"WMNF" may also refer to White Mountain National Forest

White Mountain National Forest

The White Mountain National Forest is a federally-managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914. It has a total area of...

.

WMNF is a non-commercial, community 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...

 operating in the city of Tampa

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 that broadcasts at the FM

FM broadcast band

The FM broadcast band, used for FM broadcast radio by radio stations, differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa , it spans from 87.5 to 108.0 megahertz , while in America it goes only from 88.0 to 108.0 MHz. The FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76.0 to 90 MHz...

 frequency of 88.5 MHz and streaming live. The station has been on the air since 1979, and has an 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...

 of 6,650 watt

Watt

The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

s from 1,539 feet.

The radio station is listener sponsored, relying on some 11,200 (as of June 2007) supporters for a majority of required funding which is raised in two or three semiannual pledge drives. The station has paid operations staff, but the daily programmers and pledge drive workers are volunteers. The station is licensed to the Nathan B. Stubblefield Foundation, a non-profit organization established solely for this purpose. The Board of Directors comprises programmers, volunteers, staff, and community members.

WMNF hosts many concerts, speeches, films, and festivals, most notably the annual Tropical Heatwave festival.

Facilities

In 2005, WMNF moved into a new state of the art broadcast facility. The facility is located adjacent to the old studio which was demolished and now serves as a parking lot. The new facility is over 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) with three broadcast studios, two production studios and a live performance studio named in memory of Mike Eisnestadt, long time host of the Sunday Shimcha, a Jewish music and public affairs show that still airs on Sundays at noon. The music library is capable of storing approximately 100,000 CDs. The landscape is made up of native Florida plants.

In 2007, WMNF moved to a higher transmitter tower and started to broadcast a Hybrid Digital signal.

Programs and personnel

WMNF has from the beginning aired a wide variety of programming, including special interest music shows including bluegrass, polka, gospel, Celtic, Latin and experimental. In 2007 the major music styles on WMNF are rock, folk and blues. WMNF progressive news and public affairs has steadily increased since the nineties and is now some of the most popular programming. While the schedule has constantly changed, the station has a number of long-running programs including the Sixties Show and community affairs programs such as The Women's Show, a show touching on feminist issues that first started running in the 1980s, and Out in the Open, a show dealing with gay and lesbian community issues that has aired since 1993. Many of the programs, including Out in the Open, are available via podcast

Podcast

A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

 at the station's web site and most shows are archived there as well. While some of the on-air talent changes on a regular basis the station's personnel has remained fairly constant, including programming director Randy Wynne, news director Rob Lorei and business manager Mercedes Skelton. Other notable personnel and alumni of the station include Pat Chamburs, Dorothy Abbott (co-creator of The Women's Show), John Chambrone, Bob Pomeroy, and Mary Glenney.

HD channels

WMNF broadcasts four 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...

 channels:

• HD-1 simulcasts the main WMNF signal.
• HD-2 carries Bulls Radio, the student radio station at the University of South Florida
  University of South Florida
  The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
  
  .
• HD-3 carries The Source, which airs news, public affairs, and arts programming.
• HD-4 carries Hawk Radio, the student radio station at Hillsborough Community College
  Hillsborough Community College
  Hillsborough Community College is a two-year community college, located in Hillsborough County, Florida. The college has six campuses located throughout the county. Locations include: Brandon, Dale Mabry, Plant City, Ybor City, MacDill AFB, and South Shore...
  
   from 8am to 2pm, and a mix of music and select HCC sports broadcasts the rest of the time.

Controversies

While providing extensive public affairs programming to the greater Tampa Bay area, and perhaps because of it, WMNF has at times become the focus of controversy.

In 1997, Florida state Senator John Grant zeroed out $104,000 in state funding from the annual budget, citing his displeasure at the lyrics of a song he had heard broadcast (Iris DeMent

Iris DeMent

Iris DeMent is an American singer and songwriter. DeMent's musical style encompasses the genres country and folk music.-Early life:...

's "Wasteland of the Free"). In response to the shortfall, the station staged an emergency fund-raiser that took in $122,000 in a day and a half.

External links

• Official website
  • Bulls Radio (HD-2)
  • The Source (HD-3)