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Best non-commercial stations?
- Thread starter dustintv
- Start date
WHYY-FM Philadelphia, has a good assortment of NPR, APR, BBC, and locally produced news / informational / talk, and entertainment programming.
WVUD-FM Univ of Del, Newark DE, as an independent non-comm (no NPR programming) they have an amazing range of musical programming ranging from some Classical, Blue Grass, Indie, Big Band, etc.
WVUD-FM Univ of Del, Newark DE, as an independent non-comm (no NPR programming) they have an amazing range of musical programming ranging from some Classical, Blue Grass, Indie, Big Band, etc.
dustintv said:
I would add WBUR to my list of favoriate non-commercial stations. They have plenty of locally produced programs. As for WXXI, I've noticed the complete opposite. That station seems to depend more on network or other affilate programs to make up most of their broadcast day. Perhaps that's because over the past decade WXXI has reduced its staff, or a number of seasoned veterans have left.
As someone who worked at WXXI I don't think their product has diminished. Granted there are fewer people working in radio news than when I started at the station in 1990, but those who are left are hard-working individuals. Same goes for the TV news department.
dustintv said:
1370 Connection, which also happens to be the lowest rated daytime program featured on WXXI-AM. According to Arbitron, the station's ratings start to drop right after 9am then takes a major hit between 12-2pm, when Smith's local talk show is on the air. From 2 -6pm the ratings start to climb as people tune in for All Things Considered. After 6pm the station's ratings again drop considerably. So basically people are listening to WXXI for Morning Edition and All Things Considered; two network programs. While you rate WXXI as one of the best non-commercial stations in the country, I for one can not. There are far better stations out there featuring more local talk and information and not relying so much on network programs like 1370 does.
J
Julius Leonard Marx
Guest
dustintv said:
Just curious, what about these stations makes them stand out in your mind?
It sounds like most of the replies are people showing support for their local public radio station. Listener satisfaction is a good thing but I don't know how I (or most of us) can say a station is "best" since we have little or no opportunity to hear public radio stations around the country (let alone evaluate all of them).
It also seems some of the comments reflect somebody liking a specific show, which is not the same as the quality of the station overall.
What makes a good station?
If a news-information station, it should have a good local news department (since commercial radio has mostly given up on local news) and a good local interview show doing local topics (since commercial talk radio is mostly or syndicated, in some markets all syndicated).
Even so, I hate it when my local station (which is active in local news) keeps dropping out of Morning Edition for local stuff. And there are some national shows that air when my station runs their local shows I wish I could hear.
Of course, you could say the "best station" is the one with the highest ratings. Last time I looked that was WPSU in State College, PA.
P
PipFly927
Guest
KANR Fly 92.7 out of Wichita, KS used to be a helluva place to listen.. locally owned.. no big corporations telling them what to do.. le sigh.
F
flashback
Guest
listener-sponsered wfmu- in new jersey is good.they play very interesting obscure music. they can be picked up on the radio and on line.
KNON-FM Dallas. Pretty diverse lineup.
How about KUT in Austin? LOTS of local programming there and ratings to prove how good it is. They are a handful of non-comms that would be well within the top 5 of the market it Arbitron listed them in with the commercial guys.
WKCP is an online stream with personality and local cut-ins from St. Paul as.
Owned by APMG, they run the full Classical 24 network.
With all voice tracking, when there is a severe weather alert, they just cut into whatever is playing and then just cut back to the music, talking, or whatever happens to be running. A lover of classical music, I do support them, but as a full class C in a large market, they should install a local QC guy.
Owned by APMG, they run the full Classical 24 network.
With all voice tracking, when there is a severe weather alert, they just cut into whatever is playing and then just cut back to the music, talking, or whatever happens to be running. A lover of classical music, I do support them, but as a full class C in a large market, they should install a local QC guy.
The Mississippi Public Broadcasting stations are one of the best public radio organizations I've come across, which was surprising considering it is Mississippi. The network broadcasts on 8 full-power signals covering about 98-99% of the state with a class-A signal.
They received a lot of (well deserved) accolades and outpouring of support in 2005 after Katrina decimated the Mississippi Gulf Coast because they were the only full-power radio stick still broadcasting during and after the storm. MPB was wall-to-wall with local news and information for nearly a month, before gradually returning to their classical music format. In 2008, they again went wall-to-wall the weekend Gustav threatened the same area (and brought severe weather inland, on the outter storm bands).
