WUSF - A History
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WUSF-FM 89.7 Tampa – The University of South Florida has held WUSF’s license since the station first went on the air in 1963. WUSF broadcasts a 72,000-watt signal from a 940-foot tower in Riverview that reaches north to Crystal River, south to Venice and east to Lakeland. Studios and offices are on the school’s campus at 4202 Fowler Avenue in Tampa.
WUSF is funded primarily by its 10,000 listener-members and corporate underwriters. In the course of a week, more than 200,000 people tune to FM 89.7 for the highly regarded news programs of National Public Radio and regional coverage from the local newsroom. WUSF also operates the Radio Reading Service (RRS), a 24-hour service for the blind and visually and physically impaired, which features programs and daily readings by volunteers. The service is broadcast by sub carrier to special radio receivers provided to listeners by the station.
In September 2010, WUSF dropped all of its classical music programs, moved them to newly-acquired sister station 89.1 WSMR in Sarasota , and went all-news and information from NPR. However, the station still plays jazz music in the overnight hours.
Names from WUSF history include Bill Brady (PD-1963), Dave Dial (PD-early 70’s), Richard Steck (station manager-early 70’s), Mike O’Shea (chief engineer-1973), Neal Lavon (news director, station manager (1974-1979), Mary Diana (classical music director-1978), Susan Giles (classical announcer-1991), Tom Parkinson (jazz announcer-1992), Susan Johnson (PD-1998), Brian McCabe (operations-1998), Rick Stone (news director-1998), Bob Seymour (1998; jazz music director-2006), Geoff Norcross (mornings-1999), Curtis Hayes (operations-1999), Lynn Mullen (Radio Reading Service director-2000), Robert Peterson III (PD-2001), David Srebnik (station manager-2003), Sheila Rue (PD-2009), Mike Burnham (chief engineer-2009), JoAnn Urofsky (GM-1998), and Tom Dollenmayer (station manager-2006).
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Station History
1963 - 2010 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (History)
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