KUOW-FM

KUOW-FM (94.9 MHz) is a National Public Radio member station in Seattle, Washington. It is the larger of the three full-fledged NPR member stations in the Seattle/Tacoma media market, with two Tacoma-based stations, KNKX and KVTI being the others. It is a service of the University of Washington, but is operated by KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, a nonprofit community organization. Studios are located on University Way in Seattle's University District, while the transmitter is on Capitol Hill.

KUOW-FM
CitySeattle, Washington
Broadcast areaSeattle metropolitan area
Frequency94.9 MHz FM (HD Radio)
BrandingKUOW 94.9
SloganSound stories. Sound voices.
Programming
FormatFM/HD1: News/Talk
AffiliationsNPR
Ownership
OwnerUniversity of Washington
OperatorKUOW Puget Sound Public Radio
History
First air date
1952 (at 90.5)[1]
Former frequencies
90.5 MHz (1952-1958)
Call sign meaning
University Of Washington
Technical information
Facility ID66571
ClassC1
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT224 meters (735 ft)
Translator(s)90.7 K214EW Bellingham (KUOW2)
107.3 K297BK Olympia (KUOW 1340)
Repeater(s)KQOW 90.3 FM Bellingham
KUOW 1340 AM Tumwater
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitekuow.org

Translators

KUOW is also carried on the following satellite and broadcast translator stations to improve reception of the station:

About KUOW

KUOW's site states its mission as, "to create and serve an informed public, one challenged and invigorated by an understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures."[2]

KUOW went on the air in 1952 on 90.5 FM.[1] Its transmitter was on the University of Washington campus atop the Administration Building, now Gerberding Hall. In 1958, Dorothy Stimson Bullitt moved KING-FM to 98.1 and gifted KING's 94.9 FM transmitter and antenna to the Edison Vocational School. That same year, KUOW started using the 94.9 FM transmitter operated by Edison. KUOW is one of the few public radio (or any non-commercial educational) stations in the United States on a frequency outside of the reserved band (88–92 mhz; Seattle is also home to KING-FM on 98.1, which became a non-commercial station in 2010).[3] For years, it served as a training ground for UW students to learn about broadcasting. Programming consisted of classical music, classroom lectures, local news, and Washington Huskies sports. From 1954 until 1987, KUOW was a sister station to educational television outlet (and now PBS member station) KCTS-TV (channel 9); the university spun off KCTS in 1987 and became a community licensee.

In the 1960s, however, KUOW began branching out, adding more news programming. It was a charter member of NPR in 1970. In 1992, it changed format from music to news and information, and in 1999 it moved off campus to its current location on University Way.[4] Also in 1999, UW outsourced the station's operation to Puget Sound Public Radio.

In late March 2020, KUOW made "made an editorial decision to stop airing White House briefings on the coronavirus pandemic live on a daily basis."[5] A statement from the station asserted that the decision was not politically based, and their "greater concern was the potential impact of false information on the health and safety of our community."[5]

HD Programming

KUOW-FM broadcasts in HD.[6] On March 7, 2018, KUOW made the decision to discontinue the HD2, HD3, and HD4 subchannels. "KUOW2" continues to be transmitted on translator K214EW 90.7/KQOW-HD2 in Bellingham, while KUOW Jazz was discontinued.[7] The main analog signal continues to be simulcast on HD1.

Audience

KUOW reported that the station served an average of 413,600 listeners each week in 2019, down from 447,100 in 2018.[8] The station also reported that their on-demand audio and podcasts received 2.9 million downloads total.[8]

Finances

For KUOW's fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, the station reported total revenue of $18,732,286 and total expenses of $18,339,864, for a net gain of $392,422.[9] Its sources of revenue were:[8]

Programs

KUOW produces several programs, most of which are concerned with local news and events:

  • The Record: Hosted by Bill Radke. This midday news magazine covers a mix of local, national and international news every weekday (Excluding Fridays).[10]
  • Week In Review: Hosted by Bill Radke. The Friday edition of The Record.[11]
  • Speaker's Forum: Speaker's Forum airs speeches and presentations from a wide variety of specialties.
  • The Swing Years and Beyond: the program was hosted by Amanda Wilde from 2003 to 2017 when the program was ended.

KUOW also broadcast the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library's Evergreen Radio Reading Service to blind and handicapped listeners on its 67kHz subcarrier, until the service's closure on August 15, 2014.[12] KUOW was one of three major FM stations in Washington to do so; KPBX-FM in Spokane and KFAE-FM in Yakima were the others.[13] However, this required a special FM radio capable of receiving such broadcasts; it could not be received on a standard FM radio.

KUOW alumni
KUOW lobby
  • Dave Beck: Host of Classical Afternoons with Dave Beck, on KING-FM
  • Luke Burbank: Host of Too Beautiful to Live,[14] Co-host of KIRO's "Ross and Burbank"[15]
  • Heather Dahl: Senior Manager/Global Analyst, Neustart Inc.
  • Orlando de Guzman: Archipelago TV[16]
  • Cynthia Doyon: deceased[17]
  • Sam Eaton: Freelance environmental journalist[18]
  • Erin Hennessey: News Director KPLU/KNKX 88.5 FM[19]
  • Jill Jackson: News Director, KUOW [20]
  • Juris Jansons: General Manager KASB radio
  • Lesley McClurg: Producer/reporter, Colorado Matters. Colorado Public Broadcasting[21]
  • John Moe: Host of Marketplace Tech Report[22]
  • Bill Radke: Host of The Record and Week in Review[23]
  • Dana Davis Rehm:[24] NPR Senior Vice President, Strategy & Partnerships
  • Robert Smith: NPR correspondent, National Desk, New York
  • Ken Vincent: Anchor/reporter at RR Broadcasting, Palm Springs.[25]
  • Andrew Walsh: Host, KIRO Radio[26]
  • Brie Ripley: Social Media Producer[27]

References
  1. History Cards for KUOW-FM, fcc.gov. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  2. "About KUOW". Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  3. FM Translators and Boosters fcc.gov July 6, 2017
  4. "KUOW History". July 5, 2002. Archived from the original on July 5, 2002. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  5. KUOW Staff (March 25, 2020). "KUOW statement on live White House Coronavirus Task Force briefings". kuow.org. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) HD Radio Guide for Seattle-Tacoma
  7. "KUOW discontinues some of our HD channels". KUOW.org. KUOW-FM. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  8. "KUOW's 2019 Annual Report". kuow.org. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  9. "FINANCIALS" (PDF). kuow.org. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  10. "The Record - KUOW". Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  11. "Week In Review - KUOW". Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  12. "Evergreen Radio Reading Service Ending". Washington Talking Book & Braille Library. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  13. "How Do I Receive the Evergreen Radio Reading Service?". February 20, 2012. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  14. "TBTL with Luke Burbank - TBTL with Luke Burbank". MyNorthwest.com. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  15. "The Ross and Burbank Show on News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM - Ross and Burbank". MyNorthwest.com. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  16. "Archipelago". Archipelago.tv. August 15, 2011. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  18. "Sam Eaton". LinkedI.comn. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  19. "Erin Hennessey | KPLU News for Seattle and the Northwest". Kplu.org. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  20. "Jill Jackson of CBS News - Journalist on Muck Rack". Muckrack.com. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  21. Archived October 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  22. Archived December 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  23. "Bill Radke of Seattle's Morning News - 97.3 KIRO FM". Mynorthwest.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  24. Archived July 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  25. "Ken Vincent". LinkedIn.com. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  26. "KIRO Radio". KIRORadio.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  27. "Brie Ripley". Brie Ripley. Retrieved May 31, 2019.

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