WAMU explained

City:Washington, D.C.
Country:US
WAMU
Logo Alt:WAMU 88.5FM logo
Area:Washington metropolitan area
Branding:WAMU 88.5
Format:Public News–Talk
Subchannels:HD2: Bluegrass Country (Bluegrass–Americana)
Affiliations:National Public Radio
Owner:American University
Licensee:AU Board of Trustees
Founded: (carrier current)
Airdate: (FM)
Former Callsigns:WAMU-FM (1961–1981)[1]
Callsign Meaning:AMerican University
Licensing Authority:FCC
Facility Id:65399
Class:B
Erp:47,000 watts
Coordinates:38.9362°N -77.0925°W

WAMU (88.5 FM) is a public news–talk station that services the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area. It is owned by American University, and its studios are located near the campus in northwest Washington. WAMU has been the primary National Public Radio member station for Washington since 2007.

History

WAMU began as an AM carrier-current student radio station, signing on July 28, 1951, on,[2] before shifting to in March 1952[3] and in November 1952.[4] Although carrier-current stations are not granted a license or call sign by the FCC, it used "WAMU" as a familiar form of identification.[5] The station aired a wide range of student-produced programming including music, news, sports, radio dramas, and debates. The station was heralded as a rebirth of the university's prior radio station, WAMC, which operated on for about two years starting on January 15, 1947,[6] broadcasting with a 50-watt transmitter as part of a plan to offer a full range of radio and television courses at American University.[7] [8] WAMC's operations were sporadic and the station suffered interference from a 50,000-watt station broadcasting from Mexico on the same frequency,[9] [10] but it finally went off the air after station equipment was stolen in 1950.[11]

Throughout the late 1950s, students and faculty involved with WAMU-AM pushed to create an FM station that could reach beyond campus and serve Washington, D.C., as a whole.[12] In late 1960, the university received a non-commercial FM broadcasting license, and WAMU made its first FM broadcast on October 23, 1961, on using a 4,000-watt second-hand transmitter acquired from WGBH in Boston.[13] [14] [15] Although it was not strictly necessary as the AM carrier-current station's call sign was not official, the FM station took the suffixed call sign "WAMU-FM" to differentiate itself. The station dropped the -FM suffix in 1981.

WAMU-FM station was established as an "education station" operated by the university, not as a student-run station.[16] Despite this about 75 AU students, many of whom also worked at the carrier-current station, produced local programming for WAMU-FM.[17] [18] In its first year of operation, WAMU simulcast the same programming, which included educational programs, dramas, and classical music, on AM and FM for three hours each evening.[19]

From its inception as a student-run station, WAMU provided public affairs and educational programming. With the launch of its FM service in 1961, WAMU joined the nascent National Educational Radio Network, a predecessor to NPR. In 1971, the station was a founding member of National Public Radio.[14]

In 1967, WAMU-FM began programming bluegrass music which, in its heyday on the main channel, included the Lee Michael Demsey Show and the Ray Davis Show and weekends included Stained Glass Bluegrass and West Virginia Public Radio's Mountain Stage. The station hosted an annual bluegrass concert at Fairfax High School, as well as the yearly "Pickin' in the Glen" concert, featuring performers such as Alison Krauss, Tony Rice, the Gibson Brothers, the Lewis Family, Hot Rize, and Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers.[20] However, starting in the late 1990s, the station began paring back its on-air bluegrass programming in favor of news/talk programming. In summer 2001, the station fully transitioned its weekday programming to all news and public affairs from various providers including NPR, PRI, APM and the BBC World Service,[14] and in September 2007 the station removed the last of its bluegrass programming from its main channel, shifting it all to the HD2 subchannel.[21]

On May 7, 2004, WAMU-FM began digital broadcasting using the HD Radio standard and launched the Americana-music station Bluegrass Country on its HD2 subchannel.[22] The station also operated for several years an HD3 service, WAMU-3, broadcasting a mix of talk and music programming, including simulcast programming from Towson University's WTMD.[23] [24]

Also in 2004, the prominent Washington journalist Ellen Wadley Roper left WAMU a $250,000 bequest, the largest gift in the station's history.[25]

