Branding 88.9 WNSC First air date 1979 | Frequency 88.9 MHz | |
Format Public radio, News/Talk | ||
WNSC-FM is a National Public Radio station in Rock Hill, South Carolina. A member of ETV Radio, it carries programming from ETV Radio's all-news network.
Contents
News and classical music
WNSC-FM signed on in 1979, and was originally known as WPRV. It was the first NPR station in the Charlotte area; the market's flagship NPR station, WFAE, didn't sign on until 1981. From its sign-on until 2001, it aired a format of NPR news and classical music along with the rest of what was then the South Carolina Educational Radio Network (SCERN).
Jazz and talk
In 2001, it broke off from the rest of the SCERN stations to air jazz music under the moniker of "Carolinas Jazz 88.9" in order to avoid programming conflicts with WFAE. Among the shows dropped: Fresh Air, Morning Edition and This American Life. Barbara Nail moved from WFAE to host a jazz show on Friday nights. .
However, on July 1, 2008, it joined ETV Radio's NPR news network. SCETV president Moss Bresnahan told The Charlotte Observer that SCETV didn't want to deny people on the South Carolina side of the Charlotte market access to SCETV's growing slate of local programming. The move left the Charlotte market without a jazz station of its own.
Penetration
WNSC is one of only a few stations on the South Carolina side of the market (the other being WOSF, which is licensed to Gaffney) that penetrates Charlotte to any significant extent. Its 97,900-watt signal easily covers Charlotte itself, as well as Gaston and Union counties. However, it only provides fringe coverage to the northern part of the market (Concord, Lincolnton, Mooresville, etc.), largely because it must conform its signal to protect fellow NPR station WDAV, at nearby 89.9. Until the spring of 2011, it identified as "Rock Hill/Charlotte," making it the only ETV station to include a second city in its legal ID. This is despite the fact that sister station WLJK in Aiken also serves Augusta, Georgia.
Studios and tower
Its studios are at York Technical College, with its transmitting tower five miles south of Rock Hill (at 34° 50' 23.00" North Latitude, 81° 01' 6.00" West Longitude).