WFSU-FM & WFSQ
WFSL & WFSW

Tallahassee, Florida (WFSU & WFSQ) Panama City, Florida (WFSW) Thomasville, Georgia (WFSL)
Broadcast area	Tallahassee, Florida Panama City, Florida North Central Florida Southwest Georgia
Frequency	88.9 MHz (WFSU-FM) 91.5 MHz (WFSQ) 89.1 MHz (WFSW) 90.7 MHz (WFSL)
Branding	WFSU Public Media
Programming
Format	Public radio (WFSU & WFSW) Classical music (WFSQ & WFSL)
Affiliations	National Public Radio Public Radio Exchange
Ownership
Owner	Florida State University
Sister stations	WFSU-TV
History
First air date	WFSU-FM: January 21, 1949 (on 660 AM, moved to 91.5 FM in 1954 and to 88.9 in 1990) WFSQ: October 14, 1990 WFSW: March 18, 1996 WFSL: April 15, 2003
Call sign meaning	W Florida State University
Technical information
Facility ID	WFSU-FM: 21799 WFSQ: 21803 WFSW: 93708 WFSL: 21798
Class	WFSU-FM: C WFSQ & WFSL: A WFSW: C1
ERP	WFSU-FM: 90,000 watts WFSQ: 86,000 watts WFSW: 100,000 watts WFSL: 250 watts
HAAT	WFSU-FM: 379 m (1,243 ft) WFSQ: 224 m (735 ft) WFSW: 123 m (404 ft) WFSL: 47 m (154 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	WFSU-FM: 30°40′13.00″N 83°56′26.00″W / 30.6702778°N 83.9405556°W / 30.6702778; -83.9405556 WFSQ: 30°21′31.00″N 84°36′38.00″W / 30.3586111°N 84.6105556°W / 30.3586111; -84.6105556 WFSW: 30°50′12.00″N 83°58′57.00″W / 30.8366667°N 83.9825000°W / 30.8366667; -83.9825000 WFSL: 30°22′2.00″N 85°55′29.00″W / 30.3672222°N 85.9247222°W / 30.3672222; -85.9247222
Translator(s)	See § Stations
Links
Webcast	WFSU-FM Web stream WFSQ Web stream WFSW Web stream
Website	WFSU website

WFSU is the callsign (or variations thereon) for public radio stations operated by Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

Stations

WFSU operates three radio stations that serve northern Florida:

History

Florida State entered radio on January 21, 1949, when WFSU started as a student-run radio station at 660 AM. Due to the terms of its license, the signal was limited to the confines of the Florida State campus. It was on the air for three hours every night during the week, with a lineup of campus news, interviews, music and an occasional radio drama.

The station was forced off the air in April 1953 due to complaints that the signal was leaking off campus. Florida State applied for a low-powered FM license, and WFSU returned to the air at 91.5 FM in July 1954. Soon afterward, it joined the National Association of Educational Broadcasters, allowing it to significantly upgrade its programming with offerings from BBC World Service and Radio France. It also began carrying Seminoles football games because no commercial station in Tallahassee would carry them.

In 1970, WFSU-FM became a charter member of NPR, and was one of the 90 stations to carry the initial broadcast of All Things Considered. In the 1970s, it shifted to a format of mostly classical music.

The station continued to grow during the 1980s, but was somewhat hampered by problems with its signal. Unlike most NPR stations of the time, it had no backup power source for its transmitter, resulting in frequent outages. The station's reception was also marginal at best in the northeastern part of the city, which is very hilly. To solve the problem, WFSU won approval for a new station on 88.9 FM, operating from a new tower northeast of Tallahassee. All NPR news and information programming moved there on October 14, 1990. Classical music remained on 91.5, which received new call letters, WFSQ. However, due to the legal structure of the changeover, the Federal Communications Commission considers WFSQ to be the same station as the old WFSU. To improve its coverage on the Georgia side of the market, Florida State started WFSL in 2003.

WFSW signed on in 1996, providing Panama City with a second NPR service, alongside Gulf Coast Community College's WKGC-FM. Panama City is one of the smallest cities in the country with separate NPR stations.

Controversy

In June 2011, it was revealed that WFSU will receive $2.8 million in funding for various services related to Florida government. This is despite the $4.8 million of funding to other public radio and television stations vetoed by Governor Rick Scott in May 2011.^[1]

See also

• WVFS (not affiliated with WFSU)

References

External links

• WFSU website
• WFSU in the FCC FM station database
• WFSU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

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