WMFE-FM (90.7 MHz) is a listener-supported FM

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 ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, owned by Community Communications, Inc. WMFE-FM is

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the ...

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 n ...

(NPR) member station, with a

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

of news and information. Most programming is

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simul ...

on 89.5 WMFV in Cedar Creek, Florida. The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enou ...

s are on East Colonial Drive in Orlando. WMFE-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

(ERP) of 100,000

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, the maximum for non-grandfathered FM stations. The

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 ...

is on TV Tower Road in

Bithlo, Florida Bithlo is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,268 at the 2010 census, up from 4,626 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan St ...

, amid the

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

s for other Orlando-area FM and TV stations.

History

On Monday, July 14, 1980, the station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A digi ...

. In its early years it played a mix of

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" al ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, along with news and information from

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 ...

. The jazz music was dropped in 1983. Prior to that year, NPR programming was only available on a part-time basis via

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State Universi ...

station

WUCF-FM WUCF-FM (89.9 MHz) is a listener-supported radio station of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, United States.http://wucf.org/aboutwucf.htm About WUCF-FM The station is one of Central Florida's two NPR member stations, along ...

(WFTU-FM until 1978), leaving Orlando as the largest

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

in the nation without a full-time public radio station. Over time, the music shows were replaced with more public radio informational shows. In November 2009, the primary HD1 channel switched to an all-news/talk format with programs from NPR and other public radio sources. The HD2

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compres ...

became the source for classical music, with some weekend specialty music. In April 2011, Community Communications announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell PBS

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or ...

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

WMFE-TV, to

Daystar Television Network The Daystar Television Network (commonly referred to as Daystar Television, often shortened to Daystar) is an American evangelical Christian-based religious television network owned by the Word of God Fellowship, founded by Marcus Lamb in 1993. ...

, due to economic conditions. The organization said it would keep WMFE-FM's radio station and

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 ass ...

, since its listener contributions were able to meet expenses. The sale of WMFE-TV to Daystar was later cancelled. Instead, Community Communications sold the television station in 2012 to the

, which intended to keep the PBS programming. The TV station's call letters switched to

WUCF-TV WUCF-TV (channel 24) is a PBS member television station in Orlando, Florida, United States. Owned by the University of Central Florida (UCF), it is the region's sole PBS member station, reaching an estimated population of 4.6 million people in it ...

. On September 25, 2017, it was announced that WMFE-FM would acquire WKSG in Cedar Creek, Florida, (near

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

) from Daystar Public Radio, Inc. Upon approval of the deal, WMFE-FM switched the format on WKSG to public radio news/talk. It provides public radio coverage to underserved areas of Central Florida, including portions of Lake and Marion counties. The call letters on WKSG were changed to WMFV, similar to WMFE's call sign.90.7 WMFE is getting a sister station
''90.7 WMFE,'' September 26, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 28.6025, N, 81.093389, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title MFE-FM NPR member stations Classical music radio stations in the United States News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1980 1980 establishments in Florida