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| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Chicago metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 91.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | WBEZ 91.5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk (public) |
| Subchannels | HD2: Vocalo (urban alternative) |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Chicago Public Media |
| WBEW | |
| History | |
First air date | April 7, 1943; 81 years ago (1943-04-07) |
Former call signs | WBEZ-FM (1983–88) |
Former frequencies | 42.5 MHz (1943–1947) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 66649 |
| Class | BNCE |
| ERP | 5,700watts |
| HAAT | 425.1 meters (1,395 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°53′56.1″N87°37′23.2″W / 41.898917°N 87.623111°W /41.898917; -87.623111 (NAD83) |
| Translator(s) | See§ Satellites and translators |
| Repeater(s) | See§ Satellites and translators |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WBEZ (91.5FM) – brandedWBEZ 91.5 – is anon-commercial educationalradio station licensed toChicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the tri-state region of theChicago metropolitan area. It is owned byChicago Public Media and is financed by listener contributions, corporate underwriting and some government funding.[2] WBEZ isaffiliated with bothNational Public Radio (NPR) and thePublic Radio Exchange (PRX). It also broadcasts content fromAmerican Public Media and theBBC World Service. It produces severalnationally syndicated shows for public radio stations, including documentary programThis American Life, and co-produces news and politics quiz program,Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! with NPR.
WBEZ has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 5,700watts with itstransmitter atop theJohn Hancock Center onNorth Michigan Avenue. It broadcasts over twoHD Radiodigital subchannels.[3] It operates full-powerrepeatersWBEK (91.1 FM) inKankakee and WBEQ (90.7 FM) inMorris, as well as severalFM translators. WBEZ-HD2, carrying auser-generated content format focused on "urban alternative music" and brandedVocalo.org, is also relayed overWBEW (89.5 FM) inChesterton, Indiana.
WBEZ was among the earliest FM stations in Chicago. first went on the air on April 7, 1943,[4] carrying instructional programming for theChicago Public Schools.[5][6] However, initially only a few classrooms were able to tune in, because most did not have FM receivers.[5] It originally broadcast at 42.5 MHz, before moving to 91.5 MHz in 1947.[7]
Its transmitter was located atop Chicago'sMorrison Hotel and its studios were in theBuilders Building.[6][7] In 1949, the station's transmitter was moved toMarshall Metropolitan High School in Chicago'sEast Garfield Park neighborhood.[7][8] As of 2021, it is atop theJohn Hancock Center.[9]
In 1970, WBEZ joinedNational Public Radio as a charter member and began general programming outside of school hours.[10] Initially, most programming outside of the instructional programs and NPR programs was jazz music. The Board of Education sold the station to the current license holders, the not-for-profit WBEZ Alliance, Inc., in 1990.[11] In September 1995 the parent company and station moved from its old offices to its current location atNavy Pier.[12]
The corporate name was changed in 2010 to Chicago Public Media, Inc.Torey Malatia, the general manager, stepped down in July 2013 after 20 years with the station.[13][14] Goli Sheikholeslami, formerly ofThe Washington Post, was appointed as CEO. She took office in April 2014.[15] Goli Sheikholeslami left WBEZ to headNew York Public Radio in fall 2019; Steve Edwards, back on staff at WBEZ since 2017, was named interim CEO as of the end of September 2019.[16]
WBEZ broadcasts at 5,700 watts, which on paper is somewhat modest for an NPR member on the FM band. However, with its transmitter being located atop Chicago's second tallest building, its coverage area is largely comparable to Chicago's major commercial FM stations. Even so, some inner suburbs such asWaukegan,Aurora andElgin only get a grade B signal.
On January 4, 2007, the station's long-time overnightjazz programming was eliminated.[17] The music program remaining on the schedule was the world music programRadio M (formerlyPassport and in 2019 re-titled Radio Z) on Friday nights. All other music hosts were to be reassigned to other positions at the station, according to a March 2006 article in theChicago Reader. The replacement of music programming, which management said was due to the prevalence and popularity of other music delivery systems, caused outrage amongst many in theChicago jazz scene.[18] Protest sites were organized but were unsuccessful.[18] Legendary jazz disc jockeyDick Buckley retained a time slot Sunday afternoons until mid-2008.[19]
Station management announced a five-year plan for Chicago-oriented programs to cover all seven hours between the national news programs.[20]
Other program changes happened in October 2012, with various programs being reshuffled. At the same time,Smiley and West from PRI was dropped from the Sunday afternoon line-up.[21]
The last day WBEZ aired locally-produced international programming was October 4, 2019, with the final broadcast ofWorldview with host Jerome McDonnell, which aired weekdays since 1994. The news on the hour at noon stopped being BBC news October 4, and started being NPR news on Monday October 7, 2019, the start of a week of transition.[22][23]
A daytime hour ofNewshour from the BBC World Service began Monday October 7, 2019, replacingThe Morning Shift. Beginning Monday October 14, 2019, a new local talk show calledReset started. It was originally hosted byJenn White.[22][24] This was considered a shake-up of midday programs, which had not drawn as large an audience as the NPR morning and afternoon news programs,Morning Edition andAll Things Considered.[24]
Programming on WBEZ includes international news and local news includingCurious City,[25]world music, and quiz shows. Notable national programs offered by WBEZ includeAll Things Considered,Marketplace,Morning Edition,Weekend Edition,PRI's The World andLive From Here. Generally, news and talk programming is heard weekdays and evenings with music and entertainment talk programming on the weekends.[26]
WBEZ is best known nationally as the producer ofThis American Life throughPublic Radio Exchange.This American Life began in 1995 as the local showYour Radio Playhouse; it was renamed in March 1996 and has been national since June 1996.[27]
In addition, Chicago Public Media foundedThird Coast International Audio Festival, a showcase for independent radio producers, and the producer of the weekly programRe:sound.[28] WBEZ stopped broadcastingRe:sound circa 2019.[citation needed]".
