WEAA

WEAA
Broadcast area Baltimore, Maryland
Branding Morgan State University Radio
Slogan "The Voice of the Community"
Frequency 88.9 MHz
First air date January 10, 1977 (1977-01-10)
Format public radio
ERP 12,500 watts
HAAT 67 meters
Class B1
Facility ID 43794
Transmitter coordinates 39°20′31″N 76°35′13″W / 39.342°N 76.587°W / 39.342; -76.587
Callsign meaning "We Educate African Americans"[1]
Affiliations NPR, NFCB
Owner Morgan State University
Website weaa.org

WEAA (88.9 FM) is a non-profit, National Public Radio affiliate station that serves the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area. It is licensed and owned by Morgan State University. WEAA was named 1999 Jazz Station of the Year by Gavin Magazine.[2]

The station has been noted for its willingness to host intense discussions of issues like racism and sexuality.[3]

Although WEAA is based at Morgan State, most of its staff are non-students, and it serves a larger community within Baltimore. However, the station does take on many student interns and volunteers, who learn skills connected to radio broadcasting.[4]

History

WEAA went live on 10 January 1977.

White Baltimore activist Robert Kaufman accused WEAA of reverse racism in 1998 when they turned down his offer to host a show for free. Kaufman's complaint with the Maryland Commission on Human Rights was unsuccessful.[5]

In 2007, a coalition of WEAA listeners took to the streets in protest when "The Powers Report" with Tyrone Powers went off the air. Powers and his supporters alleged that newly elected governor Martin O'Malley had used his political clout to force Powers off the air in retaliation for critical remarks.[6] Powers filed a lawsuit alleging that O'Malley ordered him fired, with WEAA manager Donald Lockett and NAACP president Kweisi Mfume acting as intermediaries.[7][8] O'Malley and Mfume denied the allegations completely.[9]

In 2008, WEAA hired Marc Steiner (after Steiner's dismissal from WYPR)[10] and began running Democracy Now!. These changes increased the ratio of news to music and added white voices, prompting observers to ask, "Will whites listen to a majority black station?"[11] In the following months, WEAA gained 20,000 listeners for a total of 100,000.[10]

Current programs

Programs produced in-house at WEAA

Public Affairs programming

  • The Marc Steiner Show hosted by Marc Steiner and produced by the Center for Emerging Media
  • First Edition with journalist Sean Yoes[12]
  • Keep It Moving with Marsha Jews
  • Wealthy Radio with Deborah Owens
  • Urban Health Beat with Marilyn Harris-Davis
  • The Anthony McCarthy Show with Anthony McCarthy[13]
  • Listen Up! and Final Call Radio with Farajii Muhammad[14]
  • The Caribbean Affair with Neil Mattei[15]
  • Africa and Worldbeat
  • Briefcase Radio with Omar Muhammad
  • The Ellison Report with political analyst Charles D. Ellison[16]
  • The Rise of Charm City

Music programming

  • The Baltimore Blend hosted by Baltimore drummer and musician Robert Shahid and co-hosted by Mykel Hunter[17]
  • The Hip Hop Chronicles hosted and produced by Mike Nyce with contributions from Dr. Jared Ball and the Chuck D[18]
  • In the Groove and Cool Jazz Countdown with Marcellus Bassman Shepard
  • Reggae, Roots & Culture with Papa Wabe
  • Cool Vibes For Your Midday with Sandi Mallory
  • Fiesta Musical with Guillermo Brown
  • In the Tradition with George Doc Manning
  • Jazz Straight Ahead produced and hosted by John Tegler and currently hosted by his two sons Eric Tegler and Jan Tegler[19]
  • Blues in the Night and Turning Back the Hands of Time with host James Big Jim Staton[20]
  • The Friday Night Jazz Club with Angela Thorpe and DJ Phaze[21]
  • Strictly Hip Hop Baltimore's longest running underground hip-hop show which originated in 1990.
  • Gospel Grace

Syndicated programs on WEAA

Past programs

  • The Michael Eric Dyson Show (2010–2012)[23]
  • The Powers Report with Tyrone Powers (–2007)
  • Underground Experience with Oji Morris and Brian Pope (1989–2002)[24]
  • Sisters Circle with Nalonga Sayyed and Faraja Lewis
  • Dialogue with the African-American Male with Richard Rowe and Earl El-Amin

See also

References

  1. ↑ WEAA music director Narius Coleman, quoted in Organizational Change (2011).
  2. ↑ WEAA. "About WEAA". WEAA.org. Baltimore, MD. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  3. ↑ Rob Hiassen, "WEAA's companion talk shows don't mince words", Baltimore Sun, 23 February 1994, p. 1C.
  4. ↑ Sandy Alexander, "Campus stations claim niche in radio market", Baltimore Sun, 21 April 2002.
  5. ↑ Michael Olesker, "It's a sound argument for radio stations", Baltimore Sun, 11 May 1998.
  6. ↑ Gregory Kane, "Defense of ousted radio host heats up". Baltimore Sun, 31 January 2007, p. 1B.
  7. ↑ Gregory Kane, "Lawsuit airs story on loss of air time", Baltimore Sun, 23 January 2008.
  8. ↑ Rev. Heber Brown, III, "Gubernatorial Pressure Pushes Powers Off The Air", Faith in Action, 27 January 2007.
  9. ↑ Gregory Kane, "A little light might clear the air over radio show", Baltimore Sun, 27 January 2007.
  10. 1 2 Evan Serpick, "Radio Static", Baltimore magazine, February 2009.
  11. ↑ Chris Kaltenbach, "Hiring Steiner Dovetails With Overall WEAA Plan", Baltimore Sun, 18 May 2008.
  12. ↑ "First Edition with Sean Yoes". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  13. ↑ "The Anthony McCarthy Show (Talk)". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  14. ↑ "Listen Up!". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  15. ↑ "The Caribbean Affair". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  16. ↑ "The Ellison Report". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  17. ↑ "The Baltimore Blend". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  18. ↑ "The Hip-Hop Chronicles". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  19. ↑ "Jazz Straight Ahead". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  20. ↑ "Blues in the Night". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  21. ↑ "The Friday Night Jazz Club". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  22. ↑ "(NPR) Latino USA". weaa.org. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  23. ↑ Richard Prince, Michael Eric Dyson Quits Radio Show, Urban Radio Nation, 13 March 2012.
  24. ↑ Bret McCabe, Clearing the Air: WEAA Moves Out of the Underground, CityPaper, 27 February 2002.

Coordinates: 39°20′31″N 76°35′13″W / 39.342°N 76.587°W / 39.342; -76.587

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