WFUV

WFUV (90.7 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to New York City. The station is owned by Fordham University, with studios on its Bronx campus and its antenna atop nearby Montefiore Medical Center. WFUV first went on the air in 1947. Its on-air staff has included radio veterans Dennis Elsas, Vin Scelsa and Pete Fornatale.

WFUV
CityNew York, New York
Frequency90.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding90.7 WFUV
SloganNY's Music Discovery
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatAdult album alternative / Adult contemporary music
SubchannelsHD2: "FUV All Music" (Adult album alternative)
AffiliationsNPR
Ownership
OwnerFordham University
History
First air date
September 24, 1947 (1947-09-24)
Call sign meaning
W
Fordham
University's
Voice
Technical information
Facility ID22033
ClassB
ERP47,000 watts
HAAT155 meters (509 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°52′48″N 73°52′40″W
Repeater(s)90.7 WFUV-FM3 (New York)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.wfuv.org

WFUV broadcasts in HD.[1]

Background

The station is a National Public Radio affiliate. It had been a 3,500-watt station from its inception until February 21, 1969, when its effective radiated power was increased to 50,000 watts. It began broadcasting in stereo on March 31, 1973.[2] It serves over 350,000 listeners weekly in the New York area and thousands more worldwide on the Web (wfuv.org). The station is known for its adult album alternative format (a mix of adult rock, singer-songwriters, world and other music, formerly branded as "City Folk"), as well as Celtic music. Other programs include genres such as folk music and early pop and jazz. National programs heard on WFUV, as of 2020, include World Cafe, "The Grateful Dead Hour", The Thistle and Shamrock and more.

The station's call letters stand for "Fordham University's Voice." Though operated as a professional public radio station, WFUV's mission also includes a strong training component for Fordham students. Students receive intensive instruction and are heard on the air in news and sports programming.

In-studio interviews and performances are also a prominent feature of its programming. On-air guests have included Radio Hall of Famer Arthur Godfrey (in 1947), Pete Hamill, Steve Buscemi, Tim Robbins, Jefferson Airplane, The Association, Graham Nash, Roger McGuinn, The Washington Squares, Suzanne Vega, Jimmy Webb, Peter, Paul & Mary, Cyndi Lauper, Sting, Bo Diddley, Judy Collins, Lou Reed, Brian Wilson, Robert Klein, Kevin Bacon, Dick Cavett, Glen Campbell, Ringo Starr, Joshua Bell, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Robbie Robertson, Los Lobos, Tony Bennett, John Zacherle, The Bad Plus, Buddy Guy, Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello, Ani DiFranco, The Polyphonic Spree, Jackson Browne, Ben Harper, Richard Barone, The Decemberists, Moby, Uncle Tupelo, Josh Ritter, Neil Young, Of Monsters and Men, Violent Femmes, Mavis Staples, Brian Fallon, and Norah Jones (in her radio debut). WFUV has introduced many other new artists over the years.

The present day roster of air talent features longtime FUV DJ, Darren DeVivo, a station mainstay since 1983; Corny O'Connell, another WFUV vet who joined the staff in the late 1980s; New York City radio legend, Dennis Elsas, formerly of WNEW-FM; Alisa Ali and Assistant Music Director, Eric Holland. The station's team of DJ's also includes Delphine Blue; Janet Bardini, who recently returned after first working at FUV in the late 1970s into the early 1980s; Benham Jones; Production Director, Sarah Wardrop and Director of Technical Operations, George Evans. Specialty shows are hosted by Kathleen Biggins, who has been a part of WFUV since the mid 1980s ("A Thousand Welcomes"); Don McGee ("Mixed Bag", a program created by New York City radio icon, Pete Fornatale); Bob Sherman ("Woody's Children", a folk music program that's been heard on New York City radio for over fifty years); Paul Cavalconte, on his second tour of duty at WFUV, having started his broadcasting career at FUV in the late 1970s into the late 1980s ("Cavalcade"); John Platt ("Sunday Supper"); Digital Content Editor, Kara Manning ("UKNY"); guitarist Binky Griptite ("The Boogie Down"); Music Director, Russ Borris ("The Alternate Side") and Program Director, Rita Houston ("The Whole Wide World"). The iconic Irish music program, "Ceol na nGael", continues to be hosted by a fine team of Fordham students.

