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WFMU

Coordinates: 40°47′19.00″N 74°15′20.00″W / 40.7886111°N 74.2555556°W / 40.7886111; -74.2555556
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WFMU
Broadcast areaNew York metropolitan area
Frequency91.1 MHz
Programming
FormatFree-form radio
Ownership
OwnerAuricle Communications
History
First air date
April 1958; 66 years ago (1958-04)
Call sign meaning
FM Upsala College (former owner)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID3249
ClassA
ERP1,250 watts
HAAT151 meters (495 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°47′19.00″N 74°15′20.00″W / 40.7886111°N 74.2555556°W / 40.7886111; -74.2555556
Translator(s)91.9 W220EJ (Weehawken)
Repeater(s)90.1 WMFU (Mount Hope, New York)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewfmu.org

WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial, listener-supported, independent community radio station licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by Auricle Communications, broadcasting a free-form radio format. The station holds periodic on-air fundraisers and seeks donation on its website.

WFMU is a Class A station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 1,250 watts. The transmitter is on Prospect Avenue and Mount Pleasant Avenue in West Orange.[2] Programming is also heard on 10-watt FM translator W220EJ at 91.9 FM in Weehawken.[3] The Lower Catskills, parts of Northern New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania can hear simulcast sister station WMFU at 90.1 MHz, licensed to Mount Hope, New York, with its tower in Otisville.[4] That station also has a 10-watt translator at 91.9 MHz in New City, New York, serving Rockland County.[5]

Philosophy and awards

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WFMU does not belong to any public broadcasting network. Most programming is done in-house by volunteer DJs. Its website says that "experimentation, spontaneity and humor are among the station's most frequently noted distinguishing traits."

"WFMU is a place where the Singing Dogs are just as important as Elvis; a place where you will, in fact, hear Elvis, but in close proximity to ritual disinterment music from Sumatra, the soundtrack from Mothra, a theremin band called Lothar and the Hand People, and the intergalactic jazz improvisations of Sun Ra's Arkestra," wrote Jaime Wolf in a 1999 New York Times station profile.[6]

WFMU was named "Best Radio Station in the Country" by Rolling Stone magazine for four consecutive years: 1991 to 1994.[7] And has also been dubbed the best radio station in either NYC or the US by The Village Voice,[8] New York Press, and CMJ, among others. The station also won three awards ("Best Specialty Programming", "Most Eclectic Programming", and "Music Director Most Likely to Never Sell Out") at the 2006 CMJ College Radio Awards.[9]

History

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Upsala College

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WFMU signed on the air in April 1958. WFMU was owned by Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey, a small, independent college in the suburbs of New York City. Initially it was a student-staffed and faculty-administered college radio operation. But as time went on, the station only had a loose association with the college. By the 1980s most of the station's staff were not students and the station's management, though hired by the college, had little involvement with the academic community.[citation needed]

In December 1983, Ken Freedman joined WFMU as a DJ and succeeded Bruce Longstreet as general manager in August 1985.[citation needed]

Ken Freedman talks about frequency disputes and WFMU (1990)

In 1989, WFMU successfully fended off a challenge to the station's license from four rival broadcasters, who claimed that WFMU was broadcasting above its legal power limit.[citation needed]

A 1990 telephone performance on WFMU by Daniel Johnston was the primary inspiration for filmmaker Jeff Feuerzeig to create the documentary film, The Devil and Daniel Johnston.[10]

In late 1991, Jeff Buckley made his radio debut on WFMU and returned numerous times before signing with Columbia Records.[11]

Auricle Communications

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In 1992, the non-profit organization Auricle Communications was founded. Auricle purchased WFMU's license from Upsala College in 1994, one year prior to the college's bankruptcy in 1995.[6]

In 1993, the station launched its website, and in 1997 it began streaming its broadcasts full-time.[12]

In August 1998, listener donations funded a new studio and office in Jersey City.[13]

In May 2001, WFMU received worldwide attention when both national and international media outlets covered DJ Glen Jones's successful attempt to break the Guinness World Record for longest consecutive radio broadcast. Jones stayed on the air a full 100 hours and 42 seconds.[14][citation needed]

In 2005, WFMU expanded its online broadcasting efforts by offering 15 hours a week of Internet-only live programming, as well as an independent 24-hour-a-day webcast of Nachum Segal's Jewish Moments in the Morning program.[citation needed]

Streaming

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In January 2006, WFMU announced the availability of the station's live stream and archives to mobile devices running the operating systems Windows Mobile (Pocket PC) and Palm OS.[citation needed]

In November 2007, WFMU became the first radio station in the world to offer live streaming to the Apple iPhone.[15]

From 2014 to 2015, a documentary on WFMU, Sex and Broadcasting: A Film About WFMU, screened at American film festivals and independent cinemas nationwide.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WFMU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WFMU-FM 91.1 MHz - East Orange, NJ". radio-locator.com.
  3. ^ "W220EJ-FM 91.9 MHz - Weehawken, NJ". radio-locator.com.
  4. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WMFU
  5. ^ Radio-Locator.com/W220EG
  6. ^ a b Wolf, Jaime (April 11, 1999). "No Hits, All the Time". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  7. ^ Pristin, Terry (March 13, 1996). "New Jersey Daily Briefing; WFMU in Fund-Raising Drive". The New York Times. p. B-1.
  8. ^ "WFMU: Land of the Freeform Radio". The Jersey City Independent. March 12, 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  9. ^ Field, Matthew (November 6, 2006). "CMJ College Radio Awards Winners". CMJ.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  10. ^ "Daniel Johnston and Yo La Tengo Collaborate on The Music Faucet, February 4, 1990", From the WFMU Archives, Beware of the Blog (April 5, 2006)
  11. ^ "Kingdom for a Kiss - the Jeff Buckley Tourography: 1991 - 1993". Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
  12. ^ Applebome, Peter (February 24, 2008). "Looking for Music, but Not 'Celebration,' to Remember Castro? Put the Radio On". The New York Times. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  13. ^ "WFMU". americanarchive.org. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  14. ^ Weekend Edition Sunday (June 3, 2001). "NPR".
  15. ^ WFMU streaming radio on iPhone, Boing Boing, 11/5/07
  16. ^ "FREEFORM OR DEATH, a documentary about WFMU by Tim K Smith — Kickstarter".
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