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WVPE (88.1 FM) is the
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 ...
member station for the
Michiana Michiana ( ) is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, Indiana defines Michiana as St. Joseph County and "counties that contribute at ...
region of northern
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
and southwest
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. Licensed to
Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The population was 53,923 at the 2020 census. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana. It is the most populous city in the Elkhart–Goshen metropolitan area, which in tu ...
, and owned by Elkhart Community Schools, it features programming from NPR,
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 ...
and
Public Radio Exchange The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...
.


History

The station went on the air in 1972 as a student operated station. In 1982, the station added its first full-time staff person and started a transition away from a student lab to serve the public as a public radio service. In 1983, the station started playing jazz, blues, folk and other music In 1984, it added programming from the public radio satellite such as ''
A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...
'' and ''The Thistle & Shamrock'' when it joined American Public Radio (forerunner to
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 ...
). In 1987, the station added its first public radio news programming and qualified for federal funding from the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB; stylized as 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 ...
in 1990. Throughout the 1980s, WVPE grew in its services and audience with a mix of jazz, blues and folk music. In 1991, the station joined
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 ...
bringing NPR News programming back to the region after a 16-month absence. In 1995, the station moved to an all-NPR News format with the addition of ''
The Diane Rehm Show ''The Diane Rehm Show'' was a call-in show based in the United States that aired nationally on NPR (National Public Radio). In October 2007, ''The Diane Rehm Show'' was named to the Audience Research Analysis list of the top ten most powerful na ...
'' and ''
Talk of the Nation ''Talk of the Nation'' (''TOTN'') is an American talk radio program based in Washington D.C., produced by National Public Radio ( NPR) that was broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. It focused on current events and controversial ...
''. In 2000, WVPE was recognized with awards from Indiana
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
and the
Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...
followed by six awards in 2002 for news coverage (including Best Newscast from IAP, and Spectrum Award from IBA for Best News Story). In 2003, the station received 11 awards for news coverage including an
Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American Broadcast journalism, broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broa ...
Award for Excellence in Sports Reporting. In 2007 the station's Michiana Chronicles commentary series won a regional Murrow award for writing. The weekly series presents stories and essays by local writers from
Michiana Michiana ( ) is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, Indiana defines Michiana as St. Joseph County and "counties that contribute at ...
, the region of north-central Indiana and southern Michigan roughly centered on South Bend.


External links

* {{NPR Indiana VPE NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1972 1972 establishments in Indiana News and talk radio stations in the United States