WEMU has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 15,500 watts. The transmitter is on West Clark Road at Laforge Road in Ypsilanti, near the EMU campus.[1] The signal covers Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor and the Western suburbs of Detroit. Located online at WEMU.org, the station streams live 24 hours a day.
History
WEMU signed on the air on December 8, 1965; 58 years ago (1965-12-08). It originally broadcast on 88.1 MHz with studios in the Quirk Building on Eastern Michigan University's campus. In 1976, the station moved to King Hall, and in February 1977, WEMU began to feature a primarily jazz format. Later that year, in October 1977, WEMU changed to its current 89.1 FM frequency. The next major addition came on April 7, 2004, when WEMU added digital broadcasting.[2] Located online at WEMU.org, the station streams live 24 hours a day.
According to a 2017 tour of WEMU, the station holds one of the largest jazz broadcast libraries in the United States, with nearly 100,000 records and CDs in its collection.[3]
Still broadcast out of King Hall on the Eastern Michigan University Campus, WEMU currently shares the building with the student newspaper The Eastern Echo and the Early College Alliance program.[4]
According to the WEMU radio schedule, weekdays offer six hours of locally hosted jazz between Morning Edition and All Things Considered, with the syndicated jazz show Pubjazz overnight. Local weekday jazz show include 89.1 Jazz with Michael Jewett and The Break. Starting on Friday nights, weekend programming includes a mix of news and music shows, both local and national. Weekend local shows include From Memphis to Motown, The Roots Music Project, Cuban Fantasy, Sunday Best, Grooveyard, The In Crowd, and Big City Blues Cruise.[5][6]
WEMU is licensed for HD Radio operations.[7] It broadcasts a mixed format of traditional and smooth jazz on its HD2digital subchannel.[8] The HD2 formerly aired a mix of folk, roots and Americana music.
