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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Rhode Island and theSouth Coast |
| Frequency | 89.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | The Public's Radio |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Subchannels | HD2:BBC World Service |
| Network | The Public's Radio |
| Affiliations | NPR,PRX,APM |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Rhode Island PBS Foundation and The Public's Radio |
| WSBE-TV | |
| History | |
First air date | June 10, 2006 (2006-6-10)[1] |
Former call signs |
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| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 163899 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 7,000watts |
| HAAT | 254.0 meters (833.3 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°35′48″N71°11′22″W / 41.59667°N 71.18944°W /41.59667; -71.18944 |
| Repeater(s) | WNPE,WPVD |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | thepublicsradio |
WNPN (89.3FM) is aradio station broadcasting an NPR news/talk format. It is the flagship broadcast outlet forThe Public's Radio (formerly known as Rhode Island Public Radio).[3] Its officialcommunity of license isNewport, Rhode Island, but from a tall tower inTiverton the signal covers most ofRhode Island and theSouth Coast of Massachusetts. It also has repeater stationsWNPE (102.7 FM) inNarragansett Pier andWPVD (1290 AM and 102.9 FM) inProvidence. The network provides the sole local public radio outlet for Rhode Island.
WNPN transmits using aNautel GV15 transmitter with 10,187 watts transmitter power output to make 7,000 watts effective radiated power. A Shively Labs 6016 four-panel antenna array is used. An Omnia 9 FM/HD processor fromThe Telos Alliance is used to keep audio levels consistent. A 67 kHzsubcarrier is transmitted for the MassachusettsRadio Reading ServiceAudible Local Ledger.
The station broadcasts in digitalHD Radio, with the HD2 channel devoted to a 24/7 feed of theBBC World Service.
The station signed on June 10, 2006, as WUMD, owned by theUniversity of Massachusetts Dartmouth. WUMD served as a replacement for WSMU-FM, which began with 10 watts of power on 91.1 MHz as WUSM in September 1973. Its first studio was in the cafeteria basement. In the fall of 1974, WUSM moved its studio to the campus center and increased power. It remained a student-programmed station throughout the next three decades. The call letters changed to WSMU-FM in 1989. In June 2006, UMass Dartmouth sold the 91.1 frequency to theEducational Media Foundation, which relaunched it asWTKL; the programming that had been on WSMU-FM then moved to the new WUMD on 89.3.
On January 4, 2017, it was announced that UMass Dartmouth was selling WUMD toRhode Island Public Radio for $1.5 million and $617,100 worth of underwriting for 10 years. RIPR intended to move WUMD toTiverton, Rhode Island, to simulcast its programming.[4] TheFCC approved the transfer of the station license on May 1, 2017.[5]WUMD signed off for the final time at noon on June 26, 2017, following the consummation of the purchase.[6] Rhode Island Public Radio began broadcasting its NPR news/talk format on July 12, 2017, and the callsign changed to WXNI. An FCCconstruction permit was sought and obtained to move 89.3 to the former tower of localABC affiliateWLNE-TV in Tiverton, greatly increasing the area covered by the signal.[7] The designated community of license was also to change from North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, toNewport, Rhode Island. On July 29, 2018, in preparation for the final move to Tiverton, the callsign was changed to WNPN. The FCC approval of the move to Newport was granted effective August 13, 2018.
On paper, WNPN, like its predecessors, operated at relatively modest power for a full NPR member on the FM band. However, it now broadcast from the tallest active FM tower in Rhode Island, at 833 feet (254 m); onlyWLVO's auxiliary site inJohnston is taller. This added over 700,000 people in Rhode Island and the South Coast to its coverage area. As a result, it now provided at least secondary coverage to almost all of Rhode Island, and also brought a city-grade NPR signal toNew Bedford and most of the South Coast for the first time ever. Reflecting this increased coverage, two months after signing on WNPN from its new site, Rhode Island Public Radio rebranded itself as "The Public's Radio".