WRJA-FM (88.1 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station licensed to Sumter, South Carolina, that covers both Columbia and Florence, South Carolina. It is the flagship station of the statewide "News and Talk Network" from South Carolina Public Radio (SCPR) and is a member of National Public Radio (NPR). WRJA-FM's offices and studios are on George Rogers Boulevard in Columbia.

WRJA-FM
Broadcast areaCentral South Carolina - Columbia metropolitan area
Frequency88.1 MHz
BrandingSouth Carolina Public Radio
Programming
FormatPublic Radio - News - Talk
AffiliationsNational Public Radio
Public Radio Exchange
American Public Media
BBC World Service
Ownership
OwnerSouth Carolina Educational TV Commission
History
First air date
August 25, 1975 (1975-08-25)
Former call signs
WMPR (1975–1980)[1]
Call sign meaning
R. J. Aycock[2]
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID60974
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT305 meters (1,001 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
33°52′52″N 80°16′12″W / 33.88111°N 80.27000°W / 33.88111; -80.27000 (WRJA-FM)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitesouthcarolinapublicradio.org

WRJA-FM is a Class C station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for most FM stations. The transmitter is on ETV Tower Road in Sumter, sharing a tower with WRJA-TV, its PBS sister station.[4]

Programming

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On weekdays, the "News and Talk Network," including WRJA, carries news programs from NPR and other public radio networks: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, 1A, Here and Now, On Point, Think, Fresh Air, The World, Marketplace and from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation it carries Q. The BBC World Service runs all night.

On weekends and at 9 and 11 p.m. on weeknights, WRJA-FM airs one-hour weekly specialty shows from NPR and other networks. They include The Splendid Table, Milk Street Radio, The Moth Radio Hour, Travel with Rick Steves, The TED Radio Hour, The Ezra Klein Show, Radiolab, Reveal, Latino USA, Bullseye with Jesse Thorn, On The Media, This American Life, Planet Money, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Living on Earth, Snap Judgment, It's Been A Minute, To the Best of Our Knowledge, Freakonomics Radio and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Specialty music shows heard on weekends including World Cafe, Jazz Night in America and Mountain Stage. SCPR also produces Roots Music Karamu with Osei Chandler, heard on all stations (music network and talk network) on Saturday nights.

Station history

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The station signed on the air on August 25, 1975; 49 years ago (August 25, 1975).[5] Its original call sign was WMPR. It was part of the South Carolina Educational Radio Network, featuring local programming from SCERN as well as network shows from NPR. It became WRJA-FM in 1980.

In 2001, the station, along with WJWJ-FM in Beaufort/Charleston and WHMC in Conway/Myrtle Beach, began airing a separate program schedule from the rest of the SCERN stations. These outlets, part of the "News and Talk Network," began carrying a mix of news and information programs with some jazz, blues and world music on weekends. The remaining stations, part of the "News and Music Network," play classical music during middays and nights with news and information programs during morning and afternoon drive times and some hours on weekends.

References

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  1. ^ "FCC History Cards for WRJA-FM".
  2. ^ "South Carolina Educational Television Commission Program Evaluation Report [July 2018]" (PDF). South Carolina House of Representatives.
  3. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WRJA-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WRJA
  5. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977. Page C-190. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
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