The State Coverage Maps and Narratives

The main body of this report is an overview of the public radio coverage in each state and the District of Columbia.  The FM map for each state displays public FM radio signals that cover any portion of the state.  Most maps include stations in adjoining states, but please note that not all stations in adjoining states are shown on all the FM maps.

An AM coverage map is included for those states where residents can receive a public AM station, whether the AM station is in the state or in an adjoining state.  Again, not all AM stations in adjoining states are shown. 

The list of stations at the beginning of each state’s narrative includes all of the public radio stations in the state whether operated by an in-state broadcaster or an out-of-state broadcaster.  Stations printed on the list in bold are considered main stations and are listed alphabetically by the city of license.  Additional stations or translators in a station’s network follow the call letters of the main station they rebroadcast and are indented.  We recognize that there are instances when repeaters and translators may rebroadcast programs from more than one station operated by a licensee.  In some instances when there are many translators in a state, there may be a separate list of translators at the end of the state’s narrative.  AM stations shown in brackets are occasionally included in the FM listing since several FM repeaters and translators rebroadcast the programming of an AM station.  Facilities that are new to this study are either indicated by the # symbol for a station that was operating in 1989 but did not meet the study criteria or an N for new station.

Facilities operated by out-of-state broadcasters are shown in italics and the operator indicated in a footnote.  In several instances, a station is included in a state listing even though its transmitter is outside the state’s boundaries or it is licensed to another state.  For example, WAGC is licensed to Augusta, Georgia, and is operated by Georgia Public Broadcasting; but its transmitter is located in Aiken, South Carolina.  WAGC appears on both the Georgia and South Carolina state lists.

The narratives for each state further describe the public radio environment in the state.  Included in this section is information on stations which provide multiple services, regional or statewide coverage, as well as stations that are licensed jointly with a public television station.  We have tried to indicate which communities or regions of a state receive multiple program services, as well as those areas of a state that may receive programming from out-of-state stations. 

Finally, each state narrative concludes with a discussion of areas of the state that appear unserved on the coverage maps.  We have noted large areas on the map that may be without service and have indicated the approximate number of unserved people in a region, based on 2000 census data, as well as any current plans for extending service to those areas.