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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Columbus metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 90.5 (MHz) |
| Branding | 90.5 WCBE |
| Programming | |
| Format | NPR,public radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | September 26, 1956 (1956-09-26) |
Call sign meaning | Columbus Board of Education |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 12,000watts |
| HAAT | 300 meters (980 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WCBE (90.5FM) is apublicradio station inColumbus, Ohio that began broadcasting in 1956.[1] The WCBEcall sign represents the station's licensee, the Columbus Board of Education (Columbus City Schools).
The station was originally housed in the Columbus Normal School building, but moved to the Columbus Public Schools headquarters at 270 E. State Street in downtown Columbus, and then relocated to the historicFort Hayes educational campus in 1992.[2][3] The station's tower is located on top ofLeVeque Tower in downtown Columbus and issimulcast on 13 wattFM translatorW292EA at 106.3 MHz inNewark, Ohio.[4]
The station went on-air in 1956 under the direction of General Manager John Sittig.[5] Initially, the station carried only locally produced education programs designed to connect remote learners to classrooms and only with limited broadcast hours. In 1968, station management was approached by the Good Music Advisory Society to expand broadcast hours, launch classical music programming, and increase station power from 3000 to 10,000 watts.[6] WCBE was the first station in Columbus to affiliate withNational Public Radio and began carrying NPR programs with their first broadcast on May 3, 1971, withAll Things Considered. Of note,Michael Feinstein, archivist and vocal interpreter of theGreat American Songbook, interned at WCBE while he was a high school student in Columbus Public Schools in the mid-70s.[7]
WOSU-FM broadcast an exclusive classical music service, and in 1990, to avoid duplication in the market, especially on the FM band, WCBE, now led by General Manager and longtime staffer Sharon Miller, switched musical formats to music classified asadult album alternative (AAA or Triple-A), rebranding the station as "Your True Alternative". Program Directors David Gordon and Norm Beeker managed the on-air programming during this period of unprecedented growth, revamping weekend programming, moving to a 24-hour broadcast with theBBC World Service and launching new local music and news programs.[6] Programming received several awards during this era, including the eclectic music programRadio Free Columbus, hosted by Jon Peterson, honored as the 1993 Ohio Educational Broadcasting Program of the Year (OEBie Award), andKids Sundae, a live children's variety show co-hosted by Dan Mushalko, recipient of the 1994 OEBie Program of the Year.Kids Sundae featured live performances, and had children serve as reporters, producers, and co-hosts, one of whom wasWCMH news anchor Kerry Charles.[8][9][10]
In addition,Evening Journal, a half-hour daily local news broadcast, was honored as the 1992, 1993, and 1994 Best News Program by the Public Radio News Directors (PRNDI).[6] The station also syndicatedToss the Feathers Christmas, an annualCeltic music Christmas program, hosted by Doug Dickson, between 1994 and 2004 across the globe throughPublic Radio International (PRI).[11][12]
The major public radio programs had also historically been broadcast on the WOSU (820 AM) signal, but a series of changes in 2010 allowedOhio State University to move the classical broadcast toWOSA (101.1 FM), their AM news service to theWOSU-FM (89.7 FM) signal, andWCVZ (102.5 FM) became the new home for the former CD101 alternative rock station in a financial deal worth $4.8 million.[13] Ohio State would then sell the 820 AM station to St. Gabriel Radio in a $2 million transaction. That station now broadcasts asWVSG.[14]
This competition created financial pressures for WCBE and General Manager Dan Mushalko was let go in 2019 having been convicted of telecommunications fraud for altering invoices to hide station debt from Columbus City Schools leadership.[15][16] Ohio State University and WOSU hired former Columbus MayorMichael B. Coleman to negotiate with a private group called WCBE Ohio to take over station operations, but did not negotiate with the district.[17] The district paid off station debt with public funds and elected to retain the license.[18]
In October 2022, acknowledging the financial pressures on the station, General Manager Greg Moebius announced programming changes, including elimination of programs duplicated by WOSU-FM, dropping programs such asMorning Edition,All Things Considered,Fresh Air, andMarketplace. The station would instead focus on a near exclusive AAA music format and increasing involvement by Columbus City Schools students, modeling the format onWAPS (FM) in Akron, Ohio.[19][20]
Global Village, a daily music program, has been on-air since 1990, with only three hosts in that history, having been started by Bill Munger, hosted for many years by Maxx Faulkner, and now hosted by Maggie Brennan, who began as a college intern at the station.[21] WCBE broadcasts national music programs includingThe World Cafe,Afropop Worldwide, andEchoes as well as several locally produced specialty music programs.[22] The station carries theBBC World Service overnight and, since 1980, WCBE has carried Ohio news from the Statehouse News Bureau, now led by Bureau Chief and former WCBE News Director Karen Kasler.[23]
With the move to the Fort Hayes studios in 1992, the station began a series of live in-studio concerts, Live from Studio A, and recordings have been featured on promotional tapes and CDs.[24] It's Movie Time is a regular feature on WCBE, hosted by John DeSando, and has won awards from the Los Angeles Press Club (2010, best radio feature), the Hermes Award (2010, Gold Award), and the Marcom Awards (2010, Gold Award).[25]
| International | |
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| National | |
39°57′48″N83°00′17″W / 39.9634°N 83.0046°W /39.9634; -83.0046