When fellow public radio station WETA returned to an all-classical music format in 2007, WAMU became Washington, D.C.'s only full-time public news station, ending two years of competition between the stations for D.C.'s NPR news audience.[26] [27]

In December 2015, WAMU executives announced that long-time program host Diane Rehm, who began working at WAMU in 1973, would be stepping down from her show following the 2016 Presidential election, representing a major shake-up in WAMU's programming lineup. Rehm, then 79, stated that she wanted a younger voice to take her place at WAMU. Also in 2015, Kojo Nnamdi lost the local public affairs program The Kojo Nnamdi Shows second hour of broadcasting, showing a trend for easier-to-access media for younger consumers.[28] In 2021, Nnamdi retired his daily program although he continued to host the weekly "The Politics Hour" program with analyst Tom Sherwood.[29]

In February 2018, it was announced that WAMU, KPCC and WNYC had bought the archives of Gothamist, and WAMU would resume the publication of local Washington news site DCist in Spring 2018.[30] WAMU relaunched DCist on June 11, 2018.[31] WAMU shut down DCist and laid off all its journalists on February 23, 2024. Initially, WAMU added a redirect from the DCist website to the WAMU homepage which blocked access to all DCist articles.[32] [33] [34] However, following public criticism, WAMU restored access to the DCist website and stated they will continue to make it "available to the public for at least a year as it seeks a long-term home for the archive".

