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WGUC (90.9 FM) is a listener-supported
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
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 ...
in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. It is owned by Cincinnati Public Radio and has a
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 ...
format. WGUC broadcasts using
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 ...
technology and plays
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 ...
on WGUC-HD2 and
adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...
on WGUC-HD3. WGUC has
radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...
s in the same building as
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
Network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
WCET Channel 48, the Crosley Telecommunications Center on Central Parkway in Cincinnati. WGUC 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 18,500
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. Its
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...
is on Symmes Street, near
Interstate 71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the midwestern and Southeastern United States, southeastern regions of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64, I-64 and Interstate 65, ...
, in Cincinnati.


History


Fine arts station

In the late 1950s, a group of Cincinnati-area residents launched a campaign for a radio station devoted to cultural and public affairs programming, particularly classical music. A committee of the Queen City Association sought to bring either a repeater of WOSU-AM -FM in Columbus or a standalone fine arts station to Cincinnati. WGUC
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 on .''Broadcasting Yearbook 1977'' page C-161. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
/ref> The station was originally licensed to the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...
, at the time owned by the City of Cincinnati. WGUC broadcast mostly classical music and was a training ground for students interested in a career in broadcasting.


NPR programming

When
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 ...
was first formed in the early 1970s, WGUC interrupted its classical music in 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 c ...
to carry ''
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 ...
''. However, when NPR began offering additional weekday programming in the 1980s, that created the need for an additional NPR outlet in Cincinnati, at which time 91.7 WVXU (then licensed to
Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...
) became an NPR member station. While the two stations both carried some NPR programs, the two NPR daily flagship newsmagazines aired separately. WVXU carried ''
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 ...
,'' while WGUC continued airing ''All Things Considered.'' With both stations now under the same licensee, program duplication, sometimes a problem in markets with more than one public radio station, were eliminated. This means that WGUC broadcasts almost exclusively classical music, while WVXU carries news and information programming, including both ''Morning Edition'' and ''All Things Considered''. WGUC was one of the first stations in the nation to meet the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's qualification standards; a charter member of NPR; and a founder of another network, American Public Radio (now
Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programmi ...
). WGUC also had one of the first NPR satellite uplinks, the first digital west-to-east transatlantic broadcast, and is the only U.S. public radio station with an ongoing program to commission new music.


Change in ownership

In 1994, UC outsourced WGUC's operations to Cincinnati Classical Public Radio, a community-based nonprofit organization. UC retained the station's license until 2002, when it sold the license to Cincinnati Public Radio. When Cincinnati Public Radio purchased
Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...
's "X-Star Network" (a group of stations headed by
WVXU WVXU (91.7 FM) is a public radio station located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is owned by Cincinnati Public Radio (CPRI), which also operates station WGUC and WMUB. It airs public radio news and talk syndicated programming from NPR, American P ...
-FM) in 2005, WGUC moved its
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 ...
news and talk programming, 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 ...
,'' which had aired on WGUC since the 1970s, to WVXU. The only NPR-produced show still airing on WGUC is the youth classical performance program '' From the Top,'' while the news and information programming is heard on WVXU around the clock, except for a couple hours of specialty music programming late nights. In 2003, WGUC became the first public radio station in Ohio to broadcast a digital
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 ...
signal. In June 2005, WGUC became one of the first stations in the nation to receive FCC authorization to experiment with FM multicasting. In 2006, the station added a full time
digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
of jazz music (formerly heard on WVXU), along classical music on its primary digital channel. It has since added
adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...
music to an HD-3 subchannel.


Programming


Weekly schedule

WGUC has local hosts on weekdays. Overnight,
Classical 24 Classical 24 is a syndicated, satellite-delivered public radio service providing classical music to its carrying stations. It generally airs overnights on many non-commercial and a handful of commercial classical music stations. However, the s ...
from
Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, KNOW-FM, News & Information, KSJN, YourClassical MPR and KCMP, The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper ...
is heard. And on weekends, it carries several public radio specialty shows, such as '' Pipedreams'' and '' Performance Today Weekend'' from
American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...
(APM), ''Sunday Baroque'' from
WSHU-FM WSHU-FM (91.1 FM) is a NPR-affiliated radio station operated by Sacred Heart University. Licensed to Fairfield, Connecticut, it serves the Connecticut and Long Island area with news and classical music programming. Programs produced at WSHU an ...
in
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
and '' From The Top'' from NPR. WGUC broadcasts local musical events, including the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...
concerts, the
Cincinnati May Festival The Cincinnati May Festival is a two-week annual choral music, choral festival, held in May in Cincinnati, Ohio, US. History The festival's roots go back to the 1840s, when ''Saengerfests'' were held in that city, bringing singers from all over ...
, and the Cincinnati Opera season. The station produces and distributes ''The 90 Second Naturalist'' and ''Classics for Kids'' nationally. Holiday programs, such as ''Tunes From the Crypt (Halloween),'' ''A Feast For the Ears'' (Thanksgiving), and ''Love Greetings'' (Valentine's Day) have also had national carriage. One weekday feature, ''Cincinnati Spotlight,'' which airs weekdays during the 9:00 a.m. hour, highlights events in the listening area, local artists and musicians, and national and international performers who visit greater Cincinnati.


''Classics for Kids''

''Classics for Kids'' debuted December 5, 1998 and is designed to help adults introduce children to classical music. The program, heard Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings, features a composer and his/her music, along with games, quizzes and curriculum materials for primary grade school students and teachers. The show is heard on several other classical-formatted public radio stations in the U.S.


Radio Reading Service

WGUC's subcarrier signal has served the local blind and visually impaired community since 1985. Through an agreement with the Cincinnati Association for the Blind, WGUC carries the audio broadcasts for the
Radio Reading Service A radio reading service or reading service for the blind is a public service of many universities, community groups and public radio stations, where a narrator reads books, newspapers and magazines aloud for the benefit of the blind and vision-imp ...
(RRS) on its alternate band. RRS serves more than 8,000 listeners, according to the station.


References


External links


WGUC websiteWVXU website''Classics for Kids'' websiteWCET website
* * {{Coord, 39.125, N, 84.499, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title GUC NPR member stations Classical music radio stations in the United States