WHFR-FM 89.3

Operating at 89.3 MHz, this non-commercial FM station is owned by Henry Ford College and run by students under faculty guidance. Its studios are housed in the college's Student Center, and the transmitter is located on campus near Evergreen Road. The station broadcasts a wide-ranging variety format that includes alternative and modern rock, big band, urban gospel, Americana, folk, blues, hip-hop, jazz, space rock, urban rock, and world music. Programming emphasizes new releases, independent record labels, and local artists. During late night and early morning hours, the station carries classical music through the satellite-delivered Classical 24 service. A weekly public affairs program is also produced in-house. The station's origins trace to 1962, when it began as a student radio club operating a public address system to the college dining room. The club's long-term goal was to establish a licensed broadcast station. The administration applied for an FM license from the Federal Communications Commission in 1978, received the grant in 1979, and completed the construction, staffing, and budgeting necessary to sign on in 1985. The station initially broadcast six hours a day, six days a week, with all programming prerecorded. Live programming began in 1987, and by 1988 the schedule had expanded to twelve hours daily, prompting a move of equipment and the music library to the college's Fine Arts Center. Continuous twenty-four-hour broadcasting has been sustained since 1997.