Technical facilities

In 2013, WAMU moved to a new studio facility at 4401 Connecticut Ave. NW in the Forest Hills/Van Ness neighborhood of Washington, D.C.[35] The facility was constructed with three broadcast studios, two news studios with dedicated control rooms, multiple editing suites, and a 90-seat black box theater capable of supporting broadcasts before a live studio audience.[36]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FCC History Cards for WAMU. May 24, 2018. May 24, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180524222903/http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=70016. live.
  2. News: WAMU Campus Radio Station. Lampe. Henry. October 4, 1951. The American University Eagle. Washington, D.C.. 26. 1. 3. August 24, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021057/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=AUE19511004.2.18&e=--1944---1959--en-20-AUE-1-byDA-img-txIN-WAMU--------. live.
  3. News: WAMU Changes Frequency, Joins Inter-Collegiate B'casting Service. . April 24, 1952. The American University Eagle. 26. 17. 1. Washington, D.C.. August 24, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021051/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=AUE19520424.2.5&srpos=18&e=--1944---1959--en-20-AUE-1-byDA-img-txIN-WAMU--------. live.
  4. News: notice. . November 21, 1952. The American University Eagle. II. 8. 2. Washington, D.C.. August 24, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021047/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=AUE19521121.2.14&srpos=27&e=--1944---1959--en-20-AUE-21-byDA-img-txIN-WAMU--------. live.
  5. Web site: WVAU |. alika.tripod.com. October 16, 2023. April 6, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230406110138/https://alika.tripod.com/wvau/wugi.html. live.
  6. News: Station WAMC, 590 KCS. . January 17, 1947. The American University Eagle. 3. 5. 1. Washington, D.C.. August 24, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021051/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=AUE19470117&e=--1944---1959--en-20-AUE-1-byDA-img-txIN-WAMC--------. live.
  7. News: Station WAMC, 590 KCS. . The American Eagle. Washington, D.C.. January 17, 1947. 3. 5. 1. March 24, 2022. April 3, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220403202001/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=AUE19470117&e=-------en-20-AUE-1-byDA-img-txIN-WAMC---------. live.
  8. News: Radio and Television Courses. . NEA Journal. October 1947. 56. 7. 538. March 23, 2022. Internet Archive.
  9. News: Refreshed WAMC to Hit Air Waves. . The American Eagle. Washington, D.C.. March 19, 1947. 1. 4. 1. March 24, 2022. April 3, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220403202001/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=AUE19470319.2.1&srpos=5&e=-------en-20-AUE-1-byDA-img-txIN-WAMC---------. live.
  10. News: 590 on Your Dial. Harvey. Carol Jean. The American Eagle. Washington, D.C.. December 3, 1947. 22. 7. 3. March 24, 2022. March 24, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220324124458/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=AUE19471203.2.17&e=-------en-20-AUE-1-byDA-img-txIN-WAMC---------. live.
  11. Encyclopedia: WAMU. O'Dell. Cary. The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio. 818–819. Sterling. Christopher H.. O'Dell. Cary. 2010. Routledge. Milton Park, England. March 24, 2022. 9781135176846.
  12. News: Grown-Up Radio: WAMU at 20. October 18, 1981. Harrington. Richard. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.. August 24, 2020.
  13. News: A New Program On the Campus: Students Air Their Studies. Donihi. Rosemary. October 22, 1961. The Washington Post and Times-Herald. .
  14. Web site: WAMU 88.5 History . September 26, 2014 . October 26, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141026224134/http://wamu.org/about/history . live .
  15. Book: Lornell, Kip. Capital Bluegrass: Hillbilly Music Meets in Washington. August 10, 2020. 2020. Oxford University Press. Oxford, England. 978-0-19-986311-2. 152–154.
  16. News: Eagle Policy WAMU-FM. . The American University Eagle. Washington, D.C.. November 2, 1960. 35. 9. 1. August 12, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021048/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=AUE19601102.2.3&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN-WAMU--------. live.
  17. News: FM Station Dedicated; Cultural Programs Begun. . The AU Reporter. Washington, D.C.. 10. 3. 1. October 1961. 1961/auislandora:75482.
  18. News: WAMU Goes FM Oct. 23; AM Continues On Campus. . The American University Eagle. Washington, D.C.. September 20, 1961. 36. 1. 3. August 12, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021049/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=AUE19610920.2.17&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN-WAMU--------. live.
  19. News: WAMU Starts Broadcasts; To Present Music, News. Rogers. Dan. The American University Eagle. October 4, 1961. 36. 3. 4. Washington, D.C.. August 12, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021048/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=AUE19611004.2.33&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN-WAMU--------. live.
