WMPR (90.1
FM) is a
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radi ...
broadcasting a
variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
format. WMPR is a community station which specializes in
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
and
blues but also features other forms of music as well as several community-oriented talk shows. Licensed to
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
, United States, the station serves the Jackson area. The station is currently owned by J.C. Maxwell Broadcasting Group, Inc.
Its studios are located in Jackson, west of downtown, and the transmitter site is in
Florence, Mississippi
Florence is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 4,141. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a t ...
.
History
For more than a decade, Mississippi had just one public radio station:
WNJC-FM in
Senatobia, Mississippi
Senatobia is a city in, and the county seat of, Tate County, Mississippi, United States, and is the 16th largest municipality in the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The population was 8,165 at the 2010 census.
Senatobia is the home of Northwest Miss ...
. Seeking to change this, the J.C. Maxwell Broadcasting Group—named for
James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...
, discoverer of electromagnetic radiation—was formed in early 1981 to pursue the construction of a new noncommercial educational station in Jackson. Maxwell proposed a new full-service outlet with a focus on news and information, as well as an affiliation with
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
.
The
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...
(FCC) granted the construction permit on January 28, 1982. By that time, Maxwell had already lined up grant monies from the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
, the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' e ...
, and the Communications Improvement Trust, which held money from the interim operator of
WLBT
WLBT (channel 3) is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television, which also operates American Spirit Media–owned Fox affiliate WDBD (channel 40) and Vicksburg-licensed My ...
, Communications Improvement, Inc.
Studios were constructed on the campus of
Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was originally established in 1869 by New Y ...
, while the station set a musical format focusing on jazz and blues.
WMPR began broadcasting in October 1983,
but it failed to attract the hoped-for support from listeners. The first general manager resigned after just six months, and by 1986, the station warned that it might not have sufficient funds to remain a member of NPR.
A steadying hand would soon come to the station in the form of
James Charles Evers
James Charles Evers (September 11, 1922July 22, 2020) was an American civil rights activist, businessman, radio personality, and politician. Evers was known for his role in the civil rights movement along with his younger brother Medgar Evers. A ...
, former mayor of
Fayette and disc jockey in
Philadelphia, Mississippi
Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,118 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
History
Philadelphia is municipal corporation, inc ...
, and the brother of
Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers (; July 2, 1925June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist and the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi, who was murdered by Byron De La Beckwith. Evers, a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran who had served ...
, who became the general manager of WMPR by January 1990
and served in the post for more than 30 years. Prior to becoming a station employee, he had debated segregationist
Richard Barrett on its air in 1988.
Under Evers's management, per a historical marker erected on the
Mississippi Blues Trail
The Mississippi Blues Trail was created by the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2006 to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the birth, growth, and influence of the blues throughout (and in some cases beyond) ...
in 2009, WMPR became a "primary outlet" for blues in the area; Evers also hosted the weekly ''Let's Talk'' talk show.
The station was the subject of an attack in 2017 in which unknown vandals went to Evers's home and sprayed "KKK" on a station van. Evers died in 2020; after his death, the street on which WMPR's studios are located, Pecan Park Circle, was renamed in his honor. Majority ownership remained in the Evers family with his wife Wanda, who absorbed some of Charles's stake.
References
External links
wmpr901fm.com*
{{Jackson MS Radio
MPR
1983 establishments in Mississippi
Radio stations established in 1983