WFMT is a fine arts and classical music FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois. The station is managed by Window To The World Communications, Inc., owner of WTTW, one of Chicago's two PBS affiliated stations. WFMT is also the flagship station of the WFMT Radio Network, and the Beethoven and Jazz Satellite Networks. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... In the United States (and potentially elswhere), each radio station or TV station is assigned a city of license by the Federal Communications Commission that they must serve. While this has become far less meaningful over the decades, stations are still required to post their public file somewhere within the... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Frequency (disambiguation). ... A megahertz (MHz) is one million (106) hertz, a measure of frequency. ... A radio format or programming format describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. ... This article is about Western art music from 1000 AD to the 2000s . ... Nominal power is a measurement of a mediumwave radio stations output used in the United States. ... For other uses, see Watt (disambiguation). ... This is a list of broadcast station classes applicable in much of North America under international agreements between the United States, Canada and Mexico. ... A webcast is a live media file distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... This article is about Western art music from 1000 AD to the 2000s . ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... WTTW (Channel 11) is one of three PBS member stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on March 5, 1955 and is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications Inc. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ...

A unique feature of this commercial station is that they air no pre-recorded (by non-station hosts) advertising on-air. A brief attempt at introducing pre-recorded commercial advertising, the only time in their long history, proved unpopular with listeners. All advertising on the station is currently read exclusively by WFMT's on-air hosts.

WFMT's programs can be heard through their satellite services, or syndication, internationally. The station's programming is available online as well. For a period of time it was a free audio stream, and was then unavailable for a time, pending a Library of Congress/Copyright Office ruling on Internet music and compensation to musicians. The station again provides a free audio stream. Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... The United States Copyright Office, a division of the Library of Congress, is the official US government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States. ...

History

On December 13, 1951, Bernard and Rita Jacobs put WFMT on the air at 105.9 FM with a classical music/fine arts format. They began with eight hour a day broadcasts (3-11 PM), with Bernard serving as the station's engineer, and Rita as the station's announcer. By 1953, programming was expanded to 18 hours per day. is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ...

WFMT moved to new studios in the LaSalle Wacker Building in 1954. The station's power and antenna height is increased, increasing their broadcast range. Another big change was in their frequency, when the station moved to their present-day 98.7 FM. That same year, WFMT aired a live recording made on July 4 at Circle Pines Center in Delton, Michigan with Pete Seeger and Big Bill Broonzy. Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919), almost universally known as Pete Seeger, is a folk singer, political activist, and author. ... Big Bill Broonzy (1893 or 1898-1958) was a prolific United States composer, recorder and performer of blues songs. ...

In 1957 the station received an Alfred I. DuPont Award as the country's best broadcaster in the small-station category. WFMT also aired a discussion between Frank Lloyd Wright and Carl Sandburg is simulcast with WTTW, marking the first collaboration between WTTW and WFMT. Another collaboration occurred the following year, as the two stations began a pioneering stereo music project in which WTTW broadcast a left audio channel, and WFMT broadcast the right audio channel simultaneously. Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was one of the worlds most prominent and influential architects. ... For the passenger train service, see Carl Sandburg (Amtrak). ...

WFMT won another Alfred I. DuPont Award in 1961, this time as the country's best broadcaster in the large-station category, in addition to the station's first Peabody Award. They quadrupled their broadcasting power the same year and offered its first multiplex stereo broadcast, which they tested the following year, presenting the first live concert series broadcast in stereo, with music by the Fine Arts Quartet. In 1964, Hi Fi/Stereo Review readers vote WFMT the highest fidelity station in the USA. The station's first series of Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts began. in 1965. Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The George Foster Peabody Awards, more commonly referred to as the Peabody Awards, are annual international awards given for excellence in radio and television broadcasting. ... Fine Arts Quartet US string quartet The Fine Arts Quartet, founded in Chicago in 1946 by Leonard Sorkin and George Sopkin, is a distinguished chamber music ensemble with an extensive recording legacy. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, based in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the leading orchestras in the world. ...

In 1968, WFMT began 24 hour daily broadcasting. That same year, Bernard Jacobs sold WFMT to WGN Continental Broadcasting Company, which in turn donated the station to WTTW two years later. Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... WGN is the callsign of two broadcast stations in Chicago, Illinois, both owned by the Tribune company. ...

The station began distributing WFMT programming to other American and international radio stations in 1972. The following year, they created the Fine Arts Network for syndication of Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera broadcasts.

In 1979, WFMT became America's first radio superstation, delivered by satellite and cable systems across the United States. And WFMT programming entered the Communist Bloc, as the Soviet Union and China began broadcasting WFMT tapes of Chicago Symphony Orchestra radio concerts. The following year, WFMT became the first U.S. radio station to join the European Broadcasting Union. A live performance of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was heard in the USA, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden and West Germany simultaneously. Wagner's Ring Cycle was broadcast live for the first time as a digital transatlantic performance from Bayreuth, Germany to the USA and Canada in 1983. Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. ... During the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) comprised the following Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Albania (until the early 1960s, see below), the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia. ... EBU redirects here. ... Valkyrie Warrior Maiden by artist Arthur Rackham (1912) Der Ring des Nibelungen, commonly translated into English as The Ring of the Nibelung or The Nibelungs Ring, is a series of four epic music dramas based loosely on figures and elements of Germanic paganism, particularly from the Icelanders sagas and... The Bayreuth Festspielhaus (Bayreuth Festival Theatre) is an opera house built to the north of the town of Bayreuth in Germany, dedicated to the performance of Richard Wagners operas. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ...

