KTEP (88.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

, broadcasting from the Communication Department at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The studios and offices are in the Cotton Memorial Building on West University Avenue. KTEP's

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is on the

KVIA-TV KVIA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in El Paso, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW Plus. Owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company, the station maintains studios on Rio Bravo Street in northwest El Paso and a transmit ...

tower off Scenic Drive in El Paso. KTEP has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

(ERP) of 94,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s (100,000 with

beam tilt Beam tilt is used in radio to aim the main lobe of the vertical plane radiation pattern of an antenna below (or above) the horizontal plane. The simplest way is mechanical beam tilt, where the antenna is physically mounted in such a manner as ...

).FCC.gov/KTEP
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Programming

The station airs mostly news and informational programming in morning and afternoon

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cl ...

and much of the day on weekends. Many of the news shows are from

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

such as ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...

'' and ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''. In middays and nights, KTEP features mostly

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

music, along with some shows dedicated to

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

History

The station began in October 1946 as WTCM, a carrier current station based at what was then Texas College of Mines. In 1947, it changed its

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally ass ...

to KVOF after finding out the WTCM call letters were already being used by a station in

Traverse City, Michigan Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population wa ...

. In 1950, the college applied for and won a full

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

FM license. It

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A digi ...

the air on September 14, 1950. The station began broadcasting educational programming aimed at elementary and high school students, as well as evening shows hosted by college students. Originally broadcasting at 10 watts, in 1966 it moved to a taller

radio tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...

. It began sharing space on KROD-TV (now

KDBC-TV KDBC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in El Paso, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Fox affiliate KFOX-TV (channel 14). Both stations share studios on South Alto Mes ...

)'s tower, boosting its coverage. In 1967, the station changed its call letters to KTEP, to coincide with the university name change to The University of Texas at El Paso. In 1971, KTEP became a charter member of

and increased its broadcast day to 18 hours. The station instituted a 24-hour schedule in 1997. In 1980, it moved its

to its current location on

's tower, coupled with a boost in power to 100,000 watts. On July 11, 2021, KTEP's transmitter was knocked off-air by a thunderstorm.

Notable alumni

Sam Donaldson Samuel Andrew Donaldson Jr. (born March 11, 1934) is an American former reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to 2009. He is best known as the network's White House Correspondent (1977–1989 and 1998–99) and as a panelist ...

served as station manager in 1954

References

External links

KTEP official website

TEP Tep may refer to: *Tep language *Tepecano language (ISO 639:tep) People ''Tep'' is a common Cambodian name. *Tep Rindaro *Tep Vanny *Tep Vong *Tep Boprek *Tep Sothy *Tep Ngorn Other *Tep Pranam temple *Tep Wireless *''Tep Songva'', film *''Tep S ...

NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1950 {{Texas-radio-station-stub