WPFW

{{Infobox radio station

| name = WPFW

| city = Washington, D.C.

| country = US

| area = Washington metropolitan area

| frequency = {{Frequency|89.3|MHz}} {{HD Radio}}

| rds = WPFW89.3

| airdate = {{Start date and age|1977|2|28|p=fy}}

| format = {{ubl|Jazz|News/Talk|(public broadcasting)}}

| licensing_authority = FCC

| erp = 50,000 watts

| haat = {{convert|125|meters}}

| class = B

| facility_id = 51255

| coordinates = {{coord|38.936|N|77.092|W}}

| callsign_meaning = Pacifica Foundation Washington

| affiliations = Pacifica Radio

| owner = Pacifica Foundation

| webcast = {{listenlive|https://confessor.wpfwfm.org/playlist/pl_nu_current1.php}}

| website = {{URL|https://wpfwfm.org/radio/}}

}}

WPFW (89.3 FM) is a public radio and jazz music community radio station, serving the Washington metropolitan area. It is owned by the Pacifica Foundation, wit studios located on K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The station's slogan is "Jazz and Justice."

History

WPFW launched at 8 pm on February 28, 1977,{{Cite web|url=https://wpfwfm.org/radio/about-us/our-history|title=Our History|website=wpfwfm.org|access-date=August 27, 2019}} with Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train".{{cite book|last=Lasar|first=Matthew|title=Uneasy Listening: Pacifica Radio's Civil War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TT1n-pqe6PEC&pg=PA128|access-date=8 October 2020|year=2006|publisher=Black Apollo Press|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=978-1-900355-45-2|pages=128–131}} The fifth station in the San Francisco-based Pacific Network, WPFW was different from the other Pacific stations in that it was established as a Black-staffed and -formatted station with a mission to serve as a community radio station for the largely African-American population of Washington, D.C.{{cite book|last=Barlow|first=William|title=Voice Over: The Making of Black Radio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gJuIHrKBONMC&pg=PR10|access-date=7 October 2020|year=1999|publisher=Temple University Press|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-1-56639-667-7|page=x}}

The Pacifica Foundation began seeking an FM license in Washington, D.C., as early as 1968, but it was not until 1977 that WPFW won a temporary license. From its launch, WPFW was aggressive in promoting progressive voices and opinions. The station was accused of violating the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to provide time to opposing opinions, and the conservative American Legal Foundation (ALF) worked to block the station's license renewal in 1981. After a two-year delay, the Federal Communications Commission rejected the ALF's request and renewed the station's license in 1983.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/11/11/wpfws-license/965218ec-2b62-4f3e-bdf8-701a700b472d/|title=WPFW's License|last=Trescott|first=Jacqueline|work=The Washington Post|date=November 11, 1993|page=C7|location=Washington, D.C.}}

Soon after it launched, the station began building out a studio facility in D.C.'s Chinatown neighborhood,{{cite news|title=WPFW: 9 and Growing|last=Trescott|first=Jacqueline|date=March 21, 1986|work=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.|page=B7}} which served as its home until 1996 when the station moved to Adams Morgan.{{cite news|title=Out of the 'Blue'; Teen's New Twist on Old Tune Excites Country Listeners|last=Yorke|first=Jeffrey|date=May 28, 1996|work=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.|page=B7}} In 2013, the building the station shared with the Washington City Paper was slated for demolition, necessitating another move.{{cite news|title=City Paper, WPFW to Bid Farewell to Building That Housed Them For Two Decades|last=Austermuhle|first=Martin|date=April 18, 2013|work=dcist|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://dcist.com/story/13/04/18/city-paper-wpfw-to-bid-farewell-to/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224213536/https://dcist.com/story/13/04/18/city-paper-wpfw-to-bid-farewell-to/|url-status=live|archive-date=February 24, 2021|access-date=April 13, 2021}} After a controversial attempt to relocate the station to Silver Spring, Maryland, WPFW relocated to a temporary facility on L Street NW{{cite news|title=WPFW No Longer Moving to Silver Spring|last=Fischer|first=Jonathan L.|date=April 30, 2013|work=Washington City Paper|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/454244/wpfw-no-longer-moving-to-silver-spring|access-date=April 13, 2021}} before establishing new studios on K Street NW.{{cite news|title=Updates: WPFW moves, Wizard Fests, rockathons, toilet radio explained|last=Laser|first=Matthew|date=April 7, 2015|work=Radio Survivor|url=http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2015/04/07/updates-wpfw-moves-wizard-fests-rockathons-toilet-radio-explained/|access-date=April 13, 2021}}

Programming

Aside from syndicated Pacifica programs such as Democracy Now!, much of its programming is locally produced and dedicated to jazz, blues, classic soul music and international or world music.{{Cite web |title=Schedule Grid |url=https://wpfwfm.org/radio/programming/schedule-grid |access-date=2023-02-22 |publisher=WPFW}}

As a public station, WPFW is commercial-free and listener-sponsored.{{Cite news |last=Milloy |first=Courtland |author-link=Courtland Milloy |date=1987-03-29 |title=The Little Station that Could — and Did |language=en-US |work=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/03/29/the-little-station-that-could-and-did/443aa8b1-9508-4622-a4f5-fa419ca96d59/ |access-date=2023-02-22}}

References

External links

{{official website|https://wpfwfm.org/radio/}}
{{FCC-LMS-Facility|51255|WPFW}}
{{Cite web|url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=70724 |title= History Cards for WPFW |publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Guide to reading History Cards)

PFW

Category:Pacifica Foundation stations

Category:Jazz radio stations in the United States

Category:K Street

Category:Radio stations established in 1977