  20. Web site: Mission & History . March 10, 2014 . March 10, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140310225329/http://bluegrasscountry.org/about/history/ . live .
  21. Web site: WAMU HD-channels Programming Change Announcement. https://web.archive.org/web/20071011115101/http://wamu.org/programs/messages/07/09/02.php. October 11, 2007. dead. WAMU. Washington, D.C.. August 25, 2020.
  22. News: American University's WAMU(FM) is beta-testing a second digital channel with special authorization from the FCC. Stimson. Leslie. June 1, 2004. Radio World. Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia. August 25, 2020. October 25, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201025002545/https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/digital-news-wamu-goes-digital-has-second-channel. live.
  23. News: WAMU Multicasting Gets 'Real' With Planned HD3 Launch, Receiver Giveaways. Stimson. Leslie. Radio World. September 4, 2007. Alexandria, Virginia. August 25, 2020. November 24, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201124035650/https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/wamu-multicasting-gets-real-with-planned-hd3-launch-receiver-giveaways. live.
  24. News: For WAMU and its listeners, HD Radio means more slices of pie to go around. Caryn G.. Mathes. September 8, 2009. Current. Washington, D.C.. August 18, 2023. August 18, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230818124922/https://current.org/2009/09/for-wamu-and-its-listeners-hd-radio-means-more-slices-of-pie-to-go-around/. live.
  25. . WAMU 88.5 FM Receives $250,000 Bequest; Largest Gift in Station's History . Washington, D.C. . American University . April 8, 2004 . September 26, 2014 . October 27, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141027002320/http://augcluster.american.edu/AU/media/mediarel.nsf/608575dac58ec4a785256869007c9cba/93ef7810ed02740885256e70005ac41b . dead .
  26. Classical WETA's Official Release . March 10, 2014 . March 10, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140310213913/https://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/classical-wetas-official-release_b5166 . dead .
  27. News: Format Swap Announced for WETA, WGMS Radio. January 22, 2007. . DCist. Washington, D.C.. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20070401213644/https://dcist.com/archives/2007/01/22/format_swap_ann.php. April 1, 2007. August 25, 2020.
  28. Web site: WAMU Is Making Big Changes. Here's a Look at Its Plans. Beaujon. Andrew. Washingtonian. December 16, 2015. Washington, D.C.. August 25, 2020. August 17, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200817190957/https://www.washingtonian.com/2015/12/16/wamu-diane-rehm-jj-yore-kojo-nnamdi-andi-mcdaniel-changes/. live.
  29. News: Kojo Nnamdi, long-running Washington radio host, is retiring from daily show after 23 years. Farhi. Paul. January 13, 2021. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.. April 12, 2021. February 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210203134436/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/kojo-nnamdi-retires-wamu/2021/01/13/0c8dc576-55b0-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html. live.
  30. Web site: Gothamist Will Publish Again in Deal With WNYC. Andy. Newman. The New York Times. February 23, 2018. New York City, New York. August 25, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405032457/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/nyregion/gothamist-dnainfo-deal-wnyc-publish-again.html. live.
  31. News: Schweitzer . Ally . DCist Is Officially Back — And Ready To Breathe New Life Into Local News . WAMU . Washington, D.C. . June 11, 2018 . June 15, 2018 . April 5, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405221714/https://wamu.org/story/18/06/11/dcist-officially-back-ready-breathe-new-life-local-news/ . live .
  32. News: Izadi . Elahe . Sommer . Will . WAMU shuts down local news site DCist, will lay off reporters . February 23, 2024 . . February 23, 2024 . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223170735/https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/02/23/wamu-layoffs-dcist-shutdown/ . live .
  33. Web site: February 23, 2024 . WAMU restructures, shuts down popular news site DCist . February 28, 2024 . . en . February 27, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240227194941/https://wjla.com/news/local/wamu-restructures-shuts-down-popular-news-site-dcist-audio-radio-digital-news-blog-website-layoffs-new-roles-washington . live .
  34. Web site: Williams . Elliot C. . February 28, 2024 . DCist archive will be available for 1 year, as WAMU seeks long-term home for beloved news site . 2024-02-28 . WAMU . en.
  35. News: WAMU Move: News Dept. Moves In Monday. September 13, 2013. . Forest Hills Connection. Washington, D.C.. October 15, 2020. October 17, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201017031032/https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/wamu-move-news-dept-moves-in-monday/. live.