History

Daily rock music programming was a major part of WFUV going back to the late 1960s. Prior to that, the programming was a mix of classical, popular, ethnic music and Fordham University sports broadcasts. Many chamber music and piano recitals were broadcast live from now-defunct Studio B in the 1950s. The station also broadcast a long-running series of live Sunday classical broadcasts from The Ethical Culture Society in Manhattan.

WFUV was on the verge of going off the air in September 1968, due to budgetary cuts by the university, but the student-staff went on strike and organized rallies and demonstrations to save the station. WFUV has been a public radio station since 1990.

In May 1994, Fordham started building a 480-foot-tall (150 m) transmission tower for WFUV on its Rose Hill campus, directly across from the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG)'s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.[3] The NYBG, which did not know about the tower's construction, subsequently requested that construction of the tower be halted.[4] Construction was delayed for several months before the New York City Department of Buildings ruled that the tower could be built 25 feet (7.6 m) away from its originally proposed location.[5] Both the NYBG and Fordham disagreed with the proposed compromise, however.[6] In 1997, the FCC ruled that the tower would negatively affect the NYBG if it were finished,[7] but a New York state court upheld the legality of the tower.[8] In 2002, Montefiore Medical Center offered to move WFUV's antenna to its own facilities on Gun Hill Road, one of the highest locations in the Bronx, which Fordham agreed to. Fordham subsequently announced in 2004 that it intended to destroy the half-built tower on Rose Hill.[9] In 2005 the studios, offices, and transmitter moved from the third floor of Keating Hall on Fordham's Rose Hill campus to Keating Hall's basement. The move allowed the station to improve its equipment and gain more space. Its antenna was moved in 2006 from the unfinished Rose Hill Tower to atop Montefiore Medical Center, and the unfinished tower was demolished.[10]

Former student staff

WFUV's rock music shows were formerly hosted by Fordham students, most notably Pete Fornatale, whose first show began in November 1964, when he was a sophomore and who returned to WFUV in 2001 after a 30-year hiatus, remaining until his 2012 death. Other alumni include,

News department alumni are/were heard on many stations and networks nationally. These include,

The sports department has produced numerous notable alumni, most notably, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers announcer and Baseball Hall of Famer Vin Scully who helped found WFUV. Other alumni include,

Former professional staff

Notable past-staff at WFUV include DJs Pete Fornatale and Vin Scelsa. Alan Light, former editor-in-chief of music magazines Vibe and Spin and music critic at the New York Times was an on-air contributor and music critic during the mid-2000s at WFUV. Radio announcer Marty Glickman instructed students in the sports department after his retirement. Glickman was the radio announcer of the New York Knicks, New York Giants, and New York Jets and the subject of the Martin Scorsese-produced 2013 HBO documentary film Glickman. Glickman was succeeded by Bob Ahrens, who oversaw WFUV Sports for twenty years as Executive Sports Producer.

References
  1. "HD Radio station guide". www.hdradio.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-10-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Alvarez, Lizette (1996-11-03). "Fordham and Garden Renew Tower Dispute". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  4. Dunlap, David W. (1994-07-06). "A Tower Pits Fordham vs. Botanical Garden". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  5. Barron, James (1994-11-18). "Bronx Tower Can Rise, But a Little to the Right". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  6. Nossiter, Adam (1995-06-15). "Fordham Radio Tower Ruling Satisfies No One". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  7. Finder, Alan (1997-05-24). "F.C.C. Staff Says Tower Would Harm Bronx Garden". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  8. Hernandez, Raymond (1998-04-03). "Ruling Upholds Legality of Fordham Radio Tower". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  9. Elliott, Andrea (2004-05-14). "Deal Would End 10-Year Feud on Fordham's Radio Tower". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  10. Ramirez, Anthony (2006-04-29). "Radio Tower in Bronx Falls; Botanical Garden Hears It, Happily". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  11. Goodman, Fred (2000-10-15). "TELEVISION/RADIO; In Search of New Music, Both Ancient and Modern". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  12. Taylor, Derrick Bryson (2020-04-25). "Richard Hake, Longtime WNYC Radio Reporter and Host, Dies at 51". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
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