The WFMT Fine Arts Circle, a member/listener support and funding group, was formed in 1991. Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1995, the station moved to its current location in the WTTW complex in Chicago's Northwest Side. The new facility includes an all digital path from studios to transmitter. The WFMT Jazz Satellite Network debuted two years later. Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ...

WFMT celebrated its 50th anniversary on December 13, 2001, which Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley declared WFMT Day. Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party and current mayor of Chicago, Illinois. ...

In 2002, WFMT Radio Network hosted and produced a live broadcast from Durban, South Africa featuring the world premiere performance of Princess Magogo, the first South African indigenous opera and the first opera with a libretto in the Zulu language. The broadcast was heard by over four million people on 155 stations in the U.S. and on European state radio networks.^{[citation needed]} Also see: 2002 (number). ... Durban is a vibrant cosmopolitian city in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. ... Princess Constance Magogo Sibilile Mantithi Ngangezinye kaDinuzulu (1900 - 1984) was a Zulu Princess and artist, and mother to Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Inkatha Freedom Party leader. ... Zulu (called isiZulu in Zulu), is a language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority (over 95%) of whom live in South Africa. ...

In 2003, the station began syndication of the program "Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin", an educational daily program on various themes in classical music. They also launched a Fine Arts Hotline for the Chicago area that same year.

People of WFMT

Several noteworthy individuals who have worked at WFMT in its history. Award-winning stage and film director, writer, and producer Mike Nichols, at the time a student at the University of Chicago, joined the station in 1952. Nichols started "The Midnight Special" in 1953. The show still airs weekly on WFMT, with Rich Warren as the host. Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky) is an Academy Award winning movie director of films such as The Graduate and Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He was born on November 6, 1931 in Berlin, to a Jewish Russian family. ... For other uses, see University of Chicago (disambiguation). ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Midnight Special is a now-syndicated radio show that has been broadcast on a Chicago, Illinois radio station, WFMT 98. ...

Noted author and broadcaster Studs Terkel began a weekly program on the station, also in 1953. It eventually became a weeknight program, until his retirement from the station almost fifty years later. For other uses, see Author (disambiguation). ... Louis Studs Terkel (born May 16, 1912) is an American author, historian and broadcaster. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ...

WFMT is noted for the longevity of various staff members. Norman Pellegrini joined the station and became program director in 1953, holding the position until 1996. Ray Nordstrand was hired as an announcer, also in 1953. He later became the assistant of original owner Bernard Jacobs. Nordstrand moved up to the position of president and general manager in 1970. He retired in 1993 after suffering a heart attack, but continued to work as a consultant to the station until his death in 2005. Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In Augus 2000, Steve Robinson was hired as general manager of WFMT. Robinson has been working in classical music radio for 40 years.

Technological achievements

Since going on the air in 1951, WFMT has garnered a strong reputation for technological innovation and sound quality. Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1958, WFMT and television station WTTW collaborated on a pioneering stereo music project in which WTTW broadcast a left audio channel, and WFMT broadcast the right audio channel simultaneously. Jan. ...

WFMT broadcast a live concert in 1969 using Dolby noise reduction, the first station ever to do so. Three years later, they broadcast for the first time in four-channel (quadrophonic) sound. Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Dolby Laboratories, Incorporated (Dolby Labs) is a company specializing in audio compression and reproduction. ... Quadraphonic sound uses four channels in which speakers are positioned at all four corners of the listening space, reproducing signals that are independent of each other. ...

In 1978, WFMT was a participant in the first stereo relay of a live performance via satellite, from the San Francisco Opera. Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... The San Francisco War Memorial Opera House San Francisco Opera (SFO) is the second largest opera company in North America. ...

In 1979, WFMT was one of the first local FM stations to re-broadcast its programming via satellite. This feed was received by cable companies (who would re-broadcast WFMT's programming to their subscribers), as well as by home TVRO users of the time. Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Television receive-only, or TVRO, refers to satellite television reception equipment that is based primarily on open standards equipment. ...

In the 1980s, WFMT moved into the digital era, being chosen by Sony and Philips to be the first station in the world to broadcast music from a Compact Disc, thanks to the station's reputation for high audio standards. The station broadcast material from DAT (Digital Audio Tape) for the first time in 1987 and was once again chosen by Sony to broadcast from a MiniDisc, to demonstrate the subtle differences between an MD and a CD. The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $66. ... Philips HQ in Amsterdam Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics N.V.), usually known as Philips, (Euronext: PHIA, NYSE: PHG) is one of the largest electronics companies in the world, founded and headquartered in the Netherlands. ... CD redirects here. ... Digital audio tape can also refer to a compact cassette with digital storage. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... See also IBMs VM operating system family, where minidisk refers to a logical unit of storage. ...

References

98.7 WFMT 50th Anniversary: Fifty classic years. From The Archives - 2 CD set and liner notes.

See also

• WTTW

WTTW (Channel 11) is one of three PBS member stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on March 5, 1955 and is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications Inc. ...

External links

• WFMT Official Home Page
• Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin Home Page
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WFMT
• Radio Locator information on WFMT