WKSU HD4

A subchannel of WKSU, a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Kent, Ohio, broadcasting at 89.7 FM. WKSU is owned by Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media, serving as the primary NPR affiliate for the Akron metro area, Greater Cleveland, and much of Northeast Ohio. The station also affiliates with American Public Media, the Public Radio Exchange, and the BBC World Service. Its signal is extended across a wide region through five full-power repeaters, two low-power translators, and two on-channel boosters, reaching the Canton, Mansfield, Lorain, Ashtabula, Sandusky, New Philadelphia, and Wooster areas. The station traces its origins to a radio training workshop established at Kent State University that supplied programming to commercial stations. After a pause during World War II, the project resumed and formally became WKSU in 1950, making it one of the first educational FM stations in the United States. It became an NPR affiliate in 1973 and expanded its influence into the Cleveland market between 1978 and 1984, serving as the region's primary NPR information outlet. Following a public service operating agreement with Ideastream that took effect on October 1, 2021, WKSU merged operations with WCPN and emerged as the surviving entity, with studios relocated to the Idea Center within Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland. The transmitter is located in Copley Township. In addition to standard analog broadcasting, the station carries four HD Radio subchannels and streams online. Programming has historically emphasized news, public affairs, classical music, and weekend folk music. Current content includes Ohio-focused reporting covering environment, energy, politics, and community affairs, alongside national NPR programming.