KWMU
Encyclopedia
KWMU, is a radio station in St. Louis, Missouri
. Known on-air as St. Louis Public Radio, it is a member of National Public Radio. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Missouri–St. Louis
.
First signing on the air on June 2, 1972, KWMU has over 260,000 listeners in the St. Louis area. The station has 34 full-time employees, and 15 part-time, with hundreds of volunteers helping for special events. In 1983, it was the first radio station in St. Louis to play music from compact discs
. A year later, it became the first radio station in the United States to broadcast Ambisonic
programs. In 1992, the station increased its effective radiated power
to 100,000 watts. In 1995, the station moved to an all-news format.
KWMU started broadcasting in HD Radio
in 2006. In the fall of 2008, the station added a second digital stream, KWMU-2, to its programming stream. In the spring of 2010, the station added a third digital stream, Classical 90.7 KWMU-3, a 24-hour classical music service available as a web stream and on HD Radio.
On September 10, 2009, the station rebranded as St. Louis Public Radio and its website to STLpublicradio.org.
In September 2010, St. Louis Public Radio became the radio outlet for live broadcasts of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra broadcasting its Saturday night concerts from Powell Symphony Hall
.
In Fiscal Year 2009, KWMU's revenue totaled $5,357,656. Its sources were from:
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Known on-air as St. Louis Public Radio, it is a member of National Public Radio. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Missouri–St. Louis
University of Missouri–St. Louis
The University of Missouri–St. Louis is one of four universities in the University of Missouri System. Established in 1963, it is the newest university in the UM System. , it is the largest university by enrollment in the St. Louis area with 16,548 students...
.
About St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis Public Radio's website states that its mission is "To be a trusted source of information and entertainment that opens minds and nourishes the spirit."First signing on the air on June 2, 1972, KWMU has over 260,000 listeners in the St. Louis area. The station has 34 full-time employees, and 15 part-time, with hundreds of volunteers helping for special events. In 1983, it was the first radio station in St. Louis to play music from compact discs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. A year later, it became the first radio station in the United States to broadcast Ambisonic
Ambisonics
Ambisonics is a series of recording and replay techniques using multichannel mixing technology that can be used live or in the studio. By encoding and decoding sound information on a number of channels, a 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional sound field can be presented...
programs. In 1992, the station increased its effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
to 100,000 watts. In 1995, the station moved to an all-news format.
KWMU started 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...
in 2006. In the fall of 2008, the station added a second digital stream, KWMU-2, to its programming stream. In the spring of 2010, the station added a third digital stream, Classical 90.7 KWMU-3, a 24-hour classical music service available as a web stream and on HD Radio.
On September 10, 2009, the station rebranded as St. Louis Public Radio and its website to STLpublicradio.org.
In September 2010, St. Louis Public Radio became the radio outlet for live broadcasts of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra broadcasting its Saturday night concerts from Powell Symphony Hall
Powell Symphony Hall
Powell Symphony Hall is the home of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. It was named after Walter S. Powell, a local St. Louis businessman, whose widow donated $1 million towards the purchase and use of this hall by the symphony...
.
Finances
The station receives its funding from private donations, corporate sponsors, local, regional and national grants, as well as the University of Missouri - St. Louis.In Fiscal Year 2009, KWMU's revenue totaled $5,357,656. Its sources were from:
- 68% Fundraising
- 10% Support from the University of Missouri–St. Louis
- 13% Donated support from the University of Missouri–St. Louis
- 7% Corporation for Public BroadcastingCorporation for Public BroadcastingThe 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...
- 3% Other in-kind non-operating revenue