WGBH (FM)

Infobox Radio station
name = WGBH


city = Boston, Massachusetts
area = Boston, Massachusetts
branding = WGBH 89.7
slogan = Boston's NPR Arts and Culture Station
airdate = October 6, 1951
frequency = 89.7 MHz HD Radio
format = public radio
power =
erp = 98,000 watts (WGBH)
5 watts (W242AA)
class = B
facility_id = 70510
callsign_meaning = W Great Blue Hill
former_callsigns =
owner = WGBH Educational Foundation
licensee =
sister_stations = WCAI, WGBH-TV, WGBX-TV
webcast = [http://streams.wgbh.org/online/play.php?xml=897.xml&template=wgbh_audio WGBH-FM webstream]
website = [http://www.wgbh.org/ www.wgbh.org]
affiliations = NPR, PRI

WGBH (89.7 FM MHz) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of NPR and PRI. The license-holder is the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns WGBH and WGBX-TV.

The station, dubbed "Boston's NPR, Arts and Culture Station" broadcasts a mixed-format of classical, jazz, folk, blues, Celtic music, NPR News programs and PRI's "The World", which is a co-production of WGBH, PRI, and the BBC World Service.

"GBH" stands for Great Blue Hill, the location of WGBH's FM transmitter, as well as the original location of WGBH-TV's transmitter. Great Blue Hill in Milton, Massachusetts, has an elevation of 635 feet (193 m) and is the highest point in the Boston area.

Both WGBH and their all-classical music HD Radio sidechannel webcast their audio programming on the internet.

tations

WGBH owns three stations in the Cape Cod and Islands area, licensed to Woods Hole (WCAI), Nantucket (WNAN), and Brewster (WZAI). All simulcast National Public Radio programming but are programmed separately from WGBH. A fourth station, WNCK, is owned by Nantucket Public Radio, but simulcasts WGBH's main programming.

WGBH also operates a translator in East Cambridge, W242AA (96.3 FM).

WGBH also programs an HD Radio sidechannel, featuring all-classical music programming. Both WGBH and the all-classical sidechannel webcast their audio programming on the internet.

History

"For more of a history of the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council see the article on John Lowell, Jr."

WGBH Educational Foundation received its first broadcasting license (for radio) in 1951 under the auspices of the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council, a consortium of local universities and cultural institutions, whose collaboration stems from an 1836 bequest by textile manufacturer John Lowell, Jr. calling for free public lectures for the citizens of Boston.

WGBH signed on October 6, 1951, with a live broadcast of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Programming

WGBH-FM broadcasts news programming from NPR or PRI during drive time (6-9AM and 4-8PM) on weekdays, and between 10AM and noon on weekends.

The station broadcasts a variety of classical music programming, mostly during the day on weekdays, weekend mornings, and Sunday afternoons. These broadcasts include (in addition to generally available recordings) recordings made by WGBH of regional chamber music and solo recital performances, live in-studio performances and interviews, as well as live broadcasts of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from Symphony Hall (on Friday afternoons when the orchestra is scheduled to play), and Tanglewood (on Sunday afternoons in the summer).

Jazz music is broadcast on evenings except Saturday and during the overnight hours. This occasionally includes in-studio live performances and interviews, as well as Riverwalk Jazz.

Saturday afternoon and evening program is focused on folk and celtic music, followed by Prairie Home Companion, Says You!, and blues programming.

Programs originating from WGBH-FM for the local market include:
* "A Celtic Sojourn", a three-hour program of Celtic music broadcast on Saturday afternoons
* "Arts and Ideas", a three-hour news and arts magazine broadcast on Sunday evenings

Programs originating from WGBH-FM that are broadcast in other markets include:

* "Says You!"
* "Sound & Spirit"
* "The World" (co-produced with the BBC World Service)
* " [http://www.thechangingworld.org/ The Changing World] "
* "From the Top"

External links

* [http://www.wgbh.org/ WGBH official website]
*FMQ|WGBH
*FML|WGBH
*FMARB|WGBH
*FMQ|W242AA
*FML|W242AA