WRCT
Encyclopedia
WRCT is a non-commercial freeform radio station
based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. The station, which is hosted in the basement of Carnegie Mellon
's University Center, is run by students, staff, faculty, and community members. WRCT broadcasts on 88.3 MHz with an ERP
of 1.75 kW, from atop Warner Hall (also on the Carnegie Mellon campus, but heard throughout the city). The license is held by WRCT Radio Incorporated.
AM radio
station on 900 kHz (mostly heard on campus). On March 1, 1974, the station moved to 88.3 FM, broadcasting with a power of 10 watts. The power was increased to 100 watts in the late 1980s
. In 1994, WRCT received permission to increase power to 1750 watts in the north, south, and west and 680 watts in the east.
, Hip hop
, Metal
, Experimental
, and Indie rock
are among those commonly represented in rotation.
affiliate station.
Current public affairs programming at WRCT includes the following original programs:
WRCT also broadcasts these Public Affairs programs from the Pacifica network:
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...
based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. The station, which is hosted in the basement of Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
's University Center, is run by students, staff, faculty, and community members. WRCT broadcasts on 88.3 MHz with an ERP
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 1.75 kW, from atop Warner Hall (also on the Carnegie Mellon campus, but heard throughout the city). The license is held by WRCT Radio Incorporated.
History
"RCT" stands for "Radio Carnegie Tech." WRCT's roots go back to the 1940s as a carrier currentCarrier current
Carrier current is a method of low power AM radio transmission that uses the AC electrical system of a building to propagate a medium frequency, AM signal to a relatively small area, such as a building or a group of buildings...
AM radio
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
station on 900 kHz (mostly heard on campus). On March 1, 1974, the station moved to 88.3 FM, broadcasting with a power of 10 watts. The power was increased to 100 watts in the late 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
. In 1994, WRCT received permission to increase power to 1750 watts in the north, south, and west and 680 watts in the east.
Programming
WRCT's programs, updated each semester, are available online at their program guide.Music
WRCT's mission is to present its listening audience with freeform, original programming that cannot be found elsewhere on the Pittsburgh dial. As such, the station's musical programming is widely varied, and with few exceptions, left entirely to the tastes of the on-air DJs. Genres including Alt-Country, JazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, Hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, Metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, Experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
, and Indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
are among those commonly represented in rotation.
Public affairs
Public affairs programming also features prominently at the station, with an emphasis on news and issues local to the Pittsburgh community. WRCT is Pittsburgh's Pacifica RadioPacifica 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...
affiliate station.
Current public affairs programming at WRCT includes the following original programs:
- Rustbelt RadioRustbelt RadioRustbelt Radio is the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly radio program which introduces itself as "news from the grassroots, news overlooked by the corporate media".- Production :...
: The Pittsburgh Independent Media Center'sIndependent Media CenterThe Independent Media Center is a global participatory network of journalists that report on political and social issues. It originated during the Seattle anti-WTO protests worldwide in 1999 and remains closely associated with the global justice movement, which criticizes neo-liberalism and its...
weekly round-up of "News From The Grassroots" - The Saturday Light BrigadeThe Saturday Light BrigadeThe Saturday Light Brigade is a public radio program featuring acoustic music and family programming including participatory puzzles and games as well as on-air telephone calls from children and adults. Broadcast since 1978, it is one of the longest-running public radio programs in the United...
: Award Winning Public Radio for Kids & Adults - History for the Future: Explores the history behind contemporary social issues through interviews with academics and journalists.
- The World Revealed with Jane Steranko
- What Would Your Mother Say?: A panel of Carnegie Mellon students and Mothers (unrelated) talk frankly about college life.
- Barrio Latino: The Latin American Radio Hour, the latest news from Latin America including sports, politics, economics, local news interviews and events of the Hispanic community in Pittsburgh.
- The Total Education Hour: an educational talk show that discusses local and national education news.
- The Digital Hazard: A tech news show that focuses on the events in the industry, covering as fairly as possible all the major companies in the space.
WRCT also broadcasts these Public Affairs programs from the Pacifica network:
- Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- Free Speech Radio NewsFree Speech Radio NewsFree Speech Radio News is an independently produced half hour daily national and international radio news program focusing on peace and social justice issues in the US and around the world. FSRN is collectively run by its workers and reporters...
- Law and DisorderLaw and Disorder (radio program)Law and Disorder is an hour long radio program that broadcasts weekly from WBAI, part of the Pacifica Radio Network. The program focuses on legal issues and is hosted by the President of the Center for Constitutional Rights Michael Ratner, Heidi Boghosian Executive Director of the National Lawyers...