Public radio station in Chicago
WBEZ
(91.5
FM
) ? branded
WBEZ 91.5
? is a
non-commercial educational
radio station
licensed to
Chicago
, Illinois, and primarily serving the
Chicago metropolitan area
. It is owned by
Chicago Public Media
and is financed by listener contributions, corporate underwriting and some government funding.
[2]
WBEZ is
affiliated
with both
National Public Radio
(NPR) and the
Public Radio Exchange
(PRX). It also broadcasts content from
American Public Media
and the
BBC World Service
. It produces several
nationally syndicated
shows for public radio stations, including
This American Life
and has a co-production credit for
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
, which is produced by NPR.
WBEZ has an
effective radiated power
(ERP) of 5,700
watts
with its
transmitter
atop the
John Hancock Center
on
North Michigan Avenue
. It broadcasts over two
HD Radio
digital subchannels
.
[3]
It operates full-power
repeaters
WBEK
91.1 FM in
Kankakee
and WBEQ 90.7 FM in
Morris
, as well as several
FM translators
. WBEZ-HD2, carrying a
user-generated content
format focused on "
urban alternative music
" and branded
Vocalo.org
, is also relayed over
WBEW
89.5 FM in
Chesterton, Indiana
.
History
[
edit
]
Classroom instruction
[
edit
]
WBEZ was among the earliest FM stations in Chicago. It
signed on
the air on April 7, 1943
; 81 years ago
(
1943-04-07
)
.
[4]
It broadcast on school days, carrying instructional programming for the
Chicago 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's
Morrison Hotel
and its studios were in the
Builders Building
.
[6]
[7]
In 1949, the station's transmitter was moved to
Marshall Metropolitan High School
in Chicago's
East Garfield Park
neighborhood.
[7]
[8]
As of 2021, it is atop the
John Hancock Center
.
[9]
NPR affiliation
[
edit
]
In 1970, WBEZ joined
National 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 at
Navy 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 of
The Washington Post
, was appointed as CEO. She took office in April 2014.
[15]
Goli Sheikholeslami left WBEZ to head
New 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 as
Waukegan
,
Aurora
and
Elgin
only get a grade B signal.
Reduction in music programming
[
edit
]
On January 4, 2007, the station's long-time overnight
jazz
programming was eliminated.
[17]
The music program remaining on the schedule was the world music program
Radio M
(formerly
Passport
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 the
Chicago 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 the
Chicago jazz scene
.
[18]
Protest sites were organized but were unsuccessful.
[18]
Legendary jazz disc jockey
Dick 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]
Midday program change
[
edit
]
The last day WBEZ aired locally-produced international programming was October 4, 2019 with the final broadcast of
Worldview
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 of
Newshour
from the BBC World Service began Monday October 7, 2019, replacing
The Morning Shift
. Beginning Monday October 14, 2019, a new local talk show called
Reset
started. It was originally hosted by
Jenn 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
and
All Things Considered
.
[24]
Programming
[
edit
]
Programming on WBEZ includes international news and local news including
Curious City
,
[25]
world music
, and quiz shows. Notable national programs offered by WBEZ include
All Things Considered
,
Marketplace
,
Morning Edition
,
Weekend Edition
,
PRI's The World
and
Live 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 of
This American Life
through
Public Radio Exchange
.
This American Life
began in 1995 as the local show
Your Radio Playhouse
; it was renamed in March 1996 and has been national since June 1996.
[27]
In addition, Chicago Public Media founded
Third Coast International Audio Festival
, a showcase for independent radio producers, and the producer of the weekly program
Re:sound
.
[28]
WBEZ stopped broadcasting
Re:sound
circa 2019.
[
citation needed
]
".
WBEZ was also the flagship station of
The 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 serious
Magnificent 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 program
Blues 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 station
WDCB
in nearby
Glen Ellyn
.
[30]
Its morning magazine program
Eight Forty-Eight
was initially named after the postal address of the station, 848 East Grand Avenue. The show was renamed to
The Morning Shift
,
[31]
and was dropped in October 2019 in favor of a two-hour local talk show midday, called
Reset
.
