Entity | WAMU

WAMU (88.5 FM) is a public news/talk station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by American University, and its studios are located near the campus in northwest Washington. WAMU has been the primary National Public Radio member station for Washington since 2007. WAMU began as an AM carrier-current student radio station, signing on July 28, 1951 on 1200 kHz, before shifting to 590 kHz in March 1952 and 610 kHz in November 1952. Although carrier-current stations are not granted a license or call sign by the FCC, it used "WAMU" as a familiar form of identification. The station aired a wide range of student-produced programming including music, news, sports, radio dramas, and debates. The station was heralded as a rebirth of the university's prior radio station, WAMC, which operated on 590 kHz for about two years starting on January 15, 1947, broadcasting with a 50-watt transmitter as part of a plan to offer a full range of radio and television courses at American University. WMAC's operations were sporadic and the station suffered interference from a 50,000-watt station broadcasting from Mexico on the same frequency, but it finally went off the air after station equipment was stolen in 1950.