  36. News: CEI Builds Broadcast Facility for WAMU. Reigart. Emily M.. March 6, 2014. Radio World. Alexandria, Virginia. October 15, 2020. September 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200922140128/https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/cei-builds-broadcast-facility-for-wamu. live.
  37. News: Stations plan for staying on air with remote staff. Fybush. Scott. March 16, 2020. Current. Washington, D.C.. October 15, 2020. September 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200929140924/https://current.org/2020/03/stations-plan-for-staying-on-air-with-remote-staff/#_=_. live.
  38. News: WAMU Set to Begin Tower Renovation, Antenna Replacement. October 11, 2019. . Inside Towers. Ponte Vedra, Florida. October 15, 2020. February 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210225212036/https://insidetowers.com/cell-tower-news-wamu-set-to-begin-tower-renovation-antenna-replacement/. live.
  39. News: New Master Antenna System Serves D.C.. McLane. Paul. June 12, 2020. Radio World. Washington, D.C.. October 15, 2020. October 16, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201016231452/http://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/new-master-antenna-system-serves-d-c. live.
  40. News: WAMU Set to Complete Move by End of September. . Tenleytown, D.C.. Washington, D.C.. October 15, 2020. October 17, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201017194948/https://tenleytowndc.org/2013/08/22/wamu-set-to-complete-move-by-end-of-september/. live.
  41. News: NPR and WAMU, Washington, DC, 2008. Fybush. Scott. February 5, 2010. Tower Site of the Week. Rochester, New York. October 15, 2020. October 20, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201020052939/https://fybush.com/sites/2010/site-100205.html. live.
  42. Web site: Station Schedules. March 10, 2014.
  43. News: Moyer . Justin Wm. . 'You will lose a lot of listeners': Petition fights cancellation of WAMU's 'Hot Jazz Saturday Night' . Washington Post . June 12, 2018 . June 16, 2018 . June 16, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180616154013/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/you-will-lose-a-lot-of-listeners-petition-fights-cancellation-of-wamus-hot-jazz-saturday-night/2018/06/12/b32954c8-6b38-11e8-a2c8-f30a4534ff34_story.html . live .
  44. Web site: WAMU Brings Back Hot Jazz Saturday Night Among Programming Changes. September 3, 2020. September 5, 2020. WAMU (Around WAMU). January 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210102234707/https://wamu.org/around-wamu/wamu-brings-back-hot-jazz-saturday-night-among-programming-changes/. live.
  45. Web site: Navigating Musical History with WAMU's Dick Spottswood. The Kojo Nnamdi Show. October 14, 2010. WAMU. Washington, D.C.. July 24, 2020.
  46. News: 47 years of bluegrass on WAMU. Lawless. John. July 2, 2014. Bluegrass Today. Roanoke, Virginia. July 24, 2014. August 12, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140812025708/http://bluegrasstoday.com/47-years-of-bluegrass-on-wamu/. live.
  47. News: WAMU Will Sell or Close Its Bluegrass Station. Washingtonian. July 7, 2016. July 3, 2017. November 7, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107024634/https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/07/07/wamu-will-sell-or-close-bluegrass-country/. live.
  48. News: WAMU's Bluegrass Country Radio Is Saved By Foundation. DCist. January 26, 2017. July 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170727112429/http://dcist.com/2017/01/bluegrass_radio_continues.php. July 27, 2017. live.
  49. News: Moyer. Justin Wm.. WAMU 88.5 reaches deal to keep bluegrass on the air. Washington Post. January 26, 2017. November 3, 2017. November 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171116033654/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/wamu-885-reaches-deal-to-keep-bluegrass-on-the-air/2017/01/26/62909884-e3f1-11e6-8070-d6c457cb690f_story.html. live.
  50. News: Russian-Funded News Station Replaces Bluegrass on 105.5 FM. DCist. November 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170630213150/http://dcist.com/2017/06/russian-funded_news_station_replace.php. June 30, 2017. live.
  51. News: WAMU(FM) in Washington Launches Eastern Shore Relay. . June 29, 2010. Radio World. Alexandria, Virginia. August 25, 2020. October 25, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201025001346/https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/wamufm-in-washington-launches-eastern-shore-relay. live.
  52. Web site: Case Study: Big Problems at Delmarva Public Radio. Mills. Ken. January 10, 2018. Spark News. March 30, 2021. April 11, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210411181818/http://acrnewsfeed.blogspot.com/2018/01/case-study-big-problems-at-delmarva.html. live.
  53. News: WRAU 88.3 Signal Remains Part of WAMU 88.5 Until A New Buyer Is Identified. . October 15, 2020. WAMU. Washington, D.C.. March 30, 2021. April 11, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210411181818/https://wamu.org/around-wamu/wrau-88-3-signal-remains-part-of-wamu-88-5-until-a-new-buyer-is-identified/. live.
