WNPR
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| Broadcast area |
Connecticut eastern Long Island, NY western Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Branding | WNPR |
| Frequency | See § Stations |
| Translator(s) | See § Translator |
| First air date | June 1978 |
| Format | News/Talk (Public radio) |
| Affiliations | NPR, American Public Media, Public Radio International |
| Owner | Connecticut Public Broadcasting |
| Webcast | [1] |
| Website | www |
Connecticut Public Radio is a network of public radio stations in the state of Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and eastern Long Island affiliated with NPR (National Public Radio). It is owned by Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network, who also owns Connecticut Public Television.
The radio network airs primarily news and talk from NPR and brands itself on-air as "WNPR." It is headquartered with CPTV in Hartford, and operates an additional studio in New Haven.
In the early 1970s, WTIC in Hartford dropped its longtime classical music format in favor of adult contemporary music, and sold its library to CPTV. Looking for a way to put the library to use, CPTV decided to get into radio. At the time, while Hartford got a fairly decent signal from WFCR in Amherst, Massachusetts and much of southwestern Connecticut was covered by WNYC-AM-FM in New York City, most of the rest of the state didn't even get a grade B signal from an NPR station. New Haven, for instance, had to content itself with a translator of WFCR on 90.5 FM. Finding available frequencies proved difficult, however. In addition to the crowded state of the noncommercial end of the FM dial in the Northeast, there was a considerable glut of 10-watt stations in the state. Ultimately, CPTV bought the 90.5 frequency from the Friends of WFCR, the New Haven group that owned the WFCR translator, and used it as the linchpin for what would become Connecticut Public Radio.
The network's first station, WPBH, signed on in June 1978. The station was licensed to Meriden, halfway between Hartford and New Haven, in order to serve both cities (Hartford and New Haven, then as now, are separate radio markets). CPBI originally wanted the WNPR calls, but the FCC turned it down due to objections from WPLR in New Haven, who claimed the calls sounded too similar. It became WPKT in 1984 after board chairman Homer Babbidge requested the FCC change the call letters to honor CPBN head Paul K. Taff.
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