WBEZ was also the flagship station ofThe Annoying Music Show!, a 3-minute program that showcased generally annoying songs. The program was produced by former WBEZ program director Jim Nayder. Nayder Communications also produced the somewhat more seriousMagnificent Obsession, a program of interviews with persons who have overcome various addictions.[29] The station was also once the flagship station of Steve Cushing's nationally distributed Saturday night blues music programBlues Before Sunrise, which started in 1979 and has been independently produced and distributed by Cushing since 1995.Blues Before Sunrise, was eliminated from WBEZ's lineup in the 2007 restructuring, but was taken over by public radio stationWDCB in nearbyGlen Ellyn.[30]
Its morning magazine programEight Forty-Eight was initially named after the postal address of the station, 848 East Grand Avenue. The show was renamed toThe Morning Shift,[31] and was dropped in October 2019 in favor of a two-hour local talk show midday, calledReset.
The corresponding afternoon program was calledThe Afternoon Shift.[31] WBEZ touted the program as "a live talk show featuring in-depth interviews and conversations with [mostly local] newsmakers, artists, writers, and innovators".[32] Original host Steve Edwards left the station after a few months,[33][34] and longtimeChicago Tribune journalistRick Kogan temporarily replaced him.[35][36] As of 2013 and the conclusion of Kogan's interim stint, WBEZ introduced Niala Boodhoo as the show's permanent on-air host. In 2015, WBEZ canceled "The Afternoon Shift"; the final episode aired on June 5, 2015.[37]
Another local program heard Monday through Friday wasWorldview, a global issues program that began in 1986 asMidday with Sondra Gair.[38] After Gair's death in 1994, her producer Jerome McDonnell took over the program and hosted it since. It was heard nationally onSirius Satellite Radio's now-defunct PRI channel from Sirius' inception until 2006. Worldview aired its last program after 25 years on October 4, 2019.[23]
Chicago Public Media is a founding member of thePublic Radio Exchange (PRX), a programming cooperative for public radio stations and independent producers.[39] Therock musictalk showSound Opinions, which moved fromWXRT in 2005, was distributed nationally byAmerican Public Media until 2010, when its distribution was transferred to PRX.[40] PRX also distributes the film showFilmspotting.[41]
News and news discussion/documentary programs aired on a weekly basis includeLatino USA from NPR; CanadianCBC Radio showsQ,Ideas, andUnder the Influence with Terry O'Reilly; andRadio Netherlands: The State We're In.[42] Other programs that air weekly includeSnap Judgment withGlynn Washington, a story-telling show fromPRX and NPR.[43]
In addition to its main transmitter on 91.5 FM, WBEZ extends its signal by operating full-power satellite WBEQ/Morris, Illinois (90.7 FM). The station also formerly operated a low-power translator inElgin, Illinois (W217BM at 91.3). In 2013, Chicago Public Media purchased 91.7 W219CD in Elgin fromLifeTalk Radio for $52,500,[44] and W217BM moved to Chicago the following year and changed its frequency to 91.1 as W216CL.[45]
Listeners can also receive the broadcast online withstreaming audio,MP3 download or bypodcast. As of 2013[update], the station drew an estimated 400,000 listeners each week.[46]
Several other radio stations also are or were affiliated withChicago Public Media.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | Facility ID | Class | ERP (W) | Height (m (ft)) | Transmitter coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBEK | 91.1 FM | Kankakee, Illinois | 33327 | A | 2,600 | 77.3 m (254 ft) | 41°9′39″N87°52′30″W / 41.16083°N 87.87500°W /41.16083; -87.87500 (WBEK) | Simulcasts WBEZ-FM/HD1 |
| WBEQ | 90.7 FM (HD) | Morris, Illinois | 92544 | A | 1,470 | 142.6 m (468 ft) | 41°17′9.12″N88°25′49.25″W / 41.2858667°N 88.4303472°W /41.2858667; -88.4303472 (WBEQ) | Simulcasts WBEZ-FM/HD1 |
| WBEW | 89.5 FM (HD) | Chesterton, Indiana | 3248 | B1 | 4,000 | 181.9 m (597 ft) | 41°38′6.1″N87°2′59.1″W / 41.635028°N 87.049750°W /41.635028; -87.049750 (WBEW) | Simulcasts WBEZ-HD2 |
| Call sign | Frequency (MHz) | City of license | Facility ID | Class | ERP (W) | Height (m (ft)) | Transmitter coordinates | Rebroadcasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W216CL | 91.1 | Chicago, Illinois | 91647 | D | 50 | 377.2 m (1,238 ft) | 41°53′56.12″N87°37′23.18″W / 41.8989222°N 87.6231056°W /41.8989222; -87.6231056 (W216CL) | WBEZ-HD2 |
| W219CD | 91.7 | Elgin, Illinois | 90195 | D | 10 | 145 m (476 ft) | 42°1′11.09″N88°22′53.30″W / 42.0197472°N 88.3814722°W /42.0197472; -88.3814722 (W219CD) | WBEZ (FM/HD1) |
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| National | |
| Other | |