  54. News: WAMU to Sell WRAU to Delaware Public Media. Reigart. Emily M.. February 24, 2020. Radio World. Washington, D.C.. March 30, 2021. April 11, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210411181810/https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/wrau-sold-to-delaware-public-media. live.
  55. News: WAMU reaches second deal to sell Maryland station. Janssen. Mike. March 25, 2021. Current. Washington, D.C.. March 30, 2021. March 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210328071229/https://current.org/2021/03/wamu-reaches-second-deal-to-sell-maryland-station/. live.
  56. News: Washington's WGTS Adds Class B Simulcast Partner On Maryland's Eastern Shore. . March 25, 2021. Inside Radio. Atlanta, Georgia. March 30, 2021. March 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210325210020/http://www.insideradio.com/free/washington-s-wgts-adds-class-b-simulcast-partner-on-maryland-s-eastern-shore/article_e6aa9dc8-8d83-11eb-9c41-37f8df0c5014.html. live.
  57. wgts919 . 1408175717909663748 . We're just moments away from launching 88.3-FM in Ocean City, and more hope on the Eastern Shore! Help us count down to when we flip the switch. Watch the live event starting at 5:45pm here: #CrankUptheJoy #CrankUptheJoyontheEasternShore #WGBZ.
  58. Web site: A Transition For WYAU Listeners. . December 5, 2017. WAMU. Washington, D.C.. April 12, 2021. April 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412131915/https://wamu.org/around-wamu/transition-wyau-listeners/. live.
  59. News: WAMU Change Slowed. Spiegel. Jodi. February 23, 1979. The American University Eagle. 53. 17. 1. Washington, D.C.. August 24, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021053/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=AUE19790223.2.4&e=--1975---1986--en-20-AUE-1-byDA-img-txIN-WVAU--------. live.
  60. News: Still No WVAU-FM Radio. Hinden. Jack. September 27, 1985. The Eagle. 60. 3. 9. Washington, D.C.. August 24, 2020. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021052/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=AUE19850927.2.54&e=--1975---1986--en-20-AUE-1-byDA-img-txIN-WVAU--------. live.
  61. News: WVAU Coming Back On Air as EAGLE 102. Springs. Greg. The Eagle. January 25, 1988. 1. 62. 20. March 30, 2021. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021048/https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=d&d=AUE19880125.2.5&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN---------. live.
  62. Web site: WVAU: The Constitution § The History of WVAU. November 20, 2017. WVAU. August 25, 2020. August 9, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200809211933/http://wvau.org/757/constitution/wvau-the-constitution/. live.
  63. News: College Radio Day: An SOS (save our stations). Daniel. de Vise. October 11, 2011. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.. August 25, 2020. October 31, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191031090250/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/college-radio-day-an-sos-save-our-stations/2011/10/11/gIQApqLidL_story.html. live.
  64. Web site: AU Student Media. American University. Washington, D.C.. March 30, 2021. April 7, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210407091326/https://www.american.edu/ocl/student-involvement/au-student-media.cfm. live.
  65. News: My trip to College Radio Station WVAU at American University. Waits. Jennifer. October 19, 2015. Radio Survivor. San Francisco, California. March 30, 2021. February 4, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210204232742/http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2015/10/19/my-trip-to-college-radio-station-wvau-at-american-university/. live.
  66. News: Speedy Ortiz and The So So Glos Turn Up On A New WVAU Compilation. Schweitzer. Ally. bandwidth.fm. Washington, D.C.. March 30, 2021. April 5, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405021047/http://bandwidth.wamu.org/index.html?p=30502.html. live.
  67. Web site: WVAU wins top award at CMJ. Jordan-Marie. Smith. November 14, 2014. The Eagle. Washington, D.C.. August 25, 2020. September 5, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200905220216/https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2014/11/wvau-wins-award-at-cmj. live.
  68. American University | WAMU Radio Renovation|date=2013|publisher=GHT Ltd. Consulting Engineers|location=Arlington, Virginia|url=https://ghtltd.com/projects/american-university-wamu-radio-renovation/|access-date=October 15, 2020|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019214755/https://ghtltd.com/projects/american-university-wamu-radio-renovation/|url-status=live}} In total the five-floor WAMU media center supports 21 broadcast and production studios and control rooms and a technical core, as well as 12 conference rooms and community spaces.[36] The IP-based studio infrastructure at the facility helped ensure WAMU staff could work remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.[37]

