Alabama Public Radio
Alabama Public Radio is a network of public radio stations based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, that serves roughly the western half of the state of Alabama with classical music, folk music, jazz, and nostalgic music programs, as well as news and feature programs from the National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and American Public Media networks. The network is operated by the University of Alabama, with studios in Tuscaloosa.
Since the station is licensed to a university, students in the UA College of Communication and Information Sciences get opportunities for practical training in announcing and other varied production duties. Nonetheless, APR maintains a small professional staff, as well as several volunteer announcers from the larger community. The Alabama Public Radio newsroom has recently won over 50 awards for journalism excellence, one third of which are at the national and international levels. This includes RTDNA's national Edward R. Murrow award for Overall Excellence. The APR news team also works extensively with journalism students at the University of Alabama. Newsroom student interns typically put in 750 hours of work, which results in 142 minutes of Alabama-centric news, which airs statewide. This provides students with valuable real-life experience, and material for their resumes.
History
The University of Alabama established WUAL-FM in January 1982 as the state's fifth public radio station. It emphasized service to the immediate western Alabama area in its first several years, since most of the region had no other access to NPR programming. However, UA soon realized the potential for expansion into other parts of the state without NPR service. Since Birmingham, Huntsville, southeastern Alabama, and Mobile already had existing stations, WUAL and UA officials focused on developing relay transmitters to send WUAL's signal into northwestern and south central Alabama. Thus, WQPR, originally a joint project with the University of North Alabama in Florence, appeared in the late 1980s. It was followed in the early 1990s by WAPR, which is a joint venture of Alabama State University, Troy University and UA.In September 2007, WQPR received a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to assist in its conversion from analog to digital broadcasting.
In 2011, due to the desire of owner Spring Hill College to exit public broadcasting, Spring Hill's NPR member station, WHIL-FM in Mobile, joined APR, effective July 1. That station had been affected, like many throughout the country, by declining listener contributions, which influenced the College to sell the 32-year-old outlet.
APR's studios have been housed in various locations on campus. They were first located on Bryce Lawn Drive and moved to Phifer Hall around 1990. In February 2014 they moved to the University's Digital Media Center, a facility located inside Bryant–Denny Stadium that houses WVUA-CD, the Center for Public Television and Radio, and Crimson Tide Productions.
APR stations
Four stations currently comprise the network:| Location | Frequency | Call sign | ERP W | Height m | Coverage | FCC info |
| Tuscaloosa | 91.5 FM | WUAL-FM | 100,000 watts | Birmingham to Mississippi state line | ||
| Muscle Shoals | 88.7 FM | WQPR | 20,000 watts | Northwestern Alabama to Decatur | ||
| Selma | 88.3 FM | WAPR | 53,000 watts | Black Belt, Montgomery | ||
| Mobile | 91.3 FM | WHIL | 100,000 watts | Southern Alabama, Gulf Coast |
WLJS-FM, the student-operated station of Jacksonville State University which broadcasts to eastern central Alabama, simulcasts the first hour of classical music on APR each weekday. No other affiliations, either in personnel or in programming, exist between the two entities.
Translators
In addition to the full-power stations, Alabama Public Radio relays its signal via a low-powered translator to widen its broadcast area. The translator station was transferred to Edgewater Broadcasting, Inc under the authority of Summit Media and is a translator of , with an effective radiated power of at a height above ground level of .Also, the WQPR signal has a translator that covers the Huntsville-Decatur market on 100.7 FM.
Weekday hosts
- Alex AuBuchon and Pat Duggins--Morning Edition
- David Duff and Bob Woodman--daytime classical music
- Stan Ingold--All Things Considered, Marketplace, The Daily, Fresh Air
Local specialty programs
- All Things Acoustica play on the title of NPR's flagship news broadcast, this show explores the wide variety of traditional and contemporary folk music and ethnic sounds, plus the singer-songwriter genre as well. UA professor Jeremy Butler hosts the program, heard on Friday evenings. This program debuted in 1993.
- Jugs, Jukes and Jazzlong-running program featuring jazz, ragtime, Dixieland, and big band sounds from the earliest recordings through about the 1960s or so. Tom Halladay helmed this show from the beginnings of APR history until 2019. The program was heard for many years on Saturday afternoons and shifted to Sunday evenings until Halladay retired from radio.
- Bama BluegrassJeff Miller is the current host of this similarly enduring show, which features artists from the Bluegrass and "old-time" country music scenes. The program, heard early Saturday evenings, is especially popular with older, rural listeners. Miller also hosts the Flashpoint Bluegrass Radio Show on worldwidebluegrass.com
- The CroonersSunday-evening show featuring vocalists performing big band and swing music from the 1930s through the 1950s. Former APR staff announcer Dale Owen continues his involvement with the network as host of this program.
- Getting Sentimental Over Yousimilar to the above program, but emphasizing instrumentals rather than vocals. The program immediately precedes "The Crooners" and is hosted by Dave Clark.