Broadcast Coverage Maps

FM Stations - Detail         FM Stations - Printable

AM Stations - Detail         AM Stations - Printable


Public Radio Stations in State

Main stations in bold followed by associated repeaters
Translators are shown at the end of the narrative 
Facilities in italics operated by out‑of‑state broadcasters
Location in ( ) - actual location of transmitting facilities
N - New facility since 1989 study     # - Station now meets study criteria

FM Stations
WGCU		90.1	Fort Myers		WUCF		89.9	Orlando
WMKO	N	91.7	Marco		WFSW	N	89.1	Panama City
WQCS		88.9	Fort Pierce		WKGC		90.7	Panama City
WUFT		89.1	Gainesville		WUWF		88.1	Pensacola
WJUF	N	90.1	Inverness		WFSQ	N	91.5	Tallahassee
WJCT		89.9	Jacksonville		WFSU		88.9	Tallahassee
WFIT	#	89.5	Melbourne					(Thomas Cty, GA)
WDNA		88.9	Miami		WMNF		88.5	Tampa
WLRN		91.3	Miami		WUSF		89.7	Tampa
WMFE		90.7	Orlando		WXEL		90.7	W Palm Beach

AM Stations   

WKGC                     1480    Panama City                  

General Comments

Public radio in Florida is provided by public radio stations licensed to educational institutions and non-profit organizations. Eight of the licensees also provide public television service.  Two broadcasters operate regional networks: WFSU, which serves many locations in north Florida, and WLRN, which has a series of translators serving the Florida Keys.  There is no state agency responsible for the development of public radio in the state.  In addition to the FM stations serving the state, there is one AM station which is located in the Florida Panhandle.  Residents of Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Panama City, Tallahassee and Tampa receive separate program services from dual sources.    

FM Service

Several Florida public broadcasters extended coverage to areas identified as being without public radio service in the 1989 PTFP study.  In north Florida, WFSU moved to a new site in 1989 to cover a large unserved area east of Tallahassee and increase overall population coverage.  At the same time, WFSU's previous site southwest of Tallahassee was upgraded and assigned call letters WFSQ.  Another station, WFSW Panama City, was licensed in 1996. WFSQ also constructed a repeater station, WFSL, in Thomasville, Georgia.

On the west coast of the state, WGCU Fort Myers came into existence through a license transfer of the former WFSP.  Since then, WGCU built repeater station WMKO at Marco on the Gulf coast south of Fort Myers.  Also on the west coast, WUFT constructed repeater station WJUF in 1997 at Inverness.

Along the east coast, WFIT Melbourne did not meet the criteria for inclusion in the 1989 study but now meets the criteria for inclusion.  The station increased its power in 1998 and provides service to an area between Orlando and Fort Pierce that was shown as unserved in 1989.

Only one public radio translator was identified in the 1989 study.  It was near Cocoa Beach and has since been taken out of service. WLRN and WFSU have both placed five translators in service to extend and enhance coverage to previously unserved areas.  WLRN's translators string along the Florida Keys, from Key Largo to Key West.  WFSU's translators extend service to remote Gulf Coast communities and rural areas.

Florida has witnessed tremendous population growth over the past two decades.  Between the 1980 census and the 2000 census, Florida's population has grown by 68% (over 6.2 million residents).   The percentage of Florida's population receiving a public radio signal has increased from 93% in 1989 to 97.8% currently.  The number of people who cannot receive a public radio signal has decreased from 635,000 in 1989 to 358,786 currently. 

AM Service

WKGC has an AM counterpart in Panama City that broadcasts at 500 watts with a daytime-only authorization. The northeast corner of Florida, around Jacksonville, receives AM Service from WWIO St. Marys, Georgia, during daytime hours.  

Service from Adjacent States  

Residents in the panhandle of Florida receive public radio signals from two stations in Alabama.  As noted above, Jacksonville and the northeast corner of Florida receive from WWIO St. Marys, Georgia.

Unserved Areas

Region A  

This is an area in north Florida that covers portions of  seven counties -- Baker, Hamilton, Columbia, Suwannee, Lafayette, Dixie and Taylor -- and stretches from the Gulf coast northeast to the Osceola National Forest and the Okefenokee Swamp on the Georgia border.  It is home to 42,600 residents who have no public radio service.  

Region B  

This area south of Jacksonville -- Flagler County and portions of the adjacent Lake, Marion and Volusia counties -- is home to some 196,200 unserved Florida residents.  

Region C 

A long stretch of central Florida south of a line from Tampa, Winter Haven and Melbourne through the Everglades to the Gulf of Mexico remains without public radio service.  The area lies between the service contours of the stations in the population centers along Florida's Atlantic and Gulf coasts.  Though it is being developed rapidly, the area remains largely devoted to agriculture and marshlands.  There is no public radio service for the 50,000 residents of this region, with the largest unserved population, 37,000 people, residing in Highlands County.    

Region D  

This region consists of the two parts of Monroe County.  The mainland section of the county, at the southern end of the Florida peninsula, is within the boundary of Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve.  The other section of the county consists of the Florida Keys.  While there are several FM translators serving communities in the Keys, there remain 25,000 people in Monroe County without public radio service.  

Translators listed by operating station
Facilities in italics operated by out‑of‑state broadcasters
Location in ( ) - actual location of transmitting facilities

WLRN Miami, FL					WFSQ Tallahassee, FL
W206AS	N	89.1	Big Pine Key		W224AT	N	92.7	Tallahassee
W221AY	N	92.1	Islamorada		WFSU Tallahassee, FL
W227AD	N	93.3	Key Colony Beach		(Thomas Cty, GA)
W228AY	N	93.5	Key Largo		W283AC	N	104.5	Apalachicola
W202BO	N	88.3	Key West		W291AD	N	106.1	Mariana
WFSW Panama City, FL					W229AD	N	93.7	Tallahassee
W216BT	N	91.1	Port St. Joe