Vermont Public Radio

In 1975, four Vermonters met to make preliminary plans to form a member station for the then-fledgling National Public Radio. Two years later, in 1977, Vermont Public Radio signed on from studios at the historic Windsor House in Windsor. Despite criticism that Vermont was too small and too rural for listener-supported public radio, the network has expanded to 13 full-power stations and 12 low-power translators covering almost all of Vermont as well as parts of New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Quebec.

In terms of market size, VPR is the smallest NPR member station/network in New England and one of the smallest in the nation. However, since the mid-1990s, it has been one of the most listened-to public radio stations per capita in the country, with approximately 194,000 listeners each week and 27,000 members who support VPR with a voluntary financial contribution.

For many years, VPR broadcast a mixed format of news and information programming, classical, jazz, and folk music. In 2004, VPR launched a separate 24/7 classical service, VPR Classical.

In October 2007, all classical and opera music was moved to VPR Classical. VPR News carries news, information, cultural, and entertainment programs throughout the day, with the BBC World Service airing weekday mornings for one hour following NPR's Morning Edition and every night during the post-midnight hours. Weekend evenings feature jazz, rock, and folk music programming.

On September 9, 2020, VPR announced it had agreed to merge with Vermont PBS.[1]

In 2013, VPR confirmed that a listener found lead inside the ink used in VPR's Artist Mugs. The health department found that the outer rim of the 2011 VPR cup contained 3.18 percent lead. That greatly exceeds the level considered safe for children, .01 percent.[2] VPR has since stopped using Artist Mugs as gifts for donors.

Vermont Public Radio's news and information service, VPR News carries most of the more popular news and talk programs from NPR, APM, PRI, and the CBC, as well as several local shows.

Since 2007, VPR has broadcast classical and opera music on a separate network. The main station is WOXR (90.9 FM), which is licensed to Schuyler Falls, New York and serves the Burlington, Vermont/Plattsburgh, New York area.

The former WAVX took the WOXR calls and VPR Classical format at 9:09 AM on August 31, 2007. VPR President Mark Vogelzang, when asked about the new call letters' origin, said that they were an "homage" to New York City classical music station WQXR.[7]

VPR Classical continues to air on its original full-power home station, WNCH (88.1 FM) in Norwich, as well as full-power WVTQ (95.1 FM) in Sunderland and WVTI (106.9 FM) in Brighton. It is also available on VPR HD Radio throughout Northwestern Vermont via WVPS HD-2 (107.9-2 FM).

On April 4, 2014, WOXM moved its signal from 90.1 FM to 89.1 FM;[8] interference with the Vermont Electric Power Company's emergency response radio system led VPR to reverse the move on October 12, 2015.[9]

VPR produces the podcasts The Frequency, But Why?, Brave Little State and Timeline.

• Vermont PBS (Not affiliated with Vermont Public Radio)

• Official website