WGLT is a

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station owned by

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

and broadcasting on 89.1

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal cities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and is I ...

. It broadcasts primarily local news and NPR programs, plus music in the evenings and on weekends. The station's studio is in the WGLT-Vidette Building on the campus of Illinois State University. Its callsign comes from the motto of

: "Gladly we Learn and Teach", originally "and gladly wold he lerne and gladly teche", from line 309 of ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

''.

History

WGLT signed on the air on February 6, 1966, with only 10

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 of power and a studio in Cook Hall. It was originally student-run and heard only in the dorms. WGLT increased power to 2,300 watts and became a full-powered NPR station in July 1976, and increased power to 25,000 watts

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 ...

and adopted jazz as its daytime format in August 1992. On August 5, 2013, WGLT dropped jazz programming from its daytime schedule to concentrate on news/talk full time. Its marquee daily newsmagazine show is "Sound Ideas," airing every weekday. In April 2019, Illinois State University and Bradley University signed an agreement in which WGLT assumed operations of WCBU in Peoria starting June 1, 2019. WGLT's translator signal at 103.5 FM in Peoria, which had simulcast WGLT's signal, will simulcast WCBU-HD2's classical music format.WGLT To Assume Operations At Peoria Public Radio Station WCBU
/ref> Over the decades, WGLT News has been honored with scores of regional and national awards for excellence by the Associated Press, Kaleidoscope, Public Radio News Directors, Inc and the prestigious Edward R. Murrow awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

References

External links

WGLT
— official site * {{Authority control GLT Illinois State University WGLT NPR member stations GLT Radio stations established in 1966 1966 establishments in Illinois