WHUR-FM

WHUR-FM (96.3 FM) is an urban adult contemporary radio station that is licensed to Washington D.C., and serving the Metro D.C. area. It is owned and operated by Howard University, making it one of the few commercial radio stations in the United States to be owned by a college or university, as well as being the only independent, locally-owned station in the Washington, D.C. area. Also, the staff of the station mentors the students of the university's school of communications. The studios are located on campus in its Lower Quad portion, and the transmitter tower is based in the Tenleytown neighborhood. It is also co-owned with its television partner, WHUT-TV, one of D.C.'s PBS affiliates.

WHUR-FM
CityWashington, D.C.
Broadcast areaMetro D.C.
Frequency96.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding96.3 WHUR
SloganSounds Like Washington
The Adult Mix
Programming
FormatFM/HD1: Urban adult contemporary
HD2: WHUR World
HD3: WHBC
HD4: DC Radio
Ownership
OwnerHoward University
Sister stationsWHUT-TV
History
First air date1939 (experimental)
March 31, 1948
Former call signsW3XO (1939–1948)
WINX-FM (1948–1949)
WTOP-FM (1949–1971)[1]
Former frequencies43.2 MHz (1939–1947)
44.7 MHz (1947)
92.9 MHz (1946–1948)[1]
Call sign meaningHoward
University
Radio
Technical information
Facility ID65707
ClassB (Non-commercial)
ERP16,500 watts
HAAT244 meters
Transmitter coordinates38°57′01″N 77°04′46″W
Links
WebcastListen Live
Listen Live (HD2)
Listen live (HD3)
Listen Live (HD4)
Websitewhur.com
whurworld.com (HD2)
whbc963hd3.com (HD3)
dcradio.gov (HD4)

WHUR is also the home of the original Quiet Storm program, which longtime D.C. listeners have rated number one in the evening since 1976, and which spawned the namesake music genre that now airs on many radio stations across the United States. Jeff Brown hosts The Original Quiet Storm weeknights beginning at 7:30 p.m. In 2005, it also began broadcasting in IBOC digital radio, using the HD Radio system from iBiquity.

History

Station W3XO was signed on by radio engineering consultants C.M. Jansky and Stuart Bailey under an experimental license in 1939, broadcasting on 43.2 MHz in the original FM band from Washington.[2] The station was purchased by the Washington Post in the summer of 1945,[3] after which it began to simulcast co-owned WINX (then-1340 AM). That same year the FM band was moved to the present-day 88-108 MHz; stations already broadcasting on the 42-50 MHz band were given three years to relocate. W3XO commenced simultaneous operations on 43.2 and 92.9 MHz in 1946. On March 31, 1948, W3XO moved to 96.3 MHz, converted to a standard license, and took the callsign WINX-FM. It had the slogan "Sounds like Washington" to reflect the station's local ownership, which is still in use today. In 1949, the Post sold WINX and purchased WTOP (1500 AM), and the FM station became WTOP-FM.[1][4]

The Post later donated WTOP-FM to Howard University "to stimulate the intellectual and cultural life of the whole community and to train more people for the communications industry." On December 6, 1971, the station changed its call letters to WHUR-FM. WHUR became a jazz-formatted radio station, which it remained until the 1990s, when it switched to an urban adult contemporary format.

In 1977, WHUR-FM reporter and student intern Maurice Williams was killed during the Hanafi Siege in Washington, D.C.[5]

By 1995, WHUR became one of the highest rated radio stations in the market, right behind WPGC-FM. Also that year, WHUR became the Washington radio and flagship affiliate of the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show (TJMS). However, in 1999, ABC Radio Networks did not renew its contract with WHUR and moved the show to WMMJ, thus ending its four-year relationship with the station. WHUR was forced to produce its own locally-based morning drive show. This initially affected the station's dominance over rival WMMJ. WHUR, in 2002, acquired The Michael Baisden Show and later, in 2005, The Steve Harvey Morning Show. The station regained its top two spots in the market to date, pacing number two in the 12+ demographic and number one in the 25–54 demographic and the number one urban formatted station in D.C. In 2013, The Michael Baisden Show was cancelled due to its distributor, Cumulus Media and Baisden failing to reach an agreement; WHUR has since replaced its P.M. drive with former Baltimore and Atlanta radio personality Frank Ski, former host of the morning show on WVEE in Atlanta (where Ski still resides).

The quiet storm format of mellow, rhythm and blues and soul music, smooth jazz and love songs often played at night on many radio stations started at WHUR. The format originated when then intern Melvin Lindsey played a soothing string of songs during a particularly bad storm in the mid-1970s, even as power was cut to most of the other radio stations in the Washington, DC area. The quiet storm nighttime format has since been replicated in other major cities that have R&B station formats, such as San Francisco-based KBLX (which formerly utilized a 24-hour quiet storm format for three decades).

Bob "Nighthawk" Terry (real name: Bobby Joe Horn), a former WHUR personality, disappeared in August 1977 under mysterious circumstances.[6]

In September 2016, the station was awarded "Urban Station of The Year" by the National Association of Broadcasters'.[7]

Howard University Radio Network

WHUR serves as the flagship radio outlet of the Howard University Radio Network, primarily on its HD1 digital subchannel. In addition, the radio network utilizes the following:

  • WHUR-HD2, branded as "WHUR World", which focuses on World music-focused R&B, soul, jazz and Neo-soul titles. It also serves as D.C.'s affiliate for the Doug Banks show in the afternoons, as well as the nationally syndicated sports talk show FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW w/ Donal Ware.
  • WHUR-HD3, branded as "WHBC 96.3 HD3", a student-run mainstream urban format focused on hit-driven hip hop, soul and R&B titles.[8]
  • WHUR-HD4, branded as "DC Radio", a city-run community station with local music and community affairs
  • H.U.R. Voices, catering to urban talk listeners. It is available on SiriusXM 141.[9]
  • HBCU RadioNet focuses on student activities on campus. It is part of the HBCU RadioNet, and available on SiriusXM 142.[10]
  • Glasshouse Radio is a talk radio format aimed at students.
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See also

References
  1. FCC History Cards for WHUR-FM
  2. "Actions of the Federal Communications Commission" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 1, 1939. p. 80.
  3. "Capital FM Outlet is Bought by 'Post'", Broadcasting, July 2, 1945, page 20.
  4. O'Neal, James (February 4, 2010). "The Inside-Out Antenna Installation". Radio World.
  5. Theresa Vargas (March 12, 2007). "'Some Things You Never Forget': Thirty years ago, gunmen stormed three D.C. buildings, taking 150 hostages and one life". Washington Post. p. B01. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  6. "Bobby Joe Horn – The Charley Project".
  7. "Newsroom". Howard Newsroom.
  8. http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=8 Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine HD Radio Guide for Washington D.C.
  9. "H.U.R. Voices". Sirius XM Radio. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  10. "HBCU". Sirius XM Radio. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
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