WKNO-FM

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The WKNO FM Stations is a network of public radio stations based in Memphis, Tennessee that serve the "Mid-South" region with local fine arts and classical music programs, as well as news and information programs from the National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and American Public Media networks.

The stations are owned and operated by the Mid-South Public Communications Foundation, a non-profit organization governed by a board of trustees composed of volunteers. This board also operates Memphis' public television station, WKNO-TV, channel 10.

Four stations comprise the network:

WKNO-FM 91.1--Memphis (flagship). Signal reaches about a 50-mile radius from the city, covering the southwestern corner of Tennessee, eastern Arkansas, and northwestern Mississippi.
WKNP-FM 90.1--Jackson, Tennessee. Signal covers much of the state between the Memphis area, the Tennessee River, and the Kentucky state line.
WKNQ-FM 90.7--Dyersburg, Tennessee. Signal covers the northwestern corner of Tennessee and two counties in southeastern Missouri.
WKNA-FM 88.9--Senatobia, Mississippi. Signal covers several counties in northwestern Mississippi, as well as portions of southwestern Tennessee (including Memphis).

[edit] History

WKNO-FM began operations in 1972, with only the one station broadcasting at 40,000 watts. Its studios were first located in midtown Memphis, but relocated to the south campus of Memphis State University (now University of Memphis) in the late 1970s. As with many public radio outlets started during that era, programming in the early years consisted almost entirely of classical music; NPR news broadcasts did not become a significant portion of the daily schedule until well into the 1980s. Still, the station increased its power during that period to a full 100,000 watts, thereby increasing its listenership with a stronger, clearer signal.

As the popularity of public radio developed, the MSPCF decided to aggressively construct and acquire transmitters throughout the region, much of which had never been served by public radio before. It started by purchasing the broadcasting equipment of WNJC-FM, the defunct student station (founded 1972) of Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, about 40 miles south of Memphis, in 1989. MSPCF kept that station's original callsign for a few years, before rechristening it to conform to the mother station's pattern.

Next, the board set its sights on Tennessee's largest city without any public radio service, Jackson, and started a repeater, WKNP, there in 1990. Finally, WKNO-FM solidified its coverage of the Mid-South with a repeater in northwestern Tennessee, WKNQ, in 1993. For a few years, the stations broadcast identical programs, except for daytime coverage of Memphis city council meetings, which were heard only on the mother station, as they were, quite obviously, not pertinent to the rest of the territory. In some portions of the listening area, particularly that of WKNA-FM, competing stations such as Mississippi Public Broadcasting duplicated some network offerings as well.

Eventually, however, with the great expansion of public radio news and talk programming in the late 1990s, MSPCF decided to take advantage of it by splitting the network into two. Now, the Memphis and Jackson stations carry classical music during the middle of the day and at night, news during rush hour, and weekly feature programs on the weekends. Meanwhile, the Dyersburg and Senatobia frequencies run news, talk, and information shows from various public radio packagers and the BBC. On occasion, the four stations air the same programming. The arrangement allows for residents of the northern and southern parts of the region alike to have two choices of non-commercial programming, something increasingly found in many parts of the country these days.