WXPN
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| Broadcast area | Philadelphia, PA |
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| Branding | "88.5 XPN" |
| First air date | 1957 |
| Frequency | 88.5 (MHz) |
| Format | Adult Album Alternative |
| ERP | 5,000 watts |
| Callsign meaning | W eXperimental Pennsylvania Network |
| Owner | University of Pennsylvania |
| Website | www.xpn.org |
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[edit] Background
WXPN (88.5 FM band) is a public radio station operated by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia that broadcasts a music format called adult album alternative (AAA). It may be best known for the World Café music program, which is distributed by National Public Radio to many non-commercial stations across the United States. While the University has been involved with radio since the 1920s, WXPN itself first came into existence in 1945 as an AM band carrier current station at 730 kHz. The call sign, which is often abbreviated to XPN, stands for "Experimental Pennsylvania Network". Its transmitter now resides in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.
[edit] History
From its 10-watt FM birth at 88.9 in 1957 into the mid-1970s, WXPN was a student activity of the University and as it grew, the station initiated unique programming designs including one of the earliest free-form formats, Phase II, in the 1960s. In 1975, a controversial broadcast on the talk show The Vegetable Report led to an obscenity complaint with the FCC, which found the charges serious enough to decline renewal of the broadcast license. This incident (December 1975) marked the first time FCC had pulled a license on grounds of obscenity. But a citizen's group organized to petition the FCC to consider XPN's unique service, and with a pledge from the University licensee to create positions for professional staff to run the station, FCC allowed the license to renew.
With this new staff of five managers, WXPN became a steady fountain of high-quality folk, jazz, new and avant-garde music and public affairs programming produced by a combination of Penn students/alumni and community volunteers. Veterans of WXPN that have gone on to notable achievements in other areas include Broadway producer/director Harold Prince (the station's first Program Director), NBC news correspondent Andrea Mitchell (former News Director); Jazz producer Michael Cuscuna (former DJ) and Echoes producers John Diliberto and Kimberly Haas (former producers of Diaspar and other XPN shows).
Shows that have been staples on XPN since the '70s include The Blues Show with Jonny Meister (Saturday nights), Sleepy Hollow (Saturday and Sunday morning quiet music shows), Stars End (electronic music overnight Saturday/early Sunday morning) and Amazon Country (lesbian-oriented music and programming on Sunday evening). XPN also broadcasts the Folk Show with Gene Shay Sunday evening, which started at WHAT-FM in 1962 and continued on WDAS, WMMR, WIOQ and WHYY but moved to WXPN in the '90s when WHYY changed to a talk format.
In 1986 the station qualified for membership in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and began the legal process to move its frequency from 88.9 to 88.5 in order to increase signal coverage. In the 1990s the programming and personnel were shifted from its diverse volunteer voice to fulltime salaried programmers. The Penn radio student activity is currently carrier-current WQHS.
In 1988, WXPN started "Kids Corner", a daily interactive radio show for kids hosted by Kathy O'Connell. "Kids Corner" has won numerous awards, including the Peabody Award and the Armstrong Award.
In 2004, WXPN moved to new facilities at 3025 Walnut Street, where the radio station shares space with a music venue called World Cafe Live. It is worth noting that, though they share a building, WXPN and World Cafe Live are independent entities and World Cafe Live pays a yearly fee to license the name World Cafe from WXPN.
[edit] Additional translators
The station has an additional satellite, a part-time satellite and a translator:
- WXPH 88.1 FM, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (540 watts, 32 meters HAAT)
- W285DH 104.9 FM, North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania (Lehigh Valley)
in addition, certain hours are simulcast via WKHS 90.5 FM, Worton, Maryland (Chesapeake Bay/Baltimore area)
[edit] Featured programs
- Y-Rock On XPN, a radio program featuring music from the Y-100 Philadelphia brand.
- World Cafe, a radio program featuring conversations with musicians along with live performances.
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WXPN Family Of Programs: Y-Rock On XPN | World Cafe |
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[edit] External links
Philadelphia Singer/Songwriter MONTY
[edit] References
- Mackenzie S. Carlson (August 2000). Guide to the WXPN-FM Radio station records University of Pennsylvania Archives and Records Center.
| FM radio stations in the Harrisburg-Carlisle-Lebanon market (Arbitron #79) | |
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(Arbitron #79) |
By frequency: 88.1 | 89.5 | 91.7 | 92.1 | 92.7 | 93.5 | 94.9 | 97.3 | 98.9 | 99.3 | 100.1 | 101.3 | 102.3 | 104.1 | 106.7 By callsign: WCAT | WGTY | WHKF | WITF | WJAZ | WMHX | WNNK | WQIC | WQLV | WRBT | WROZ | WRVV | WSJW | WTPA | WWKL | WXPH |
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Allentown | Altoona | Erie | Harrisburg-Carlisle-Lebanon (FM) (AM) | Indiana | Johnstown | Lancaster (FM) (AM) | Meadville-Franklin | Philadelphia (FM) (AM) | Pittsburgh (FM) (AM) | Reading | State College | Sunbury-Selinsgrove-Lewisburg | Wilkes Barre-Scranton | Williamsport | York (FM) (AM)
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Philadelphia Singer/Songwriter MONTY
