WRNI

Infobox Radio Station
name = WRNI/WRNI-FM


city = WRNI: Providence, Rhode Island
WRNI-FM: Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island
area = Rhode Island
branding = "1290 WRNI"
slogan = "Rhode Island's NPR News Source"
airdate = WRNI: 1947
WRNI-FM: 1990
frequency = WRNI: 1290 kHz
WRNI-FM: 102.7 MHz
format = National Public Radio
erp = WRNI: 10,000 watts
WRNI-FM: 1,950 watts
haat = WRNI-FM: 69 meters
class = WRNI: B
WRNI-FM: A
owner = WRNI: Boston University (pending to Rhode Island Public Radio)
WRNI-FM: Rhode Island Public Radio
website = [http://www.wrni.org/ wrni.org]
[http://www.ripr.org/ ripr.org] |

WRNI (1290 AM) is a National Public Radio member radio station in Providence, Rhode Island. It is owned by Boston University, which owns Boston's flagship NPR station, WBUR; however, it is the process of being sold to Rhode Island Public Radio, a local group that originally helped bring a local NPR station to Rhode Island.

WRNI's programming is simulcast in the southern part of Rhode Island on WRNI-FM at 102.7 MHz in Narragansett Pier and WXNI at 1230 kHz in Westerly. The three stations are licensed as commercial stations, but operate as noncommercial public stations--much as Buffalo, New York's WNED-AM-FM-TV operated for many years.

The stations air a format of news and talk from NPR, much like their "big brother" station in Boston.

History

In the 1990s, a group of Rhode Islanders formed the Foundation for Ocean State Public Radio in order to bring a local public radio station to the state. At the time, Rhode Island was the only state in New England (traditionally one of the bedrocks of support for NPR) and one of only two in the entire country (the other being Delaware) that didn't have a full-service NPR station within its borders. Most of the state got at least a grade B signal from Boston's WGBH (with Providence itself receiving a city-grade signal) and WBUR. After a few years of looking, they found a partner in Boston University. BU agreed to buy WRCP, a 5000-watt station that had been on the air since 1947, for $1.9 million; the foundation conducted a statewide drive to help raise the funds. For many years, 1290 AM had been known as WICE, but switched to Portuguese programming as WRCP in 1983.

On May 1, 1998; WRCP's calls officially changed to WRNI, and the license was officially transferred to the WRNI Foundation, a separate fundraising group set up by WBUR to handle local underwriting.

Even though BU doubled WRNI's transmission power to 10,000 watts, its signal was not strong enough to reach the southern and western portion of the state (though it provides a city-grade signal to Newport, southern Rhode Island's biggest city). Accordingly, in 1999, BU bought WERI in Westerly, which had been on the air since 1949. BU changed WERI's calls to WXNI, and made it a full-time satellite of WRNI. The station brought a city-grade NPR signal to southern Rhode Island for the first time ever.

BU and WBUR had very big plans for WRNI at first. It moved WRNI from its longtime studio on Douglas Avenue to a state-of-the-art facility at historic Union Station in downtown Providence. It also started a daily two-hour local news magazine, "One Union Station." [http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2004/040920/nerw.html NorthEast Radio Watch by Scott Fybush ] ] It also had plans to set up a third station to fill the gaps in WXNI's 1,000-watt signal. [http://www.current.org/radio/radio0418rhodeisland.shtml Current.org | Struggle over WBUR's Rhode Island stations, 2004 ] ] However, budget problems brought on by the September 11, 2001 attacks forced "One Union Station's" cancellation. It was replaced with a one-hour news magazine that was canceled in 2004. At that point, WRNI's local operations were significantly cut back, with most of the station's staff either laid off or transferred to Boston. Since then, WRNI's schedule has been almost identical to that of WBUR.

Controversy over sale

On September 17, 2004, with no advance warning, WBUR Group general manager Jane Christo announced that WRNI and WXNI were being put on the market. She wouldn't give any specifics, only saying that it was time for Rhode Islanders to buy the stations if they wanted to keep NPR programming in the state. Indeed, WBUR claimed that it never intended to operate WRNI on a long-term basis, and had only intended to help develop it into a self-sustaining service.

The reaction in Rhode Island was, not surprisingly, hostile. In an editorial, "The Providence Journal" said that WBUR had made numerous long-term commitments to WRNI. The "Journal" claimed that if the station's local backers had to buy WRNI, it would be tantamount to buying the station twice. [ [http://www.projo.com/opinion/editorials/content/projo_20040919_19edwr.10caf3.html Editorials | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal ] ] The announcement led state attorney general Patrick Lynch to open an investigation into WBUR and WRNI. [http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/11/20/rhode_island_attorney_general_ends_investigation_into_wbur_wrni Rhode Island attorney general ends investigation into WBUR, WRNI - Boston.com ] ]

On September 27, BU interim president Aram Chobanian delayed the sale of WRNI and WXNI, citing concerns raised by both Lynch and Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri. Memos obtained by "The Boston Globe" revealed that WBUR felt the Rhode Island stations were money bleeders, and had decided to either lease or sell the stations at the earliest opportunity. [ [http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2004/09/28/bu_delays_sale_of_ri_radio_stations BU delays sale of R.I. radio stations - The Boston Globe ] ] The furor over the WRNI sale was one factor in Christo's resignation almost a month later. [ [http://www.current.org/radio/radio0419wbur.shtml Current.org | Christo resigns at WBUR, 2004 ] ]

In June 2005, BU took WRNI and WXNI off the market. It promised to hire a full-time general manager based in Providence, and also stepped up local news coverage. As a result, Lynch closed his investigation in November 2006.

On March 21 2007, WBUR announced that it was selling WRNI to Rhode Island Public Radio--formerly the Foundation for Ocean State Public Radio--for $2 million. Rhode Island Public Radio also announced it was buying WAKX-FM in Narragansett Pier from Citadel Broadcasting to serve as a repeater for WRNI in southern Rhode Island. [ [http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2007/03/22/ris_public_radio_station_being_sold/ R.I.'s public radio station being sold - Boston.com ] ] WAKX, which signed on in 1990, had been serving for some time as a repeater of WWKX in Providence. As part of the sale agreement, BU will continue to provide engineering and programming assistance to RIPR for five years.

RIPR officially took control of WAKX on May 17, changing the calls to WRNI-FM. The addition of WRNI-FM made WXNI redundant, and BU has sold that station separately to Diponti Communications. However, both WXNI and WRNI-FM will continue to simulcast WRNI until the FCC gives final approval for the sale of WRNI.

RIPR registered the domain name "ripr.org" on February 13, 2007; the site was live as of June 2007.

References

External links

* [http://www.wrni.org/ WRNI Website]
*AMQ|WRNI
*AML|WRNI
*FMQ|WRNI
*FML|WRNI
*AMQ|WXNI
*AML|WXNI