WFAE

WFAE (90.7 FM) is a non-commercial public radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the flagship NPR news/talk station in the Charlotte region. The station's main studio is located at One University Place in the University City neighborhood of northeast Charlotte,[2] with a satellite studio at Spirit Square on North College Street in downtown Charlotte. WFAE's broadcast tower is located in northeastern Mecklenburg County.[3]

WFAE
CityCharlotte, North Carolina
Broadcast areaCharlotte metropolitan area
Frequency90.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding90.7 WFAE
SloganCharlotte's NPR News Source
Programming
FormatFM/HD1: News/Talk
SubchannelsHD2: The Charlotte Jazz Channel
HD3: PRX Remix
AffiliationsNPR
Ownership
OwnerUniversity Radio Foundation, Inc.
History
First air date
April 18, 1977 (1977-04-18) (originally carrier current c. 1971-1977)
Former frequencies
90.9 MHz (1977–1979)
Call sign meaning
W Fine Arts Education[1]
Technical information
Facility ID69436
ClassC0
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT331 meters (1,086 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
35°17′14.5″N 80°41′44.2″W
Translator(s)See § Translators
Repeater(s)See § Stations
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewfae.org

WFAE broadcasts using HD Radio.[4]

History

WFAE began broadcasting April 18, 1977.[5] It was the student radio service of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, broadcasting classical and jazz music with 10 watts at 90.9 MHz from a transmitter atop the library building. It succeeded a student-run carrier current station known as "WVFN" (Voice of the Forty Niners), which operated from the basement of the Cone University Center. The outlet was limited by its small budget—$25,000 a year, all collected from UNCC student fees—and by its limited reach.[6][7]

Charlotte did not have an NPR station in the region until South Carolina Educational Radio outlet WPRV (now WNSC-FM) launched from a transmitter at Rock Hill on January 3, 1978;[8] initially broadcasting instructional programs during the day, that station went full-time in July.[9] WFAE, however, quickly grew. In September 1978, it secured FCC approval to move to 90.7 MHz with a full 100,000 watts.[10] However, construction of the upgraded facility was hindered by state procurement delays.[11] The station went off the air on December 7, 1979 to allow construction of its full-power facility to begin.[12] It returned at full power on June 29, 1981.[13] On that day, it became North Carolina's third full NPR member station, alongside WFDD in the Piedmont Triad and WUNC in the Triangle.

In addition to NPR programs, the new station aired jazz during the day and classical music at night and on Sundays. Later, jazz was moved to night.[14] The station grew rapidly, and within five years moved to much larger studios in the One University Place building near the UNC Charlotte campus, where it still is today.

In February 1986, WFAE began airing new-age music on a Sunday evening show emphasizing contemporary jazz, featuring such artists as George Winston and Kitaro.[15] The show was called "New Age Sunday" at first, but the station dropped that name to distance itself from the new age spiritual movement.[16] In 1987, WFAE began broadcasting 24 hours a day[17] and began airing more jazz, dropping classical music because WDAV played it.[18][19] Also in 1987, it moved to its current dial location at 90.7 FM. With the move came an increase in its news and information programming. It also devoted more time to contemporary jazz.[19]

WFAE's growth occurred amid financial uncertainty. UNC Charlotte was eventually forced to end support for the station due to a budget crunch. In 1994, UNC Charlotte handed over control to a nonprofit community board, the University Radio Foundation, which still owns the station today.

WFAE continued to grow through the next decade. It added a satellite station in Hickory, North Carolina, WFHE, at 90.3 MHz, in 1995. WFAE's signal is spotty at best in some parts of the North Carolina Foothills. WFHE largely simulcasts WFAE, with inserts specific to the Foothills area airing during hourly news breaks. In 1996, it largely dropped music in favor of a news/talk format as part of an agreement with WNSC-FM to provide non-conflicting programming. It was one of the first NPR stations to air NPR's midday news/talk block (The Diane Rehm Show, Fresh Air and Talk of the Nation). However, it had been committed to news long before then.

In 1998, it launched Charlotte Talks, hosted by longtime WBT host Mike Collins. Charlotte Talks is a popular local show that focuses on local issues and figures and airs live from 9:00 am to 10:00 am Monday through Friday. It soon became "the de facto talk show of record in Charlotte".[20]

In November 2000, WFAE dropped its last jazz program, Jazz Tonight with Barbara Nail, which ran from 8 to midnight weekdays, replacing it with a rerun of Fresh Air, The Todd Mundt Show, and two extra hours of The World Today.[21]

While its weekday lineup consists entirely of news/talk programs provided mostly by NPR, PRI, or the BBC, music provides the basis for some of its weekend programming. On Saturday evenings from 9 pm to midnight, WFAE broadcasts 3 hours of mainstream jazz, while on Sunday evenings from 7 pm to midnight, WFAE carries PRI's Echoes. WFAE also used to air a locally produced Sunday evening program of new-age music called Nightscapes, but replaced that with an expanded broadcast of Echoes.

