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| Broadcast area | South Florida and theFlorida Keys |
| Frequencies | |
| Branding | WLRN Radio |
| Programming | |
| Format | Public radio:News/talk,jazz |
| Subchannels | HD2:Classical music |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Miami-Dade County Public Schools |
| Operator | Friends of WLRN |
| History | |
First air date |
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Call sign meaning |
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| Technical information[1][2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID |
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| ERP |
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| HAAT |
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| Translator(s) |
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| Repeater(s) | 105.5WOLL-HD2 (Hobe Sound) |
| Links | |
Public license information |
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| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WLRN-FM (91.3MHz) andWKWM (91.5 MHz) arenon-commercial, listener-supported,public radio stations forSouth Florida and theFlorida Keys. WLRN-FM islicensed toMiami and WKWM is licensed toMarathon. They are owned byMiami-Dade County Public Schools.[3] The offices and studios are on NE 15th Street in Miami.
WLRN-FM is aClass C1 station and WKWM is Class C3. WLRN-FM'stransmitter is off SW 52nd Avenue inPembroke Park.[4] WKWM's transmitter is offRoute A1A inRamrod Key.[5] Programming is also heard on fourFM translators in South Florida.
WLRN-FM and WKWM are theflagshipNPRmember stations in South Florida. They air a news and information format during the day withjazz at night and theBBC World Service overnight. Weekday information shows includeMorning Edition,All Things Considered,Fresh Air,1A,Here and Now,The World andMarketplace. There are two weekday evening music programs:Radyo Lekol, aHaitian Creole show andWeeknight Jazz, which features traditional and contemporaryjazz music.
Weekend specialty shows includeWait, Wait, Don't Tell Me,The Moth Radio Hour,The TED Radio Hour,The New Yorker Radio Hour,The Ezra Klein Show,Travel with Rick Steves,A Way with Words,Freakonomics Radio,Latino USA,Science Friday,Hidden Brain,Radiolab andThis American Life.
As of 2022, WLRN-FM has three repeaters in theFlorida Keys: 93.3 W227AD inKey Colony Beach, 89.1 W206AS inBig Pine Key, and 100.5 W263BO inKey West.[6]
In late September 2008, WLRN launched a full-powered, class C3, 12 kW station, WKWM 91.5, inMarathon, Florida, which simulcasts WLRN programming for the southern Keys. This station broadcasts in HD Radio. WKWM has one repeater, 92.1 W221AY inTavernier.[7]
To serve thePalm Beaches of South Florida, WLRN-FM leases FM translator 101.9 W270AD inWest Palm Beach. It has a power of 250 watts and is fed by an HD2 subchannel of 90.7WFLV. The translator and HD2 subchannel are owned by theEducational Media Foundation based inTennessee.
WLRN-FMsigned on the air in 1949; 76 years ago (1949). Its originalcall sign was WTHS-FM and it broadcast on 91.7 MHz. It was powered at 5,000 watts, a fraction of its current output. It has always been owned by the Miami public school system, although in its early years, the holder of the license was The Board of Public Instruction of Dade County.[8] The studios and offices were at 1410 NE 2nd Avenue.
The school board acquired Channel 17 in 1959. At first, WTHS-TV was mostly used for classroom instruction on school days. But it later became Miami's secondaryPBS station asWLRN-TV.
In the 1960s, WTHS-FM moved to 91.3.[9] The power increased slightly to 8,400 watts. The station became a charter member of NPR in 1970 and is the longest running NPRaffiliate in Florida. WTHS-FM maintained a long-timeradio reading service for theblind on ananalogsubcarrier.
In 1973, the stations changed their call letters to WLRN-FM-TV to represent the word "Learn." Employees of WLRN-FM-TV are part ofAFSCME union local 1187.[10]
In the late 1970s, WLRN-FM was given permission by theFederal Communications Commission to boost its power to 92,000 watts on its 400 foottower.[11] However, it chose to go on a taller antenna and run 47,000 watts as a Class C1 station.
WLRN-FM and WKWM broadcast usingHD Radio technology. The HD2digital subchannel was originally called "WLRN Xtra HD." It was known as "South Florida’s Alternative News and Talk Station", featuring talk programming by day andBBC World Service at night.
Until December 2, 2007, HD2 carried "Classical 24", which offeredclassical music 24 hours per day.[1] Classical 24 later moved to another public radio station,WKCP 89.7 FM, after that station's acquisition by Classical 24's parent,American Public Media. But 89.7 was sold to theEducational Media Foundation (EMF) for its "K-LOVE"Christian Contemporary music network on July 17, 2015. Classical music returned to WLRN's HD2 subchannel on August 10, 2015. It once again uses the "Classical 24" network but is now referred to as "WLRN Classical HD2."
On October 16, 2015, WLRN-FM announced it would lease the HD2 subchannel ofWFLV inWest Palm Beach and itsFM translator 101.9 W270AD from theEducational Media Foundation (EMF). The subchannel and translator wouldsimulcast WLRN-FM in the region as "101.9, NPR For The Palm Beaches." Until then, listeners in the Palm Beach area had to try pulling in 91.3 WLRN-FM from its main transmitter inPembroke Pines, quite distant for an FM signal to reach.
The translator on 101.9 MHz began airing WLRN-FM programming in November 2015.[12] Other than W270AD, there was no NPR affiliate on the Florida Coast between Miami andOrlando. In 1982, a new NPR station signed on inFort Pierce,WQCS88.9 FM, owned byIndian River State College. But its transmitter is distant from the Palm Beaches as well.
Although 101.9 W270AD's programming is produced by WLRN-FM, it airs a slightly different schedule from WLRN-FM's main signal. On weekday evenings, it doesn't airRadyo Lekol (Creole-language program produced by MDCPS; weeknights from 9:00-9:30pm) orEvening Jazz (weeknights from 9:30pm–1:00am). Programming from the BBC World Service airs instead.
In June 2011, WLRN dropped ties with the Florida Public Radio Network. That is a statewide network of public radio stations designed to provide coverage of theFlorida Legislature and other Florida-relevant issues. This was partly in response to its producer,WFSU-FM inTallahassee, receiving $2.8 million in funding for various services related to Florida government, including $497,522 for "statewide government and cultural affairs programming", which includes the Florida Public Radio Network.
This is despite the $4.8 million of funding to other public radio and television stations (including WLRN radio and television) vetoed by GovernorRick Scott in May 2011. In its place, WLRN-FM signed on to a joint partnership between theTampa Bay Times andThe Miami Herald in coverage of state issues from the papers' Tallahassee bureau.[13]
Radio stations in theFlorida Keys | |
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| Bycall sign | |
| Defunct | |
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25°58′48″N80°11′46″W / 25.980°N 80.196°W /25.980; -80.196
