KBIA (91.3 FM), is a

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

-member station in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

. It carries regional news coverage, locally produced news shows, original talk shows, as well as NPR news programs including ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. KBIA 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 ha ...

(ERP) of 100,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s, the maximum for most stations in the U.S. The station is owned by the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, and operates its own independent newsroom. The stations hosts Broadcast and Radio students from the

Missouri School of Journalism The Missouri School of Journalism, housed under the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, Columbia, is one of the oldest formal journalism schools in the world. The school provides academic education and practical training in of journalis ...

. KBIA also operates satellite stations KKTR 89.7 in Kirksville (owned by

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a Public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Kirksville, Missouri, United States. It had 3,664 enrolled students in the fall of 2024 pursuing degrees in 55 undergraduate ...

), and KAUD 90.5 in

Mexico, Missouri Mexico, formerly known as New Mexico, is a city in and the county seat of Audrain County, Missouri, United States. It is home to the Missouri Military Academy and annually hosts the Miss Missouri Pageant. The city's population was 11,469 at the ...

. KBIA also broadcasts three

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

services: KBIA2, which airs classical music (that is simulcast on

KMUC KMUC (90.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classical music format. Licensed to Columbia, Missouri, United States, the station is owned by the University of Missouri, alongside NPR affiliate KBIA and NBC affiliate KOMU-TV. The program Mizz ...

); and KBIA3, which airs an

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

format and carries normal KBIA programming when the main service airs special coverage.

History

KBIA signed on May 1, 1972, from room 11 of

Jesse Hall Jesse Hall, formerly New Academic Hall, is the main administration building for the University of Missouri. Its dome has towered above the south end of David R. Francis Quadrangle since its completion in 1895. In the lawn in front of Jesse Hall ...

at the University of Missouri. Its transmitter is co-located with

KOMU-TV KOMU-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Columbia, Missouri, United States, serving the Columbia–Jefferson City market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. The station's studios and transmitter are located on US 63 southea ...

. In November 2014, KBIA announced it would purchase KWWC-FM (90.5) from neighboring

Stephens College Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...

. The sale completed, and the classical music format that used to be heard weekdays on KBIA has moved to

. KBIA transitioned into a news/talk/information station similar to sister stations KCUR-FM Kansas City and

KWMU KWMU (90.7 Hertz, MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. It airs a public radio radio format, format of talk radio, news, talk and information, as a network affil ...

St. Louis. In 2021, KBIA moved their newsroom to Lee Hills Hall to be co-located with the

Columbia Missourian The ''Columbia Missourian'' is a digital-first newspaper based in Columbia, Missouri, published online seven days a week and in print five days a week. The newspaper is affiliated with the Missouri School of Journalism, and is owned as a 501c3 n ...

, Vox, and Missouri Business Alert. In 2022, KBIA and

moved to a new tower and the old tower nearby was dismantled.

References

External links

KBIA official website
{{coord, 38.888, N, 92.264, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title University of Missouri NPR member stations BIA Radio stations established in 1972 1972 establishments in Missouri News and talk radio stations in the United States