Branding WKU Public Radio Format Public radio | Frequency 88.9 MHz | |
City Bowling Green, Kentucky Repeater(s) WKPB 89.5, Henderson
WDCL-FM 89.7, Somerset
WKUE-FM 90.9, Elizabethtown
W277AA-FM 103.3, Somerset Affiliations American Public Media, National Public Radio, Public Radio International, Kentucky Public Radio | ||
WKU Public Radio is the public radio service of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is a division of the Department of Information Technology at WKU, and a member of National Public Radio.
Contents
Stations
The network consists of four full-power stations and a translator, all located in Kentucky and simulcasting the same programming at all times:
Together, the five stations reach 65% of Kentucky, including the fringes of the Louisville and Lexington areas. The stations also serve portions of Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee. Much of this area is composed of rural areas and small towns; Evansville is by far the largest city in the region.
History
WKYU-FM signed on for the first time on January 14, 1980. WDCL followed on February 22, 1983; WKPB on April 20, 1989, WKUE on June 1, 1990, and W277AA in 1993. Prior to Western Public Radio's sign-on, the only portion of the coverage area that had a clear signal from an NPR station was Henderson and Owensboro, which received NPR programming from WNIN-FM in Evansville.
Until August 2009, the network was known as Western's Public Radio, airing mostly classical music during the day. However, on August 31, it rebranded itself as WKU Public Radio, and began airing mostly news and talk during the day.
Sometime in 2016, WKYU-FM signed on a new service on a new FM translator station, W248CF. That translator airs classical music 24 hours a day. Since its signal doesn't reach too far outside of Warren County, it is repeated on WKYU-FM's second HD channel, and also streams live on the Internet.