WUOT FM 91.9

A noncommercial educational radio station licensed to Knoxville, Tennessee, operating as "UT Public Radio" and serving as the NPR member station for the Knoxville metropolitan area and much of Eastern Tennessee. Owned by the University of Tennessee, the station broadcasts a programming mix of news, classical music, and jazz drawn from NPR, American Public Media, and Public Radio Exchange. Studios are located in the 209 Communications Building on the UT campus at Circle Park Drive, with the transmitter situated in Sharp's Ridge Memorial Park off Interstate 640. The station's origins trace to June 1949, when the University of Tennessee applied to the FCC for a construction permit. The idea was reportedly championed by future U.S. Senator Howard Baker during his student government campaign at UTK. The FCC approved the application within a month, and the university acquired equipment from the defunct commercial station WKPB, which had broadcast on 93.3 FM from October 1947 until April 1949 before closing amid uncertainty over television's rise. WUOT signed on October 27, 1949, initially broadcasting five and a half hours daily with a student-operated staff of two. Early programming centered on informational content, classical music, and student activity reports. The station has grown significantly since those early days, now maintaining a professional news staff covering East Tennessee and Appalachian regional affairs while distributing national and international coverage through its NPR affiliation.