WUNC (FM)

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Coordinates: 35°51′59.5″N 79°9′59″W / 35.866528°N 79.16639°W / 35.866528; -79.16639 (WUNC)
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WUNC
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
April 3, 1976; 49 years ago (1976-04-03)[1]
Call sign meaning
University of North Carolina
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID66581
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT415 meters (1,362 ft)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.wunc.org

WUNC (91.5

fundraisers
seeking listener contributions.

The station operates five full-service FM repeater stations, WFSS from Fayetteville on 91.9; WRQM from Rocky Mount on 90.9; WBUX from Buxton on 90.5; WUND-FM from Columbia on 88.9; WUNW-FM from Welcome on 91.1; and WZCO from Chadbourn on 89.9. WUNC should not be confused with WXYC, which is UNC's student radio station.

As of January 2024, WUNC has the second highest ratings of any station in the Raleigh–Durham radio market.[3]

History

WUNC was originally on the air for a brief time as an AM station in the 1940s,[citation needed] then returned to the air in 1952 as a student-run FM station with equipment from Jefferson Standard Broadcasting, which had operated WBT-FM for several years. The original station stayed on the air until a lightning strike in 1970.[4]

WUNC

jazz music.[citation needed
]

African-American public radio station licensed to Warrenton but which moved to Rocky Mount in 1985, shortly before it closed. WESQ offered a variety of music that included country and R&B
. When Wesleyan opted to cut ties with the station in 1995, a group of Rocky Mount business leaders known as Friends of Down East Public Radio bought the station and relaunched it as WRQM on March 31, 1996. The station floundered for most of its existence, as there were just barely enough listeners in that area of the market for the station to be viable on its own. This caused a chronic shortage of financial support. In March 1999, it began airing most of WUNC's schedule; it became a full repeater of WUNC that October.

WUND-FM in Columbia signed on March 24, 1999, bringing NPR programming to one of the few areas of North Carolina without a clear signal from a full-fledged NPR station.

WUNW-FM in Welcome signed on as a full-service FM station on 91.1 FM[5] in December 2013, providing increased coverage of WUNC to suburban communities in Davidson County, located south of Greensboro and Winston-Salem.

On May 13, 2015, officials announced the acquisition of WFSS, a public radio station licensed to Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville. Simulcasting of WUNC began at 10:00 AM on May 13, 2015.[6] The sale closed in November.

On August 4, 2016, WUNC launched WUNC Music, an adult album alternative format, on their HD2 channel and on their website.[7][8]

On May 31, 2023, WUNC announced the purchase of WZCO in Chadbourn, the former Columbus County Schools student-run radio station, for $50,000. WUNC programming began on October 6.[9]

Programming

Aside from Back Porch Music, WUNC also produces The People's Pharmacy with Joe and Terry Graedon, a nationally syndicated program first broadcast on WUNC in the early 1980s. From 1999 to 2020, it also aired The State of Things, a regionally syndicated local affairs show. The network began offering podcasts for The State of Things and other locally produced news stories in September 2005.

WUNC's main

Friday Center. In 2005, a second broadcast facility was opened in Durham's American Tobacco Historic District. On October 17, 2005, The State of Things began production at the new Durham location and broadcasts live about once a month remotely from Triad Stage
in Greensboro. Other programs continue production in the Chapel Hill studios.

Fresh Air with Terry Gross and Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, WUNC-FM also airs 1A, The Takeaway, It's Been A Minute and Here and Now. Many of these shows are distributed nationally by American Public Media, Public Radio Exchange, or WNYC
.

WUNC is the home station of the American Homefront Project, which reports on military life and veterans issues.[11]

HD programming

WUNC broadcasts in the

Americana, and music by North Carolina artists.[13]

Effective July 1, 2024, WUNC-HD2 began carrying programming from BBC World Service.

