WFPL

On February 20, 1950, WFPL first signed on the air. It began operating as a public radio station under the ownership of the Louisville Free Public Library, giving the station the distinction of being the first library-owned radio station in the country. Founded years before the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and National Public Radio's creation in 1970,[1] the station was made possible by the donation of equipment by the Bingham family, who owned The Courier-Journal and WHAS (840 AM) radio at the time.

Originally airing a mix of school lessons and classical music, it ceded classical music to WFPK when it signed on in 1954. Gradually, the station began airing news, drama, and old radio shows–something approximating the format of what would eventually become full-service public radio. By the 1980s, WFPL had evolved into a typical full-service NPR member station, airing a mix of news, talk, jazz, bluegrass, and blues. However, with the expansion of NPR programming in the 1990s, WFPL found it difficult to shoehorn the new programming onto its schedule. A solution came when the Free Public Library partnered with the University of Louisville to create the Public Radio Partnership, now Louisville Public Media. Starting on January 8, 1996; WFPL ceded almost all of its remaining music programming to WFPK, becoming an NPR news talk station.[1] Like its sister stations, WFPL broadcasts an HD radio signal.[3]

In 1951 WFPL won a George Foster Peabody award for public service.[1]

• WFPK
• WUOL-FM

• WFPL website
• WFPL in the FCC FM station database
• WFPL on Radio-Locator
• WFPL in Nielsen Audio's FM station database