KUHF
Encyclopedia
KUHF is a public radio
station serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown
metropolitan area. It broadcasts on a frequency of 88.7 megahertz on the FM
dial. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Houston System
. KUHF Houston Public Radio is housed in the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting—along with KUHA
and KUHT
—on the campus of the University of Houston
.
KUHF first began airing programs on November 6, 1950 at the 91.3 megahertz frequency. Broadcasting at 9,600 watts, the station was operated by student volunteers. The station increased its signal strength to 12,000 watts in 1969. In the following year, the station began broadcasting at 88.7 megahertz, in order to reduce interference with KLYX (now KMJQ
). The station finally began broadcasting at 100,000 watts in 1979, after receiving a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
. This grant also allowed the station to hire a professional staff, as well as become a National Public Radio member station. At the time, Houston was one of the largest cities without an NPR station.
Between 1979 and March, 1986, KUHF's format was NPR news and jazz. In March 1986 local commercial classical music station KLEF changed its format and donated its 12,000+ disc library of music to KUHF, with the proviso that the University of Houston commit KUHF to a format that served Houston's classical music audience, recently disenfranchised by the loss of KLEF. The broadcasting of classical music was explained by citing that the charter of KUHF was to provide music unavailable, otherwise, to Houston. KUHF began airing classical music during the day and late night jazz from 10PM to 5AM, with NPR news in the morning and afternoon drive time hours. During the summer, former KLEF Operations Manager John Proffitt was hired as the new General Manager for KUHF, and he arrived at his new position on August 3. After the next on-air fundraiser in October, which was aimed at NPR, classical and jazz listeners, KUHF eliminated its remaining jazz broadcasting. KUHF GM Proffitt defended eliminating several genres of jazz from Houston radio on the basis that the number of daytime classical listeners far exceeded the overnight number of jazz listeners.
Until the 2011 creation of all-classical sister station KUHA
(see below), the format on FM 88.7 consisted primarily of classical music and news programming from National Public Radio and American Public Media
. Since May 2011, 88.7 is exclusively devoted to news and public affairs; to this end, programs such as Fresh Air
, Talk of the Nation
and The Diane Rehm Show
were added to the regular daytime schedule. In addition, KUHF airs many public radio staples, such as Car Talk
and A Prairie Home Companion
.
In September 2006, to accommodate the growing demand for an all-NPR news and information service, KUHF began broadcasting in HD Radio
offering three channels of digital programming in addition to the analog FM: HD channel one offered the same programming as was heard on FM, while HD channel two was a "mirror" of FM/HD-1 by offering classical music during times the other channel played news and informational programming, and vice-versa. In this fashion, KUHF HD listeners could receive either NPR news/information or classical music any time of day or night, 24/7. Since May 2011, KUHF 88.7FM and HD-1 feature NPR news/information exclusively, 24 hours a day, and HD-2 is a 24/7 simulcast of KUHA, featuring classical music exclusively. HD Channel 3 carries a mixture of the BBC World Service, AHORA
, Spanish language programming co-produced by NPR and Radio Netherlands Worldwide; and other miscellaneous public radio programming.
Since the launch of www.Classical917.org to support KUHA, web services have been split between that site and www.kuhf.org. However listeners can still tune in both stations by visiting www.houstonpublicradio.org/listen. In addition to live streaming the website also offers click-to-listen options for all NPR and BBC programs, including local editions of All Things Considered
, Morning Edition
, and interviews with local artists on The Front Row.
. KUHF's 88.7 FM frequency would be converted to an all-news format (KUHF News) and the 91.7 frequency would contain classical music and fine arts programming (91.7 FM Classical), with the proposed call letters KUHA
(originally announced as KUHC, but those call letters were already in use
). The FCC approved the purchase and transfer of license to the University of Houston System on April 15, 2011. (KTRU programming was transferred to a digital subchannel of local Pacifica Radio
member station KPFT
, and continues under the name Rice Radio.) The new split programming began on May 16, 2011.
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
station serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
metropolitan area. It broadcasts on a frequency of 88.7 megahertz on the FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
dial. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Houston System
University of Houston System
The University of Houston System is a state university system in Texas, encompassing four separate and distinct universities. It has two system centers, which operate as and distance learning course delivery sites for its universities...
. KUHF Houston Public Radio is housed in the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting—along with KUHA
KUHA
KUHA is a public radio station serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. It broadcasts on a frequency of 91.7 Megahertz on the FM dial. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Houston System...
and KUHT
KUHT
-Technical firsts:The station is also noted in Houston for many technical firsts at the local level. In 1981, KUHT became Houston's first closed captioned television station, and ten years later, in 1991, it became the first station in Houston to offer Descriptive Video Service , and other services...
—on the campus of the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
.
History
KMJQ
KMJQ, "Majic 102.1" is a Houston radio station with an urban adult contemporary musical format. It is owned by Radio One.-History:The station originally went on-the-air in 1961 as KAJC-FM with studios and transmitter in Alvin, Texas, a Houston suburb...
