WEMC
Encyclopedia
WEMC is a Public Radio formatted broadcast
radio station
licensed to Harrisonburg, Virginia
, serving the Harrisonburg
area. WEMC is owned by the Board of Trustees of Eastern Mennonite University and operated by Board of Trustees of Eastern Mennonite University.
at 6 pm; jazz from 7-9 pm; and Democracy Now!
at 9 pm. Saturdays are largely devoted to folk, bluegrass, rock and world music. Sacred music and a live church service are offered on Sunday mornings.
The studio was originally located in the balcony of Lehman Auditorium and later moved to Astral Hall, which had been an astronomy classroom. (The EMU telescope is still housed in the observatory next to Astral Hall.)
On February 1st, 2007, James Madison University
's public radio station WMRA
, assumed management of WEMC-FM. WEMC now broadcasts from WMRA's studios on the corner of Reservoir Street and Cantrell Ave. in Harrisonburg
. While the daily operations and financial needs of WEMC are handled by WMRA management, EMU retains the operating license for the station.
s. This power increase will improve coverage to Staunton
, Luray
, and Mount Jackson
, towns that currently cannot receive WEMC well.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
, serving the Harrisonburg
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
area. WEMC is owned by the Board of Trustees of Eastern Mennonite University and operated by Board of Trustees of Eastern Mennonite University.
History
Founded by EMU in 1955 thanks to a donation from the class of 1954, WEMC is Virginia's first public radio station. WEMC broadcasts primarily classical music. BBC news airs at 7 am and 5 pm; NPR's Fresh AirFresh Air
Fresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. The show is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its longtime host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 450 stations and claimed 4.5 million listeners. The show...
at 6 pm; jazz from 7-9 pm; and Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
at 9 pm. Saturdays are largely devoted to folk, bluegrass, rock and world music. Sacred music and a live church service are offered on Sunday mornings.
The studio was originally located in the balcony of Lehman Auditorium and later moved to Astral Hall, which had been an astronomy classroom. (The EMU telescope is still housed in the observatory next to Astral Hall.)
On February 1st, 2007, James Madison University
James Madison University
James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...
's public radio station WMRA
WMRA
WMRA is a Public Radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Harrisonburg, Virginia. Repeater stations serve Charlottesville, Lexington, Winchester and Farmville, VA. The network broadcasts primarily NPR news and talk programming, with classical music weekday evenings, and folk and blues...
, assumed management of WEMC-FM. WEMC now broadcasts from WMRA's studios on the corner of Reservoir Street and Cantrell Ave. in Harrisonburg
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
. While the daily operations and financial needs of WEMC are handled by WMRA management, EMU retains the operating license for the station.
Power Increase
WEMC requested from the FCC to move its antenna 10 miles to the NNW of its current location and increase its power and antenna height. They are requesting to be a directional Class B station with a power increase to 9,500 wattWatt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s. This power increase will improve coverage to Staunton
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
, Luray
Luray, Virginia
Luray is a town in Page County, Virginia, United States, in the Shenandoah Valley of the northern part of the state. It is also the county seat...
, and Mount Jackson
Mount Jackson, Virginia
Mount Jackson is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,994 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Mount Jackson is located at in the southern part of Shenandoah County, Virginia at...
, towns that currently cannot receive WEMC well.