Transmitters

In 2005, to reflect its growth into a network, WUNC rebranded as "North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC". The call signs of the other stations are identified only during required station identifications at the start of each hour. However, in recent years, it has largely reverted to using "WUNC" as its main on-air name, with "North Carolina Public Radio" as a secondary brand.

WUNC's 100,000-

Winston-Salem
.

WRQM serves the far eastern portion of the Triangle market, as well as Greenville. WUND serves northeastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks, with WBUX covering southern Dare County. WUNW covers portions of Davidson County that aren't served by WUNC's main signal. WFSS is heard in the Fayetteville area. WZCO serves the largely rural area between Fayetteville and Wilmington. Combined, the seven stations reach just over half of North Carolina's population, providing at least secondary coverage from the fringes of the Charlotte suburbs to the Outer Banks.

Call sign Frequency City of license Facility ID Class ERP
(W) 		Transmitter coordinates
WBUX 90.5 FM Buxton, North Carolina 91800 A 5,900 35°15′41.5″N 75°34′17.5″W / 35.261528°N 75.571528°W / 35.261528; -75.571528 (WBUX)
WUNC 91.5 FM (HD) Chapel Hill, North Carolina 66581 C 100,000 35°51′59.5″N 79°9′59″W / 35.866528°N 79.16639°W / 35.866528; -79.16639 (WUNC)
WUND-FM 88.9 FM Manteo, North Carolina 89274 C0 50,000 35°54′0.6″N 76°20′43.8″W / 35.900167°N 76.345500°W / 35.900167; -76.345500 (WUND-FM)
WFSS 91.9 FM (HD) Fayetteville, North Carolina 21241 C1 100,000 35°4′22.6″N 78°53′26.1″W / 35.072944°N 78.890583°W / 35.072944; -78.890583 (WFSS)
WRQM 90.9 FM (HD) Rocky Mount, North Carolina 49158 C2 7,500 35°48′40.6″N 77°44′31.9″W / 35.811278°N 77.742194°W / 35.811278; -77.742194 (WRQM)
WUNW-FM 91.1 FM Welcome, North Carolina 172306 A 180 35°53′11.5″N 80°12′4.2″W / 35.886528°N 80.201167°W / 35.886528; -80.201167 (WUNW-FM)
WZCO 89.9 FM Chadbourn, North Carolina 175138 C2 25,000 34°32′17.6″N 78°42′35.1″W / 34.538222°N 78.709750°W / 34.538222; -78.709750 (WZCO)

Translators

Broadcast translator
for WUNC
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
W260CU 99.9 FM Southern Pines, North Carolina 147236 10 D 35°10′35.6″N 79°24′52.1″W / 35.176556°N 79.414472°W / 35.176556; -79.414472 (W260CU) LMS

References

  1. ^ "WUNC FM, Your NPR Station Celebrates 25 Years of Public Radio". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. March 23, 2001. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WUNC". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "Raleigh/Durham". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  4. ^ "Raleigh-Durham FM Dial". Archived from the original on February 1, 2003. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  5. ^ "FM Query Results". transition.fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  6. ^ Futch, Michael (May 13, 2015). "FSU sells campus radio station to WUNC". Fay Observer. GateHouse Media. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  7. ^ "WUNC/Chapel Hill Launches Triple A Digital Station". AllAccess.com. All Access Music Group. August 10, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  8. ^ Venta, Lance (August 4, 2016). "WUNC Launches HD/Streaming AAA". Radio Insight. Radio BB Networks. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  9. ^ Falk, Tyler (May 31, 2023). "WUNC to purchase station from school board". Current.
  10. ^ WUNC (August 26, 2013). "Award Winning Program "The Story" To End Eight-Year Run Due To Departure Of Host Dick Gordon". WUNC. WUNC. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  11. ^ "| American Homefront Project". Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  12. ^ "Raleigh–Durham, NC". HD Radio. HD Radio. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  13. ^ "About HD Radio". WUNC. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
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