Early in 2008, they launched full-power HD signals on all their existing stations and split their programming: MPB "Think" Radio, more heavily devoted to news and information programming on their main analog signals and MPB "Music" Radio on the HD output. They also expanded their local/statewide news gathering operation significantly.
Programming line-up:
5:00 - 8:30 NPR's "Morning Edition"
8:30 - 9:00 Mississippi Edition (local, live)
9:00 - 10:00 local call-in and talk programming
- MON: Relatively Speaking (family matters, added 2008)
- TUE: Money Talks (finance, added 2008)
- WED: Southern Remedy (Health, existing since at approx. 2006)
- THU: Creature Comforts (pets, added 2008)
- FRI: Gestalt Gardner (gardening, existing since at least 2005, likely before)
10:00 - 12:00 Midday Classics (local, hosted by Karen Hearn also on HD "Music" radio)
12:00 - 1:00 NPR's "Day to Day" (I have not heard what will replace this program when it ceases in March 09)
1:00 - 3:00 Midday Classics (local, hosted by Karen Hearn also on HD "Music" radio)
3:00 - 4:00 NPR's "Fresh Air with Terry Gross"
4:00 - 6:00 NPR's "All Things Considered"
6:00 - 6:30 Marketplace
6:30 - 7:00 "ATC" (I really think they should re-air "Mississippi Edition" in this slot)
7:00 - 8:00 APR's "The Story" with Dick Gordon
8:00 - 9:00 "To The Point" with Warren Olney (KCRW-Santa Monica)
9:00 - 10:00 NPR's "Tell Me More" with Michelle Martin
10:00 - 11:00 CBC Radio's "As It Happens" (dist. by APR)
11:00 - 5:00 BBC World Service
The weekends rely heavily on NPR weekend programming, carrying most - if not all - the offerings in some form or another. However, Gestalt Gardner re-airs Saturday morning, the "The Mississippi Arts Hour" airs Sunday afternoon and the locally produced programs "Thacker Mountain Radio", "Grassroots" and "Highway 61" air Saturday evenings.
They received a lot of (well deserved) accolades and outpouring of support in 2005 after Katrina decimated the Mississippi Gulf Coast because they were the only full-power radio stick still broadcasting during and after the storm. MPB was wall-to-wall with local news and information for nearly a month, before gradually returning to their classical music format. In 2008, they again went wall-to-wall the weekend Gustav threatened the same area (and brought severe weather inland, on the outter storm bands).
Early in 2008, they launched full-power HD signals on all their existing stations and split their programming: MPB "Think" Radio, more heavily devoted to news and information programming on their main analog signals and MPB "Music" Radio on the HD output. They also expanded their local/statewide news gathering operation significantly.
Programming line-up:
5:00 - 8:30 NPR's "Morning Edition"
8:30 - 9:00 Mississippi Edition (local, live)
9:00 - 10:00 local call-in and talk programming
- MON: Relatively Speaking (family matters, added 2008)
- TUE: Money Talks (finance, added 2008)
- WED: Southern Remedy (Health, existing since at approx. 2006)
- THU: Creature Comforts (pets, added 2008)
- FRI: Gestalt Gardner (gardening, existing since at least 2005, likely before)
10:00 - 12:00 Midday Classics (local, hosted by Karen Hearn also on HD "Music" radio)
12:00 - 1:00 NPR's "Day to Day" (I have not heard what will replace this program when it ceases in March 09)
1:00 - 3:00 Midday Classics (local, hosted by Karen Hearn also on HD "Music" radio)
3:00 - 4:00 NPR's "Fresh Air with Terry Gross"
4:00 - 6:00 NPR's "All Things Considered"
6:00 - 6:30 Marketplace
6:30 - 7:00 "ATC" (I really think they should re-air "Mississippi Edition" in this slot)
7:00 - 8:00 APR's "The Story" with Dick Gordon
8:00 - 9:00 "To The Point" with Warren Olney (KCRW-Santa Monica)
9:00 - 10:00 NPR's "Tell Me More" with Michelle Martin
10:00 - 11:00 CBC Radio's "As It Happens" (dist. by APR)
11:00 - 5:00 BBC World Service
The weekends rely heavily on NPR weekend programming, carrying most - if not all - the offerings in some form or another. However, Gestalt Gardner re-airs Saturday morning, the "The Mississippi Arts Hour" airs Sunday afternoon and the locally produced programs "Thacker Mountain Radio", "Grassroots" and "Highway 61" air Saturday evenings.
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