WTMD

WTMD
Broadcast area Baltimore, Maryland
Towson, Maryland
Washington DC
Branding 89.7 WTMD
Slogan Radio for Music People
Frequency 89.7 (MHz)
First air date September 1976
Format AAA
ERP 10,000 watts
HAAT 72 meters
Class B1
Facility ID 67461
Callsign meaning Towson Maryland
Former callsigns WCVT (1974–1991)[1]
Owner Towson University
Webcast Listen Live
Website www.wtmd.org

WTMD is a radio station licensed to and located at Towson University in Towson, Maryland. It is one of only a few locally owned radio stations in Towson and Baltimore. WTMD has one of the largest listening audiences of any public radio station in Maryland.[2]

History

The station plays adult album alternative (AAA), a mix of indie rock, rock, folk and alternative country. A smooth jazz format debuted in June 1991, after fifteen years as student-operated progressive rock station WCVT.[3] The current AAA programming dates to 2003.[4]

WTMD is a strong supporter of the Baltimore/Washington local music scene. WTMD broadcasts the program "Baltimore Unsigned". This hour-long program airs on Tuesday nights at 9:00 PM and includes only local music.[5] Each week, a band or singer interviewed and plays live. The show is hosted by Sam Sessa who also writes for the Baltimore Sun.

First Thursday Concerts in the Park

WTMD produces First Thursday Concerts in the Park, a series of six free after work shows at West Mount Vernon Park in downtown Baltimore, and starting in 2014, Canton Waterfront Park.[6] Artists like The Damnwells, Joan Osborne, Los Lonely Boys, LP, Steve Forbert, The Colour, The Young Dubliners and others have performed, attracting crowds of about 3,000.

The 2013 calendar includes performances by artists The Lone Below, Alpha Rev, The Wild Feathers, and the Kopecky Family Band. As of 2013, First Thursday attendance has dramatically increased, doubling from previous years to draw 6,000 to 7,000 attendees.[7][8]

The 2014 calendar includes artists such as Joan Osborne, Joseph Arthur, Marah, Los Lonely Boys, Spanish Gold, LP, Grizfolk, Strand of Oaks, Lydia Loveless, Moon Taxi, The Whigs, JD McPherson, The Hold Steady, Hamilton Leithauser, and Among Wolves. [6]

Relationship with Washington

WTMD partnered with WAMU in Washington, D.C. whereby WAMU rebroadcasts WTMD on their second HD Radio digital subchannel. This brought back independent music radio to Washington for the first time since WHFS dropped its alternative rock format in 2005. In fact, this partnership was recognized and praised by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner McDowell in his remarks when the Commission voted to make HD multicasting permanent. WTMD was simulcast full-time on WAMU-HD2 until September 2007, when WAMU removed all music programming from its primary signal and flipped the HD2 subchannel to Americana and bluegrass-formatted "Bluegrass Country".[9] The simulcast moved to overnights and weekends on WAMU-HD3; in 2010, the WTMD-programmed blocks were flipped to content from XPoNential Radio.[10]

WTMD also broadcast on FM translator W288BS, located in the Washington suburb of Great Falls, Virginia on 105.5 FM. This translator was fed by WAMU's HD signal and began relaying Bluegrass Country in October 2008.[11]

Accomplishments

  • WTMD has been voted Best Radio station in Baltimore by the City Paper for three years in a row.[12][13]

References

  1. ↑  ‹Template:FCC history cards is deprecated.›FCC History Cards for WTMD
  2. ↑ Top 10 with a bullet - WTMD gaining listener, industry ears
  3. ↑ "Towson State's WCVT plans to change call letters, format". Baltimore Sun. 9 May 1991.
  4. ↑ "WTMD's New Home to Add Performance Space, Studios". Towson, MD Patch. 28 March 2012.
  5. ↑ http://wtmd.org/radio/sample-page/baltimore-unsigned/
  6. 1 2 Case, Wesley (2014, April 03) Higher-profile acts on tap as WTMD's First Thursdays moves. The Hold Steady, The Mowgli's will join concert series as it relocates to Canton Waterfront Park. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  7. ↑ http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-05-02/entertainment/bs-ae-first-thursdays-return-20130426_1_first-thursdays-wtmd-station
  8. ↑ http://wtmd.org/radio/first-thursday-concerts-in-the-park/
  9. ↑ "WAMU Multicasting Gets 'Real' With Planned HD3 Launch, Receiver Giveaways". Radio World. 14 September 2007.
  10. ↑ "WAMU-FM changes schedule; adds "Intersection"". Radio & Television Business Report. 2 August 2010.
  11. ↑ Hughes, Dave (28 October 2008). "[WAMU has not quite given its blessing to...]". DCRTV.
  12. ↑ Best of Baltimore 2003 | Best "College" Radio Station: WTMD (89.7 FM)
  13. ↑ Best of Baltimore 2003 | Best Local Radio Show: Polka Hop, WTMD (89.7 FM)

Coordinates: 39°23′46″N 76°36′29″W / 39.396°N 76.608°W / 39.396; -76.608

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