WKNO FM 91.1

A public radio station serving the Mid-South region of the United States, operating as the flagship of a two-station network. The companion station, WKNP 90.1, serves the Jackson, Tennessee area. Both stations are owned and operated by the Mid-South Public Communications Foundation, a non-profit organization governed by a volunteer board of trustees that also oversees the region's public television outlet. The flagship broadcasts at 91.1 MHz with a signal reaching approximately 50 miles from its base, covering the southwestern corner of Tennessee, eastern Arkansas, the extreme southern portions of the Missouri Bootheel, and northwestern Mississippi. Programming combines local fine arts and classical music productions with national content from NPR, Public Radio International, and American Public Media. The station's history begins in 1970, when the Memphis Community Television Foundation — owner of the television station since 1956 — applied to the FCC to build a public radio outlet. The application was granted in February 1971, and broadcasting commenced on June 26, 1971, at a celebration marking the television station's 15th anniversary. Regular operations began in earnest in March 1972. The original studios were at Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis); in 1979 they relocated to a southern annex on Getwell Road. In November 2009, both radio and television operations moved into purpose-built all-digital studios in the Memphis suburb of Cordova. Early programming consisted almost entirely of classical music, with NPR news broadcasts later becoming a significant part of the schedule.