WMHT-FM
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| WMHT-FM | |
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| City of license | Schenectady, New York |
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| Broadcast area | Capital District |
| First air date | 1972 |
| Frequency | 89.1 MHz |
| Format | Classical music |
| Power | 11,000 watts |
| ERP | 11 kW |
| Class | A |
| Callsign meaning | taken from WMHT-TV |
| Affiliations | NPR |
| Owner | WMHT Educational Telecommunications |
| Website | http://www.wmht.org/radio/wmhtfm.php |
WMHT-FM is the callsign of a classical music and NPR radio station licenced to Schenectady, New York, broadcasting on 89.1 MHz with 50 kW ERP from the Helderberg Mountains tower farm in New Scotland, New York. It is sister station to WMHT, the PBS member station for the Albany/Schenectady/Troy market.
WMHT-FM programming is also heard on a part-time basis on sister station WRHV-FM in Poughkeepsie, which is involved in one of the last timeshare arrangements in the United States alongside State University of New York at New Paltz-owned WFNP-FM. From October 2005 to March 2006, WMHT-FM programming was also heard on WBKK in Amsterdam prior to WMHT starting its own, younger-oriented classical music on that station.
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[edit] History
WMHT-FM holds the distinction of being the first noncommercial station to air an all-classical music format, a format that dates to its signon in 1972. The plans for the format came into being in the wake of WFLY leaving the classical format in 1969 and an ensuing protest from prominent members of the community. With the rise of PBS stations launching sister NPR affiliates and WAMC preventing WMHT from such an opportunity, WMHT decided to go in a different direction by taking on the classical format. After paying Siena College owned WVCR-FM to vacate their 89.1 frequency, WMHT-FM would soon sign on.
The FM station, like its TV sister, has been plagued by mysterious disappearances and sudden format changes over the years. In 1982, all four full-time announcers resigned to protest the appointment of a musically-ignorant ex-social worker to head the FM station. In 1985, station founder Don Schein was revealed to have earned a substantial salary and made exorbitant personal purchases (including a Winnebago camper) while maintaining poverty pleas on-air. And in 1984, the station's tape library was erased under Schein's orders, to make way for prerecorded programming from KKHI in California -- a move that alienated numerous listeners at that time, and forced the station to resume live broadcasting with local announcers.
WMHT-FM's signature program is "Bach's Lunch," a program originally conceived by Pam Mittendorff and Chris Wienk of WSHU-FM. Wienk brought the program to WMHT-FM in 2002 after it stopped airing on WSHU-FM in Fairfield.
[edit] Original programming
- Bach's Lunch: A program of Baroque music airing on weekdays at noon. The host is Chris Wienk.
- WMHT Live: A full-length concert program featuring recordings of recent classical concerts in the Capital District.
- No Ticket Required: A program of concert excerpts featuring recordings of recent classical concerts in the Capital District.
- Serenade: A Saturday night program of relaxing classical music.
[edit] RISE
WMHT also provides an information service for those who are blind and "print-disabled" known as RISE, which has been in operation since 1978. RISE programming is on the subcarriers of both WMHT-FM and WRHV-FM (even when WRHV-FM is not on the air).
[edit] See also
[edit] External Links
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| Capital District | |
| Saratoga Springs/Glens Falls and Vermont | |
| Mohawk Valley | |
| Columbia/Greene Counties | |
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