WUGA (FM)
Encyclopedia
WUGA is the Georgia Public Broadcasting
Georgia Public Broadcasting
Georgia Public Broadcasting is the public broadcasting radio and television state network in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is operated by the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission....

 public radio station serving Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...

 and much of the northeast part of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. It is a member of Georgia Public Broadcasting's radio network, but is operated by the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

, with studios located at the Center for Continuing Education on the UGA campus. The transmitter is located east-southeast of Athens.

The station's programming consists of classical music, news and public affairs, jazz, drama, comedy and folk music from GPB Radio, as well as locally-produced content. http://www.wuga.org/about_wuga.html

Since 1993, the station has operated a low-powered translator, W250AC at 97.9. This "fill-in" transmitter was added to improve reception in the downtown Athens area, which can be poor due to due to terrain shielding and the main transmitter's relatively modest power (6,000 watts). The University of Georgia also owns a student-operated college radio station WUOG
WUOG (FM)
WUOG is a student-run College radio station licensed to Athens, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Athens area. The station is currently owned by the University of Georgia.-History:...

 (90.5), which broadcasts and transmits from another location on campus.

On March 1, 2010, UGA announced budget cuts that, if approved, would have resulted in the closure of WUGA, or at least the end of locally-produced programming on the station, as in all likelihood it would have defaulted to GPB management and become a full-time relay of the GPB network. However, , WUGA remains operated by UGA, and has merged its operations with recently-purchased WUGA-TV.

Supposed translators

There are two other supposed translators which are listed in the FCC database as relays of the station. http://www.recnet.com/cdbs/fmq.php?call=wuga However, these are licensed to Radio Assist Ministry, a company not associated with GPB or UGA. They are not listed by GPB, or given a station ID on the air, making them highly questionable. It appears that RAM may be committing an abuse of process
Abuse of process
Abuse of process is a cause of action in tort arising from one party making a malicious and deliberate misuse or perversion of regularly issued court process not justified by the underlying legal action.It is a common law intentional tort...

 by listing non-commercial educational
Non-commercial educational
The term non-commercial educational applies to a radio station or TV station that does not accept on air advertisements , as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission . NCE stations do not pay broadcast license fees for their non-profit uses of the radio spectrum...

 (NCE) radio stations as the source for its translators in order to avoid broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...

 fees, then selling them for a profit
Flipping
Flipping is a term used primarily in the United States to describe purchasing a revenue-generating asset and quickly reselling it for profit...

.
There was a third such translator, W300BF 107.9 MHz in Commerce, Georgia
Commerce, Georgia
Commerce is a city in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,544.-Geography:Commerce is located at ....

, which, under RAM, repeated WUGA; that repeater was sold to Athens Christian Radio, Inc. in 2007, and was said by FCC records to have switched its programming source to WMJE in Clarkesville
Clarkesville, Georgia
Clarkesville is a city located in the center of Habersham County, Georgia. It is also the county seat.-Geography:Clarkesville is located at ....

.

External links

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