The corresponding afternoon program was called
The 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 longtime
Chicago Tribune
journalist
Rick 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 was
Worldview
, a global issues program that began in 1986 as
Midday 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 on
Sirius 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 the
Public Radio Exchange
(PRX), a programming cooperative for public radio stations and independent producers.
[39]
The
rock music
talk show
Sound Opinions
,
which moved from
WXRT
in 2005, was distributed nationally by
American Public Media
until 2010, when its distribution was transferred to PRX.
[40]
PRX also distributes the film show
Filmspotting
.
[41]
News and news discussion/documentary programs aired on a weekly basis include
Latino USA
from NPR; Canadian
CBC Radio
shows
Q
,
Ideas
, and
Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly
; and
Radio Netherlands: The State We're In
.
[42]
Other programs that air weekly include
Snap Judgment
with
Glynn Washington
, a story-telling show from
PRX
and NPR.
[43]
Satellites and translators
[
edit
]
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 in
Elgin, Illinois
(W217BM at 91.3). In 2013, Chicago Public Media purchased 91.7 W219CD in Elgin from
LifeTalk 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 with
streaming audio
,
MP3
download or by
podcast
. As of 2013
[update]
, the station drew an estimated 400,000 listeners each week.
[46]
Several other radio stations also are or were affiliated with
Chicago Public Media
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Facility Technical Data for WBEZ"
.
Licensing and Management System
.
Federal Communications Commission
.
- ^
Miner, Michael (2009-11-09).
"Chicago Public Radio?an internal report on its new Strategic Plan"
.
Chicago Reader
.
- ^
"HD Radio AM & FM: Find Stations"
. Retrieved
October 6,
2019
.
- ^
Davy, Robert Leland (1948).
Comparison of the Philosophies and Program Policies of Ten Educational Radio Stations
(Thesis). University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- ^
a
b
Bianchi, William (2008).
Schools of the Air: A History of Instructional Programs on Radio in the United States
. McFarland & Company. p. 227.
- ^
a
b
"Schools' Own FM Station Is Ready to Test",
Chicago Tribune
. April 6, 1943. p. 16.
- ^
a
b
c
History Cards for WBEZ
, Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^
"FM Tower Shift Gets Zoning Ear: Move to Marshall High Asked",
Chicago Tribune
. February 1, 1948. Part 3, p. 1.
- ^
"WBEZ-FM 91.5 MHz Chicago, Illinois: "Chicago Public Radio"
"
.
radio-locator
. January 21, 2021
. Retrieved
2022-01-21
.
- ^
"History"
. Chicago Public Media
. Retrieved
January 18,
2015
.
- ^
Feder, Robert (March 9, 2010).
"Feder's Chicago Media flashback March 1990"
. Vocalo.org. Archived from
the original
on March 11, 2010
. Retrieved
March 10,
2010
.
- ^
Stein, Sharman (September 20, 1995).
"WBEZ Plugs into Navy Pier"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
October 8,
2018
.
- ^
Miner, Michael (August 14, 2013).
"The highs and lows of longtime WBEZ visionary Torey Malatia"
.
Chicago Reader
.
- ^
Miner, Michael.
"Torey Malatia leaves WBEZ"
.
Chicago Reader
. Retrieved
October 8,
2018
.
- ^
"CPM announces Goli Sheikholeslami as new CEO"
. Chicago Public Media
. Retrieved
January 19,
2015
.
- ^
"Steve Edwards Named Interim CEO Of Chicago Public Media"
.
WBEZ News
. September 11, 2019
. Retrieved
October 6,
2018
.
- ^
Hammond, Andrew (January 5, 2007).
"The End of Jazz on WBEZ"
.
The Chicago Maroon
.
- ^
a
b
Margasak, Peter (October 20, 2006). "WBEZ: Less jazz, more talk".
Chicago Reader
.
- ^
Margasak, Peter (July 25, 2008).
"Dick Buckley's last sign-off"
.
Chicago Reader
.
- ^
Galland, Zoe (September 4, 2012).
