Frequency 88.9 FM MHz Format Public broadcasting Area Florida, Tallahassee | City of license Tallahassee Owner Florida State University Sister stations WFSU-TV, WVFS | |
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Broadcast area Tallahassee, Florida
Panama City, Florida
North Central Florida
Southwest Georgia First air date WFSU-FM: January 21, 1949 (on 660 AM, moved to 91.5 FM in 1954 and to 88.9 in 1990)
WFSQ: October 14, 1990
WFSW: March 18, 1996
WFSL: April 15, 2003 ERP WFSU-FM: 90,000 watts
WFSQ: 86,000 watts
WFSW: 100,000 watts
WFSL: 250 watts HAAT WFSU-FM: 379 meters
WFSQ: 224 meters
WFSW: 123 meters
WFSL: 47 meters Class WFSU-FM: C
WFSQ & WFSL: A
WFSW: C1 Facility ID WFSU-FM: 21799
WFSQ: 21803
WFSW: 93708
WFSL: 21798 Affiliations NPR, Public Radio International | ||
WFSU is the callsign (or variations thereon) for public radio stations operated by Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.
Contents
WFSU also operates 3 radio stations that serve northern Florida:
History
Florida State entered radio on January 21, 1949, when WFSU signed on as a student-run radio station at 660 AM. Due to the terms of its license, the signal was limited to the confines of the Florida State campus. It was on the air for three hours every night during the week, with a lineup of campus news, interviews, music and an occasional play.
The station was forced off the air in April 1953 due to complaints that the signal was leaking off campus. Florida State applied for a low-powered FM license, and WFSU returned to the air at 91.5 FM in July 1954. Soon afterward, it joined the National Association of Educational Broadcasters, allowing it to significantly upgrade its programming with offerings from BBC World Service and Radio France. It also began carrying Seminoles football games after no commercial station would carry them.
In 1970, WFSU-FM became a charter member of NPR, and was one of the 90 stations to carry the initial broadcast of All Things Considered. In the 1970s, it shifted to a format of mostly classical music.
The station continued to grow during the 1980s, but was somewhat hampered by problems with its signal. Unlike most NPR stations of the time, it had no backup power source for its transmitter, resulting in frequent outages. The station's reception was also marginal at best in the northeastern part of the city, which is very hilly. To solve the problem, WFSU won approval for a new station on 88.9 FM, operating from a new tower northeast of Tallahassee. All NPR news and information programming moved there on October 14, 1990. Classical music remained on 91.5, which received new call letters, WFSQ. However, due to the legal structure of the changeover, the Federal Communications Commission considers WFSQ to be the same station as the old WFSU. To improve its coverage on the Georgia side of the market, Florida State signed on WFSL in 2003.
WFSW signed on in 1996, providing Panama City with a second NPR service, alongside Gulf Coast Community College's WKGC. Panama City is one of the smallest cities in the country with separate NPR stations.
Controversy
In June 2011, it was revealed that WFSU will receive $2.8 million in funding for various services related to Florida government. This is despite the $4.8 million of funding to other public radio and television stations vetoed by Governor Rick Scott in May 2011.