WMEB-FM is a non-commercial American radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 owned and operated by the University of Maine

University of Maine

The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...

.

WMEB became an official radio station in January 1964 when the Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 (FCC) licensed the station to operate on the frequency of 91.9 mHz FM, and its callsign became WMEB-FM.

Originally broadcasting between 4pm and 10pm, WMEB was a "mix of music, news, and informational programming." The station remained with this format throughout most of the 1960s.

In the 1970s, the station became more progressive rock

Progressive rock (radio format)

Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...

-based in its format as more and more artists were releasing on vinyl records.

There was still a place for news and public service announcements, but by the 1980s, WMEB had joined many other college radio stations in helping little-known bands make it onto the charts.

In 2009 the station upgraded its transmitter to 10,000 watts.

Slogans

Over the years WMEB has had a number of slogans:

• "The Radio Voice of the University of Maine" (mid-late 1960's)
• "Radio Free Orono"
• "Maine's Progressive Rock Station"
• "Where Diversity Rules the Airwaves"
• "Redefining the Alternative"
• "Turn to the Left"
• "College Radio In A Class By Itself" (Current)