"WBEZ's Steve Edwards to depart for U of C gig"
.
Crain's Chicago Business
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
Riismandel, Paul (October 14, 2012).
"Chicago's WBEZ is the 4th station to drop Smiley and West"
. Radio Survivor
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Feder, Robert (October 2, 2019).
"Feder: WBEZ to debut midday talk show 'Reset with Jenn White' Oct. 14"
.
Daily Herald
. Retrieved
October 7,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
McDonnell, Jerome
(October 4, 2019).
"
"The Thing That Gives Me Hope Is You": Jerome Thanks Worldview's Listeners"
. Chicago Public Media
. Retrieved
2022-01-19
.
- ^
a
b
Feder, Robert (May 23, 2019).
"WBEZ to debut two-hour midday talk show this fall"
.
Robert Feder: Chicago media served fresh daily since 1980
. Retrieved
October 6,
2019
.
- ^
"Curious City"
. Retrieved
January 27,
2017
.
- ^
"WBEZ Program Schedule"
(PDF)
(PDF). WBEZ
. Retrieved
January 19,
2015
.
- ^
"Lights! Camera! Ira? In 1998, NPR began producing
Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!
in Chicago with WBEZ as a co-production partner. NPR used their studios and office space for many years until 2019".
Chicago Tribune
. November 15, 2005.
- ^
"Third Coast International Audio Festival"
. Third Coast International Audio Festival
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
Eng, Monica (August 1, 2014).
"Remembering 'Annoying Music Show' and 'Magnificent Obsession' host Jim Nayder"
. WBEZ
. Retrieved
January 19,
2015
.
- ^
Margasak, Peter (December 6, 2006).
"WDCB Saves Blues Before Sunrise"
.
Chicago Reader
.
- ^
a
b
"Programs"
. WBEZ
. Retrieved
January 18,
2015
.
- ^
"The Afternoon Shift"
. WBEZ
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
Akimoff, Tim (5 September 2012).
"Steve Edwards departs for University of Chicago's Institute of Politics"
. WBEZ
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
Janssen, Kim (September 4, 2012).
"WBEZ's Steve Edwards heading to University of Chicago"
.
Chicago Sun-Times
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
Feder, Robert
(September 16, 2012).
"Tribune's Kogan to keep 'Afternoon Shift' buzzing at WBEZ"
.
Time Out Chicago
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
"Rick Kogan Exits WGN-AM; Dean Richards To Replace Him"
. Chicagoland Radio and Media. September 21, 2012
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
Channick, Robert (June 3, 2015).
"WBEZ cancels 'The Afternoon Shift'
"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
October 6,
2019
.
- ^
Saxon, Wolfgang (May 28, 1994). "Sondra B. Gair Is Dead at 70; Host of Radio Show in Chicago".
New York Times
.
- ^
Janssen, Mike (May 12, 2003).
"PRX: online audio market begins beta test this month"
.
Current.org
. Retrieved
January 19,
2015
.
- ^
"Distribution for Sound Opinions moving from APM to PRX July 1"
. American Public Media
. Retrieved
January 19,
2015
.
- ^
"PRX ≫ Series ≫ Filmspotting (weekly series)"
.
PRX - Public Radio Exchange
. Retrieved
March 7,
2019
.
- ^
"Radio Netherlands: The State We're In"
. WBEZ
. Retrieved
January 18,
2015
.
- ^
"PRX ≫ Snap Judgment"
.
Public Radio Exchange
. Retrieved
June 15,
2013
.
- ^
"
FCC Applications 6/12
",
RadioInsight
. June 12, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^
"WDCB-FM Seeks Help From Listeners & FCC To Battle WBEZ-FM's Interfering Translator"
.
Chicago Radio and Media
. September 8, 2014
. Retrieved
January 18,
2015
.
- ^
Lapin, Andrew (August 15, 2013).
"Malatia's exit from WBEZ leaves staff guessing"
.
Current.org
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Personalities
| |
---|
Episode lists
| |
---|
Individual episodes
| |
---|
Albums
| |
---|
Adaptations
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|