    In October 2019, the station launched a major tower renovation and antenna replacement project for its tower on the American University campus. The improvents were designed to improve reception in Northern Virginia and parts of Maryland. During the project, WAMU broadcast from an auxiliary site in Arlington, Virginia.[38] The WAMU antenna also serves WTOP, WPFW, and WETA; the tower also hosts auxiliary antennas for WPGC and WMMJ.[39]

    Prior to the station's move to Connecticut Avenue, WAMU operated for about two decades from two floors of an office building in Tenleytown near the AU campus that at one point housed the East German embassy.[40] Before that, the station was housed on the AU campus next to its tower.[41]

    Programming

    WAMU's main channel carries content from NPR, American Public Media, Public Radio International, and Public Radio Exchange. The station's weekday schedule is largely made up of NPR staples Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Here and Now, The Takeaway, and Fresh Air., WAMU produces one daily program, 1A, which NPR distributes nationally.[42] The station also airs This American Life. A relay of the BBC World Service is heard overnight and in the 9 a.m. slot on weekdays.

    WAMU breaks from its general all-news and talk schedule only on weekend nights, which it devotes to entertainment programming; Sunday nights are given to The Big Broadcast, which originated in 1964 as Recollections. This program, which airs for four hours, features rebroadcasts of drama, comedy, and variety shows from the "golden age of radio", including The Jack Benny Show, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, The Great Gildersleeve, Lux Radio Theater, and Philco Radio Time with Bing Crosby. Ed Walker, himself a storied Washington broadcaster, served as the program's host from 1990 to 2015. On Saturdays, the station broadcasts Hot Jazz Saturday Night, which features popular music from the swing era and debuted in 1980. The show, which became a Saturday night staple with a loyal audience over the years, was first cancelled in 2018. Amid listener protests, WAMU management stated at that time that music was increasingly becoming out of place on the station's schedule, and cited listener surveys showing a desire for more news programming on weekends; after this change, a delayed broadcast of Live from Here was the only remaining music program on WAMU's schedule.[43] After the cancellation of Live From Here opened up two hours in the Saturday night schedule, WAMU returned Hot Jazz Saturday Night in September 2020.[44]

    Bluegrass Country

    WAMU's HD2 subchannel broadcasts bluegrass music under the branding Bluegrass Country. Bluegrass has a long history on WAMU, which included regular bluegrass programming on its main channel from 1967 to 2007.[45] [46] In 2001, WAMU launched Bluegrass Country as an internet stream, and in 2007 it launched Bluegrass Country on WAMU-HD2 as an all-bluegrass HD Radio digital subchannel.

    In July 2016, WAMU announced it would shut down Bluegrass Country for financial reasons that December 31, unless it could find a buyer for the station and access to its HD2 channel.[47] At the time, WAMU was losing $250,000 per year on the station. Listeners created the nonprofit Bluegrass Country Foundation, and after an extension of negotiations, the foundation took over operations in January 2017. WAMU included access to its HD2 subchannel for at least two years.[48] [49]

    Bluegrass Country also aired on FM via independently owned translator W288BS from Reston, Virginia, until June 2017, when the owner elected not to renew his contract with the channel and replaced it with Radio Sputnik.[50]

    Bluegrass Country Radio now airs on WAMU's HD2 subchannel and online, as well as via iOS and Android apps. Programming currently includes Stained Glass Bluegrass, the Chris Teskey Show and the Dick Spottswood Show.

    Former repeaters

    From summer 2010 to June 2021, WAMU operated a 50,000-watt Class B Eastern Shore relay service on WRAU licensed to Ocean City, Maryland, with its transmission facilities in Whaleyville. WRAU carried local content, such as news, traffic, and weather, along with simulcasts of WAMU's main channel programming.[51] By 2017, WRAU was considered the primary NPR news source for listeners in central Delmarva.[52]

    Citing a desire to focus on its core Washington-market, WAMU in 2020 began seeking to sell off WRAU/88.3; according to the station, WRAU makes up about 2 percent of WAMU's total weekly listenership.[53] In February 2020, WAMU reached an agreement with Delaware Public Media for the sale of WRAU;[54] however, the broadcasters unwound the deal in October 2020, citing economic changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In March 2021, WAMU announced the sale of the station to Atlantic Gateway Communications, owner of Takoma Park, Maryland-based WGTS.[55] WGTS plans to use WGTS as a repeater service for its contemporary Christian programming.[56] The station handover happened on June 24, 2021, with the station being reassigned as WGBZ.[57]

    From 2014 to 2017, WAMU operated a second repeater, the 8,000-watt Class B1 WYAU on licensed to Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, serving the Fredericksburg area. The station was sold in December 2017 to the Educational Media Foundation, which relaunched it as WLJV.[58]

    WVAU

    The student-run WAMU carrier-current station continued operating on AM and in 1979 attempted to convert to a licensed FM station.[59] To prepare for the move, the station rebranded as WVAU, "The Voice of American University." WVAU began testing operation on in 1985, using a series of experimental low-power FM transmitters designed to limit reception to residence halls.[60] While these plans were abandoned, it eventually started operation on cable FM, also on 101.7 and branded "Eagle 102", in 1988.[61] WVAU shut down in 1997, resurfacing as an internet-only station in 2001.[62] [63]

    WVAU is completely student run and is part of American University's Student Media Board.[64] The station operates from studios in the Mary Graydon Center on the AU campus with about 100 student DJs.[65] In 2014–15, the station produced a series of live, in-studio compilation albums, "Live in the Hive," featuring local and touring artists.[66] In 2014, WVAU was named best student-run, internet-only station by CMJ.[67]

    External links

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