WHHS (99.9 FM) is a

non-commercial educational A non-commercial educational station (NCE station) is a radio station or television station that does not accept on-air advertisements (television advertisement, TV ads or radio advertisement, radio ads), as defined in the United States by the Fed ...

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 the

School District of Haverford Township The School District of Haverford Township is a school district in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was created in 1944. The district serves all parts of the township, including Havertown. The current super ...

Havertown, Pennsylvania Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the Center City, Philadelphia, center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ...

(a suburb of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

), and run by the students of

Haverford High School Haverford Senior High School is the public high school of Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States, operated by the School District of Haverford Township. It is at 200 Mill Road in Havertown, Pennsylvania ...

. Studios are located within the school, and the transmitter is located on top of the building. Typical show formats include

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

, rap/hip-hop,

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

, political talk, and sometimes more eclectic genres like classical or

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 ...

. Occasionally, shows feature live performances from local or school-based bands. Students apply for a radio show (usually 90 minutes long), and a typical show has 2-4 hosts. On the basis of interviews and previous experience with the station, students are chosen to fill several positions, including general manager, technical director, programming director, promotions director, music director, and sports director. The radio station provides an introduction into the radio or

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

s industries for students interested in careers in these fields.

History

WHHS is the oldest high school-run radio station in the country. The station was originally assigned to 89.3 MHz and was granted its first license on February 21, 1950. In 1992, the

FCC 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 ju ...

forced the station to change frequencies to 107.9 MHz. In 2004, a new radio station licensed to Radio One to serve

Pennsauken, New Jersey Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County, in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and it is located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which it borders directly on the Delaware River. As of the 202 ...

and the Philadelphia market (WRNB, now

WPPZ-FM WPPZ-FM (107.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Pennsauken, New Jersey, in the Philadelphia radio market. The station is owned by Urban One, through licensee Radio One Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an urban oldies format. ...

) signed on, requiring WHHS to change frequencies again. With Radio One's help, WHHS moved to 99.9 MHz in 2005. In 2006, the station began broadcasting live sporting events such as football and hockey. The station has broadcast election day specials and interviews with such politicians and Congressman

Curt Weldon Wayne Curtis Weldon (born July 22, 1947) is an American educator and politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. He was defeated in ...

and Congressman elect

Joe Sestak Joseph Ambrose Sestak Jr. (born December 12, 1951) is an American politician and retired U.S. Navy officer. He represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 2 ...

. WHHS celebrated 70 years of broadcasting in 2019.

References

External links

* * * {{Philly Radio High school radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1949 Haverford Township, Pennsylvania HHS 1949 establishments in Pennsylvania