WAIF-FM 88.3

WAIF (88.3 FM) is a community radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio, operating as an all-volunteer broadcaster since going on the air in 1975. Organizational work for the station began in 1973, and rather than waiting for an open frequency, the founders arranged to share the 88.3 MHz frequency with the local vocational school's station, WJVS. Under that arrangement, WJVS broadcast during school hours while WAIF filled all remaining airtime. The shared frequency arrangement continued until WJVS ceased operations on May 10, 2012, following transmitter failure. WAIF is governed by a Board of Trustees composed of between seven and eleven members, elected to two-year terms at an annual membership meeting each September. The Board appoints staff and station management. Over its history, more than a thousand volunteer programmers, producers, and activists have contributed content to the station. Transmission coverage is affected by the hilly local terrain but reaches within the Cincinnati-area I-275 beltway, extending into Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana. The station also streams online. Programming spans an unusually wide range of musical formats including gospel, jazz, doo-wop, bluegrass, blues, surf music, hip-hop, folk, Caribbean, and independent music. Talk programming covers current affairs, labor, women's issues, racial issues, and international perspectives. Ethnic heritage programs serve German, Italian, and other communities. The station's motto is "What Radio Is Meant To Be." In 2025, WAIF marked its fiftieth year of continuous broadcasting.