Wikipedia

WBEW

WBEW (89.5 FM) is a non-commercial educational (NCE), Class B1 public radio station at Chesterton in Northwest Indiana. Since June 2007, the station has been branded Vocalo, initially airing listener submitted content and later airing an urban format. It is owned by Chicago Public Media and is a sister station to WBEZ in Chicago. WBEW broadcasts in the HD Radio format.[2]

WBEW
Simulcasts WBEZ-HD2, Chicago, Illinois
logo_alt=vocalo 89.5
Broadcast areaNorthwest Indiana
Frequency89.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingVocalo Radio
Programming
FormatUrban
Ownership
Owner
WBEQ, WBEZ
History
First air date
2001 (2001) (as WAJW)
Former call signs
WAJW (2001–2002)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
Federal Communications Commission
Facility ID3248
ClassB1 NCE
ERP4,000 watts
HAAT181.9 meters (597 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°38′6.1″N 87°2′59.1″W / 41.635028°N 87.049750°W / 41.635028; -87.049750
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.vocalo.org

History

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The station began broadcasting in early 2001, holding the call letters WAJW.[3][4][5][6] It was owned by Auricle Communications.[4][7] WAJW aired a freeform radio format, largely simulcasting WFMU 91.1 in East Orange, New Jersey.[4][6]

In November 2002, the station was purchased by Chicago Public Media for $550,000 and its call letters were changed to WBEW.[8][7][3] Chicago Public Media simulcast 91.5 WBEZ on the station from November 2002 until June 2007.[9][10]

Vocalo

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The station split from its simulcast with WBEZ in June 2007 and was branded "Vocalo".[10] Initially, Vocalo hosts played content that listeners had uploaded to the Vocalo.org website.[10] It was launched with the desire to reach a more racially diverse and younger audience than NPR.[11]

By August 2010, Vocalo had begun to base their playlist on hip-hop, dance, and R&B, and in 2014 adopted the slogan "Chicago's Urban Alternative".[12] In January 2016, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) gave Chicago Public Radio $450,000 to refine Vocalo's format, so that the format's viability in other markets could be researched.[13]

On April 3, 2024 Chicago Public Media announced it would discontinue the Vocalo radio broadcast, claiming that the operation had lost money for several years and had an average weekly audience of only 11,000 listeners.[14] The cut drew criticism from the station's union, SAG-AFTRA, as it coincided with a $6.4 million studio upgrade at WBEZ’s Navy Pier office and a 19% pay increase for Chicago Public Media’s CEO, Matt Moog.[15] The cuts also came only 2 years after CPM acquired the Chicago Sun-Times for $61 million.[16] The announcement included 14 layoffs in total with additional cuts to the WBEZ podcast team and non-newsroom Sun-Times employees.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBEW". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ http://www.hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=4 HD Radio Guide for Chicago
  3. ^ a b Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "North East RadioWatch", BostonRadio.com. July 15, 2002. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2003-2004, Broadcasting & Cable, 2003. p. D-158. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 18, No. 06. February 7, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Radio Business", Radio & Records. July 12, 2002. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  8. ^ Application Search Details: BALED-20020708AAE, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Feder, Robert. "WLS Radio hanging up on callers who 'sound old'" Chicago Sun Times. November 21, 2002.
  10. ^ a b c Careless, James (2007-12-05). "Vocalo.org: From Web to Broadcast". Radio World. New York City: NewBay Media. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2010-11-01.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ Janssen, Mike (May 14, 2007). "Fresh startup keeps old ideals". Current.org. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Janssen, Mike. "Music format highlighting hip-hop, other genres seeks home on public radio", Current.org. August 17, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Falk, Tyler. " Chicago's Vocalo reins in eclectic approach but keeps focus on younger audience", Current.org. July 21, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  14. ^ "WBEZ TO SHUT DOWN VOCALO RADIO AND OTHER DIVISIONS AS PART OF LAYOFFS". RadioInsight. April 3, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "Chicago Public Media announces 14 layoffs, end of Vocalo radio broadcast". Chicago Sun-Times. 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  16. ^ "Chicago Public Media Announces Its Acquisition of the Chicago Sun-Times". WBEZ Chicago. 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  17. ^ Kaufmann, Justin (April 3, 2024). "Chicago Public Media kills Vocalo, lays off 14 employees".
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