For many years, WFAE was the originating station for The Thistle & Shamrock, a popular Celtic music show from NPR that originated on WFAE when it was licensed to UNC Charlotte and its host, Fiona Ritchie, was a visiting professor at the university. It began as a local program soon after WFAE signed on, and was picked up nationally in 1983. Even after WFAE dropped most music programming from its schedule, Thistle remained on the schedule until 2013.

In 2004, WFAE became the first station in Charlotte and the first public radio station in North Carolina to broadcast using HD Radio.[22] HD Radio was also added to WFHE.

On July 28, 2008, WFAE began airing jazz from JazzWorks on one of its HD channels to reach those disappointed by WNSC-FM joining SCETV's all-news network. Locally produced jazz shows were a possibility as well, since the station still has a large music library.[23]

In 2012, WFAE added two low-powered translators in the Sandhills—one in Laurinburg and one in Southern Pines.

Stations

One full-power station is licensed to simulcast the programming of WFAE:

Call sign Frequency City of license Facility ID ERP
W		 Height
m (ft)		 Class Transmitter coordinates Call sign assigned
WFHE90.3 FM (HD)Hickory, North Carolina694374,000127 m (417 ft)C335°50′59.4″N 81°26′39.3″WDecember 19, 1994

Translators

WFAE programming is broadcast on the following translators:

Broadcast translators of WFAE
Call signFrequency
(MHz)		City of licenseFacility
ID		ERP
(W)		Height
(m (ft))		ClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W229BD93.7Southern Pines, North Carolina1480461094.2 m (309 ft)D35°07′36.5″N 79°23′44.1″WFCC
W291BM106.1Laurinburg, North Carolina1479248051.7 m (170 ft)D34°45′38.6″N 79°25′8.2″WFCC

References
  1. Pam Kelley, "Public Radio Stations Facing Crisis with N.C. Budget Cuts," The Charlotte Observer, April 2, 1991.
  2. "Directions to WFAE". Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  3. "FM Query Results for WFAE, Federal Communications Commission". Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  4. "HD Radio Stations in Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill NC-SC". Archived from the original on 2011-04-02. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
  5. "UNCC Radio Station Goes On The Air April 18". The Charlotte News. April 2, 1977. p. 4A. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  6. "A gift for your ears". The Charlotte News. December 28, 1977. p. 16. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  7. Colver, Bob (January 4, 1978). "Public Radio in Charlotte: Where does it stand today?". The Charlotte News. p. 16. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  8. Schumpert, Mary (January 3, 1978). "2 Stations Reach Out To Teach". The Charlotte Observer. p. 13A. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  9. Colver, Bob (July 14, 1978). "Heartbeat of public radio is sounding stronger". The Charlotte News. p. 4. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  10. FCC History Cards for WFAE
  11. Alridge, Ron (August 14, 1979). "A Higher Powered WFAE Runs Into Red-Tape Delay". Charlotte Observer. p. 13A. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  12. Alridge, Ron (June 11, 1980). "WFAE-FM Receives $50,000 For Transmitting Tower, Studio". Charlotte Observer. p. 17A. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  13. "Welcome back, WFAE". The Charlotte News. June 29, 1981. p. 6. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  14. Kathy Haight, "Jazz Turns Hot As Charlotte Warms to the Sound," The Charlotte Observer, October 10, 1986.
  15. Jeff Borden, "'New Age Sunday' to Debut on WFAE," The Charlotte Observer, February 7, 1986.
  16. David Perlmutt, "'New Age' Jazz Show Drops Misinterpreted Name," The Charlotte Observer, December 27, 1986.
  17. Jeff Borden, "24-Hour Broadcasting Will Begin at WFAE," The Charlotte Observer, March 12, 1987.
  18. Jeff Borden, "WFAE Replaces Daytime Classical Music with Jazz," The Charlotte Observer, November 26, 1987.
  19. Jeff Borden, "Station Manager Leaving WFAE," The Charlotte Observer, June 4, 1988.
  20. Mark Washburn, "WFAE Celebrates 20 Years on the Air," The Charlotte Observer, July 1, 2001, p. 1F.
  21. Diane Suchetka, "WFAE Drops All That Jazz for an All-Talk Format," The Charlotte Observer, November 17, 2000, p. 1B.
  22. "IBOC Update - Dec 22, 2004: Public Radio's WFAE Orders Full HD Radio Package in Charlotte". Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  23. Mark Washburn, "WFAE Adds Jazz to Its Mix," The Charlotte Observer, July 24, 2008.
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