). The station finally began broadcasting at 100,000 watts in 1979, after receiving a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
. This grant also allowed the station to hire a professional staff, as well as become a National Public Radio member station. At the time, Houston was one of the largest cities without an NPR station.
Between 1979 and March, 1986, KUHF's format was NPR news and jazz. In March 1986 local commercial classical music station KLEF changed its format and donated its 12,000+ disc library of music to KUHF, with the proviso that the University of Houston commit KUHF to a format that served Houston's classical music audience, recently disenfranchised by the loss of KLEF. The broadcasting of classical music was explained by citing that the charter of KUHF was to provide music unavailable, otherwise, to Houston. KUHF began airing classical music during the day and late night jazz from 10PM to 5AM, with NPR news in the morning and afternoon drive time hours. During the summer, former KLEF Operations Manager John Proffitt was hired as the new General Manager for KUHF, and he arrived at his new position on August 3. After the next on-air fundraiser in October, which was aimed at NPR, classical and jazz listeners, KUHF eliminated its remaining jazz broadcasting. KUHF GM Proffitt defended eliminating several genres of jazz from Houston radio on the basis that the number of daytime classical listeners far exceeded the overnight number of jazz listeners.
Until the 2011 creation of all-classical sister station KUHA
KUHA
KUHA is a public radio station serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. It broadcasts on a frequency of 91.7 Megahertz on the FM dial. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Houston System...
(see below), the format on FM 88.7 consisted primarily of classical music and news programming from National Public Radio and American Public Media
American Public Media
American Public Media is the second largest producer of public radio programs in the United States of America after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota, California, and Florida. Its station brands are Minnesota Public Radio,...
. Since May 2011, 88.7 is exclusively devoted to news and public affairs; to this end, programs such as Fresh Air
Fresh Air
Fresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. The show is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its longtime host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 450 stations and claimed 4.5 million listeners. The show...
, Talk of the Nation
Talk of the Nation
Talk of the Nation is a talk radio program based in the United States, produced by National Public Radio, and is broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Its focus is current events and controversial issues....
and The Diane Rehm Show
The Diane Rehm Show
The Diane Rehm Show is a National Public Radio call-in show based in the United States. In October, 2007, The Diane Rehm Show was named to Audience Research Analysis’ list of the top ten most powerful national programs in public radio – the only talk show on the list...
were added to the regular daytime schedule. In addition, KUHF airs many public radio staples, such as Car Talk
Car Talk
Car Talk is a radio talk show broadcast weekly on National Public Radio stations throughout the United States and elsewhere. Its subjects are automobiles and repair, and it often takes humorous turns...
and A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
.
In September 2006, to accommodate the growing demand for an all-NPR news and information service, KUHF began broadcasting in HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
offering three channels of digital programming in addition to the analog FM: HD channel one offered the same programming as was heard on FM, while HD channel two was a "mirror" of FM/HD-1 by offering classical music during times the other channel played news and informational programming, and vice-versa. In this fashion, KUHF HD listeners could receive either NPR news/information or classical music any time of day or night, 24/7. Since May 2011, KUHF 88.7FM and HD-1 feature NPR news/information exclusively, 24 hours a day, and HD-2 is a 24/7 simulcast of KUHA, featuring classical music exclusively. HD Channel 3 carries a mixture of the BBC World Service, AHORA
Ahora (network)
Ahora is a non-commercial Spanish-language radio network in the United States, operated as a joint venture of National Public Radio and Radio Netherlands Worldwide....
, Spanish language programming co-produced by NPR and Radio Netherlands Worldwide; and other miscellaneous public radio programming.
Since the launch of www.Classical917.org to support KUHA, web services have been split between that site and www.kuhf.org. However listeners can still tune in both stations by visiting www.houstonpublicradio.org/listen. In addition to live streaming the website also offers click-to-listen options for all NPR and BBC programs, including local editions of All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
, and interviews with local artists on The Front Row.
Conversion to all-news
On August 17, 2010, the University of Houston System announced its intent to purchase the broadcast tower, FM frequency and license of KTRU (91.7 FM) from Rice UniversityRice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. KUHF's 88.7 FM frequency would be converted to an all-news format (KUHF News) and the 91.7 frequency would contain classical music and fine arts programming (91.7 FM Classical), with the proposed call letters KUHA
KUHA
KUHA is a public radio station serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. It broadcasts on a frequency of 91.7 Megahertz on the FM dial. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Houston System...
(originally announced as KUHC, but those call letters were already in use
Better Public Broadcasting Association
The Better Public Broadcasting Association was organized in 1995 in Clinton, Oklahoma by a group of local radio broadcasters concerned about how local radio responded to emergency situations...
). The FCC approved the purchase and transfer of license to the University of Houston System on April 15, 2011. (KTRU programming was transferred to a digital subchannel of local Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
member station KPFT
KPFT
KPFT is a listener-sponsored community radio station in Houston, Texas, which went on the air on March 1, 1970 as the fourth station in the Pacifica radio family. Larry Lee sold the idea to Pacifica to establish listener-supported radio in Houston as an alternative to main-stream broadcasting. The...
, and continues under the name Rice Radio.) The new split programming began on May 16, 2011.