WGCU-FM is an NPR-member 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 Fort Myers, Florida

Fort Myers, Florida

Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....

, USA, the station is owned by Florida Gulf Coast University

Florida Gulf Coast University

Florida Gulf Coast University, also known as FGCU, is a coeducational public university located just south of the Southwest Florida International Airport in the South Fort Myers region of unincorporated Lee County, Florida, United States. The university belongs to the 11-campus State University...

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WGCU's schedule consists of jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and NPR news and talk. WGCU-FM's programming is simulcast

Simulcast

Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...

 on WMKO FM 91.7, a full-time station licensed to Marco Island

Marco Island, Florida

Marco Island is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States, located on an island by the same name in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Southwest Florida. It is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 to serve the Naples

Naples, Florida

Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...

 area.

WGCU-FM first signed on in 1983 as WSFP-FM, a station owned by the University of South Florida

University of South Florida

The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...

 in Tampa

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, owners of public broadcasting stations WUSF FM and TV

WUSF-TV

WUSF-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service Public television station in Tampa, Florida, broadcasting on digital channel 34. Owned by the University of South Florida, WUSF-TV signed on in 1966....

. At the time, Fort Myers / Naples was the only media market

Media market

A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...

 in Florida without any public broadcasting

Public broadcasting

Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...

 stations. WSFP-FM was largely a rebroadcast of WUSF-FM.

The broadcast license

Broadcast license

A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...

 was transferred to the new Florida Gulf Coast University in 1996, while the finishing touches were being put on Florida's newest university. WSFP-FM changed its calls to WGCU-FM on June 13, 1997, two months before FGCU opened.

Broadcasting from its transmitter site in southern Charlotte County

Charlotte County, Florida

Charlotte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 141,627. In 2005, the population of the MSA was 154,030.The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county was 152,814...

, WGCU-FM's signal is barely listenable in Naples, though its grade-B signal reaches much of northern Collier County

Collier County, Florida

Collier County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 251,377. The U.S. Census Bureau 2007 estimate for the county is 315,839...

. Soon after FGCU opened, it requested funding for a second station to serve the Naples area. WMKO signed on for the first time in 1999.

In 2009, WGCU moved its classical music programming to a 24/7 feed on its digital

HD Radio

HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...

 subchannel

Digital subchannel

In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...

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WGCU is also referenced for hurricane information on signs across southwest Florida

Southwest Florida

Southwest Florida is a region of Florida , United States located along its gulf coast, south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee and mostly north of the Everglades...

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