesleyan College agreed to sell the station to the new West Virginia Public Radio network, and its call sign was changed to WVPW.
Translators
In addition to the main station, WVPW is relayed by three FM translators to widen its broadcast area.
Both translators are owned and operated by West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority.
References
External links
West Virginia Public Broadcasting Online*
NPR member stations
VPW
{{WestVirginia-radio-station-stub