WCLK (91.9 FM) – branded as Jazz 91.9 – is a non-commercial

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

licensed to serve

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Owned by

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...

, the station covers much of the

Atlanta metropolitan area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...

. The WCLK studios are located on the Clark University campus at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, while the station transmitter is located in Atlanta's

North Druid Hills North Druid Hills, also known as Briarcliff or Toco Hills, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (North Druid Hills CDP) in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 20,385 in 2020. The commercial center of the ...

section. In addition to a standard

analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...

, WCLK broadcasts in

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 ...

. and is available online.

History

On April 10, 1974, WCLK

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air for the first time. Initially, it only broadcast at 54 watts, on a 340-foot tower. Its coverage area only extended a few miles around Clark University, a precursor to Clark Atlanta before its merger with Atlanta University in 1988. Over time, its power and antenna height were upgraded, giving the station a signal that covers all of Atlanta and its adjacent suburbs. WCLK was granted a

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

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

in early 2009 to downgrade its

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) from 6,000

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 to 480 watts, but its antenna

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

was more than tripled, going to 991 feet from 308 feet, so its overall coverage area remained the same as before. WCLK previously aired several

NPR 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 ...

talk and information shows not heard on Atlanta's primary NPR station, WABE, during the time that WABE's schedule included daytime broadcasts of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. When WABE switched to news and talk for most of the day starting in 2014, WCLK dropped the NPR talk shows to air a schedule of mostly jazz music and related genres, but remains affiliated with NPR for some news and jazz programming. WCLK collaborated with the

City of Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, Atlan ...

to create the '' Jazz of the City Atlanta'' portrait featuring over 100 jazz musicians surrounding Mayor

Shirley Franklin Shirley Clarke Franklin (born May 10, 1945) is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party who served as the 56th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2002 to 2010. She currently serves as a member on the board of directors for both Delt ...

in the

Atlanta City Hall Atlanta City Hall is the headquarters of the City of Atlanta government. It was constructed in 1930, and is located in Downtown Atlanta. It is a high-rise office tower very similar to dozens of other city halls built in the United States duri ...

Atrium. The color photograph by Seve "Obasina" Adigun and Gregory Turner, taken in April 2007, mirrors the iconic, classic, black-and-white image, '' A Great Day in Harlem'' 1958 by

Art Kane Art Kane (born Arthur Kanofsky; April 9, 1925 – February 3, 1995) was an American fashion and music photographer active from the 1950s through the early 1990s. He created many portraits of contemporary musicians, including Bob Dylan, Jefferson A ...

. Nationally distributed shows produced at WCLK include ''Jazz in the New Millennium'' and ''The SOUL of Jazz''. Both are distributed by the African-American Public Radio Consortium.AAPRC - Programs
/ref> WCLK was relayed by two

broadcast translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

s, whose

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

s were entirely within its main broadcast area. Its former six-watt translator

W250BC WWWQ (99.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Atlanta, Georgia, United States, carrying a contemporary hit radio format known as "Q99.7". Owned by Cumulus Media, WWWQ serves the Atlanta metropolitan area as the regio ...

in Riverdale was sold for $100,000 to Extreme Media Group in November 2007, then to commercial broadcaster

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

in February 2009. WCLK was then relayed by

W275BK W275BK is a radio station translator in Decatur, Georgia. Owned by Urban One, the station simulcasts an urban oldies music format branded as ''Classix 102.9'', as a relay from HD Radio subchannel WAMJ-HD2 in Roswell, Georgia. WAMJ-HD2 is also s ...

in Decatur, which broadcast 170 watts on 102.9, owned by the Radio Assist Ministry. WCLK currently has an FM translator, W209CG, 89.7 MHz in

Tallapoosa, Georgia Tallapoosa is a city in Haralson County, Georgia, Haralson County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The population was 3,170 at the 2010 census, up from 2,789 at the 2000 census. History The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Tallapoosa as a t ...

References

External links

* * {{Georgia college radio CLK CLK HD Radio stations Jazz radio stations in the United States Clark Atlanta University NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1973 1973 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

History

See also

References

External links