WOSA (101.1
FM) is a
non-commercial educational radio station licensed to
Grove City, Ohio
Grove City is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States which was founded in 1852. It is a suburb of Columbus. The population was 41,252 according to the 2020 Census.
History
Until the mid-19th century, the area that is now Grove City was a ...
, featuring a
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
format known as "Classical 101fm". Owned by the
Ohio State University, the station serves
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and ...
and much of the surrounding
Columbus metro area, extending its reach into
Mansfield,
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
* Marion (surname)
* Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
* Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* M ...
and
Southern Ohio
Appalachian Ohio is a bioregion and political unit in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, characterized by the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau. The Appalachian Regional Commission defines th ...
with four full-power
repeaters. The WOSA studios are located at the Fawcett Center on the Ohio State University campus, while the station transmitter resides off of Borror Road in
Lockbourne. In addition to a standard
analog transmission
Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...
, WOSA is available online. It is one of a few non-commercial stations in the United States to broadcast outside of its recommended frequency range (88-92 MHz).
History
WWCD (1990–2010)
WWCD began broadcasting on August 21, 1990. The first song played on the station was "Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, (Petrol)" by the
Dublin, Ireland band
Something Happens. The station was long owned by Fun With Radio, LLC., whose founder, Roger Vaughn, purchased the station from Video Services in 1992. WWCD and its successor station, WWCD (102.5 FM), has always been either owned or operated by interests in metro Columbus, and is one of the few remaining
independent radio stations in the U.S. playing alternative rock.
WWCD also lays claim to being one of the first stations in the
United States to be
simulcast and on
Internet radio
Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...
. In a March 2006
Radio & Records list of the top 20 alternative rock radio stations in the
United States, WWCD was ranked #4 in the country and #1 east of the Mississippi River.
WWCD's longtime program director throughout the late 1990s and 2000s was afternoon DJ Andy "Andyman" Davis. With the station almost since its inception, Davis previously served as the station's music director. Davis died of a suspected heart attack while on vacation in Michigan with his family on July 18, 2010.
The annual "Andyman-a-Thon" also continues in his name.
2010 "frequency shift"
Ohio State University, under licensee WOSU Public Media, announced a $4.8 million purchase of WWCD from Fun With Radio, LLC. on June 30, 2010.
At the same time, Fun With Radio entered into a
local marketing agreement with the WHIZ Media Group
to take over programming on
WCVZ (102.5 FM) in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
immediately,
with a future option for purchase. Although generally reported and regarded as a "frequency shift" for WWCD, Fun With Radio took over programming and operations of WCVZ; changed the station's format from country to alternative as a direct simulcast of WWCD; and rebranded the station as "CD101 @ 102.5".
The purchase of the original WWCD was consummated that December 14. WOSU Public Media then changed WWCD's callsign to WOSA; changed the station's format to
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
; and rebranded the station as "Classical 101fm".
Concurrently, WCVZ's callsign was changed to WWCD.
WOSA (2010–present)
WOSA's roots date back to WOSU-FM's long history as a classical outlet, airing the format on a full-time basis from 1980 until 2008 as a complement to
WOSU, which would air more traditional public radio fare. Starting on January 14, 2008, WOSU-FM switched to a mixed news/classical format, introducing NPR news magazines during morning and evening drive-times along with assorted NPR and
PRI weekend programs. Many of these programs were simulcast with its AM sister station
WOSU, which still programmed a separate news/talk format. As a result, WOSU established a 24-hour all classical music service on its HD-2 HD Radio stream and on it
web site
Upon WOSA's establishment, it assumed WOSU-FM's 24-hour HD-2 and internet-only all
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
service on a full-time basis, operating as a non-commercial station. In addition, WOSU-FM's format changed to news/talk as a simulcast with WOSU (subsequently divested). WOSU also converted four repeater stations for WOSU-FM—WOSB in
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
* Marion (surname)
* Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
* Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* M ...
, WOSE in
Coshocton, WOSP in
Portsmouth and WOSV in
Mansfield—to repeaters of WOSA. In particular, WOSB and WOSV serve areas north of Columbus that are not served well by the new 101.1 frequency
Programming
Repeaters
WOSA also extends its signal via full-power satellites WOSE
Coshocton (91.1 FM), WOSB
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
* Marion (surname)
* Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
* Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* M ...
(91.1 FM), WOSP
Portsmouth (91.5 FM), and WOSV
Mansfield (91.7 FM).
See also
*
WOSU-FM
*
WVSG - the former WOSU
*
WOSU-TV
References
External links
*
; Repeaters
*
*
*
*
{{NPR Ohio
Classical music radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 2010
Ohio State Buckeyes media
Ohio State University
OSA
Osa or OSA may refer to:
Places
* Osa Peninsula, a peninsula in Costa Rica
* Osa (canton), a canton in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica
* Osa Conservation Area, an administrative area in Costa Rica
* Osa, India, a village in Allahabad, ...
OSA
Osa or OSA may refer to:
Places
* Osa Peninsula, a peninsula in Costa Rica
* Osa (canton), a canton in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica
* Osa Conservation Area, an administrative area in Costa Rica
* Osa, India, a village in Allahabad, ...
NPR member stations
OSA
Osa or OSA may refer to:
Places
* Osa Peninsula, a peninsula in Costa Rica
* Osa (canton), a canton in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica
* Osa Conservation Area, an administrative area in Costa Rica
* Osa, India, a village in Allahabad, ...