WHFR
Encyclopedia
WHFR is a low power radio station
at 270 watts in Dearborn, Michigan
which is operated by Henry Ford Community College
. Its frequency
is 89.3 MHz FM
WHFR programs alternative variety, music heard little elsewhere on Detroit area radio stations. 40% of the music is classical
but the station also features alternative
/modern rock
, big band
, opera
, Americana
/folk
, blues
, hip hop
, jazz
, space rock
, urban rock
, and world music
, in addition to a weekly public affairs show. All music shows highlight (as much as possible) new releases, independent labels, and local artists. Through a satellite-delivered service the station provides 60+ hours a week of classical music from Public Radio International
.
WHFR-FM 89.3, the College's non-commercial
, student-staffed, faculty-guided campus radio
station hails from the newly renovated Student Center at Henry Ford Community College
. Back in 1962, WHFR began as a student radio club with only a double-closet-sized room for operating a public address system to the dining room, providing a variety of music and campus announcements during weekday hours. However, the club's mission since its start was to start a real broadcast station, serving the unique music and information needs of the community, as well as the students at HFCC.
By 1978, the HFCC administration, recognizing the spirit and seeing the dedication, applied for an FM broadcast license from the Federal Communications Commission
. The license was granted in 1979, but the preparations necessary to broadcast (construction, equipment, staffing, and budget) took until 1985 to get worked out, when the station went on the air.
Beginning with only six hours a day/six days a week, with all shows prerecorded, WHFR grew steadily as it proved itself and attracted more volunteers, first going "live" in 1987 (for three hours a week). In 1988, with a schedule of 12 hours a day, the WHFR staff was stretched thin and moved all of its equipment and music library out of the Student Center and into the new HFCC Fine Arts Center. Since 1997, the station has achieved a 24/7
broadcasting schedule, with the help of over 60 student and alumni volunteers.
Among their achievements and awards by the Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters and the MAB Michigan Association of Broadcasters
, WHFR-FM is also locally recognized as the most diverse station in the state. They've been recognized for this achievement in several newspaper and website polls.
WHFR's broadcast guide is available every day on their website and features college alternative including indie rock, punk, blues, metal, jazz, classical, opera, choral music, world music, americana/folk, techno, grrl groups and video game soundtracks. Most shows fit a 2-hour time slot, and the format changes for each show.
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...
at 270 watts in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
which is operated by Henry Ford Community College
Henry Ford Community College
Henry Ford Community College is a public two-year college located in Dearborn, Michigan. The school, established in 1938, is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the Michigan Commission on College Accreditation. The school was originally named Fordson Junior College...
. Its frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
is 89.3 MHz FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
WHFR programs alternative variety, music heard little elsewhere on Detroit area radio stations. 40% of the music is classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
but the station also features alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
/modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
, big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
/folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, 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...
, space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
, urban rock
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
, and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, in addition to a weekly public affairs show. All music shows highlight (as much as possible) new releases, independent labels, and local artists. Through a satellite-delivered service the station provides 60+ hours a week of classical music from Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
.
WHFR-FM 89.3, the College's non-commercial
Non-commercial
Non-commercial refers to an activity or entity that does not in some sense involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis...
, student-staffed, faculty-guided campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
station hails from the newly renovated Student Center at Henry Ford Community College
Henry Ford Community College
Henry Ford Community College is a public two-year college located in Dearborn, Michigan. The school, established in 1938, is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the Michigan Commission on College Accreditation. The school was originally named Fordson Junior College...
. Back in 1962, WHFR began as a student radio club with only a double-closet-sized room for operating a public address system to the dining room, providing a variety of music and campus announcements during weekday hours. However, the club's mission since its start was to start a real broadcast station, serving the unique music and information needs of the community, as well as the students at HFCC.
By 1978, the HFCC administration, recognizing the spirit and seeing the dedication, applied for an FM broadcast license from the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
. The license was granted in 1979, but the preparations necessary to broadcast (construction, equipment, staffing, and budget) took until 1985 to get worked out, when the station went on the air.
Beginning with only six hours a day/six days a week, with all shows prerecorded, WHFR grew steadily as it proved itself and attracted more volunteers, first going "live" in 1987 (for three hours a week). In 1988, with a schedule of 12 hours a day, the WHFR staff was stretched thin and moved all of its equipment and music library out of the Student Center and into the new HFCC Fine Arts Center. Since 1997, the station has achieved a 24/7
24/7
24/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption...
broadcasting schedule, with the help of over 60 student and alumni volunteers.
Among their achievements and awards by the Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters and the MAB Michigan Association of Broadcasters
Michigan Association of Broadcasters
The Michigan Association of Broadcasters represents radio and television broadcasters across the U.S. state of Michigan. It gives out yearly awards to both of these categories, including "Lifetime Achievement", "Hall of Fame", and "Broadcast Excellence Awards."...
, WHFR-FM is also locally recognized as the most diverse station in the state. They've been recognized for this achievement in several newspaper and website polls.
WHFR's broadcast guide is available every day on their website and features college alternative including indie rock, punk, blues, metal, jazz, classical, opera, choral music, world music, americana/folk, techno, grrl groups and video game soundtracks. Most shows fit a 2-hour time slot, and the format changes for each show.