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About WFSU

Timelapsed image from an elevated viewpoint showing downtown Tallahassee at night with the WFSU, PBS and NPR Logos int he top right.
Photograph of downtown Tallahassee, originally taken by Erich Martin.

WFSU Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What’s the difference between Commercial and Public Media?

Commercial media is making money by selling commercials and programming is designed to gain an audience. In public media, the content is primary, and it has an educational/informational purpose.

Q: Where does WFSU get its funding from and who are your sponsors?

Our funding comes through multiple sources—we receive funding from individual donors, from businesses that receive on-air recognition of that support (this is called underwriting), the federal government and state government, and from Florida State University. We have also received funding through grants from public and private donors and organizations to support our news-gathering and community outreach work.

Q: What is the focus of WFSU's News coverage?

Our focus is on keeping people up-to-date about the most important things happening in our community and our region. We prioritize local coverage and state government (due to Tallahassee being the state capital) we make those decisions based on the following values: Timeliness (when is something happening), Impact (how many and who is impact), Proximity (is it happening somewhere nearby), Conflict (what is the central point of tension), Uniqueness (is this rare or unusual), and Prominence (how well-known is this)?

Q: Are you affiliated with NPR and/or PBS?

Yes. WFSU is one of the original and oldest NPR member stations. The station pays fees to both NPR and PBS and other program distributors for the rights to broadcast programming. We also produce our own content and our decisions are editorially independent, meaning we make the choices for our locally created and produced programming and content for ourselves. We also decide what national programs to carry, though we do not have editorial control over that content.

Q: What's the goal of WFSU?

Our goal is to inform, entertain, and inspire. It’s the core of what we do. We are here to serve our community and to meet people where they are.

Q: Who owns WFSU?

The board of trustees of Florida State University owns our FCC license to broadcast.

Getting our Start

In May 1948, the concept of WFSU began when the new Florida State University Men's Government Association allocated funds for a campus radio station. On January 21, 1949, with call letters approved by the FCC, WFSU aired its first program as WFSU 660 (AM). Broadcasts included three hours per evening, Monday through Friday, of campus news, drama, interviews, and a disc jockey.

Initially, WFSU was a student-run station—its FCC license only allowed it to broadcast within the confines of FSU's campus. To encourage student listening, radios were put in each dormitory.

Programming expanded and the station grew, but in April of 1953, complaints from the surrounding community had forced WFSU temporarily off the air. The signal had been leaking off-campus and in the 1950s this was a 'no-no' for campus radio stations.

In the fall of 1953, WFSU applied for a low-power FM educational license to broadcast within a fifteen-mile radius of the campus. The "new" station, to feature cultural entertainment and music, was approved. Beginning in July of 1954, the revamped station, WFSU-FM 91.5, broadcast from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Soon after, WFSU moved to an 80-hour broadcast week. The station joined the National Association of Educational Broadcasters, gaining access to a national network of educational programming as well as the BBC and French Broadcasting Service.

A person sitting in front of a turntable while another person stands at a microphone with windows behind him.
One of the first photos of WFSU-AM shown in the 1949 FSU Student Handbook. WFSU radio began as an AM station in the Longmire Building run by students. (FSU Heritage Protocol).

Becoming an NPR-PBS member station

In 1955 the Florida Legislature established the Florida ETV Commission to coordinate and activate ETV stations throughout the state. One of the stations in the state plan was WFSU-TV Channel 11. On September 20, 1960, WFSU-TV began operations in a small studio on the campus of Florida State University. WFSU-TV began as a low-power signal that only partially covered Tallahassee. Most of the schedule included instructional television programming.

During the late 1960s, WFSU-TV began to expand its operations. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, created in 1967 by Congress, and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), formed in 1969, were instrumental to the station's growth. The concept of public television broadened the scope of programming offered by WFSU-T, resulting in larger audience interest.

Two men stand operating two television cameras with headsets while a third stand between them holding a folder.
Photograph from the early years of WFSU television in the 1960s.

In 1970 the station became one of 90 charter members of National Public Radio (NPR) and later carried the inaugural broadcasts of All Things Considered.

Throughout its early history, WFSU occupied several areas across campus. In 1982 WFSU-FM followed WFSU-TV to the new five-and-a-half-million-dollar broadcast center near the FSU golf course.

Throughout its history, WFSU has been honored with numerous prestigious awards for journalism, professionalism, reporting, documentary and news. Additionally, WFSU staff proudly remember the period from 1981 to 1991 when Red Barber, a regular Friday feature on NPR's Morning Edition, hosted directly from WFSU's studios in Tallahassee. In 1993, a year after Barber's death, the entrance to WFSU was dedicated to Red Barber by Bob Edwards, Barber's NPR cohort. WFSU-TV Studios also hosted the nationally syndicated Body Electric Program.

older man sitting at a desk next to a microphone
From 1981 to 1991, Red Barber was a regular on NPR's Morning Edition and hosted via WFSU's radio studio.

WFSU Today

Today, WFSU is a growing organization with many different departments, roles and functions. While WFSU is vast, our community focus remains our top priority.

  • Radio

    WFSU radio provides Tallahassee, Panama City and the surrounding communities with daily up-to-date news and information on both 88.9 FM (Tallahassee) and 89.1 FM (Panama City). (Complete channel lineup of WFSU radio services.)

    WFSU also produces local radio news, information, and programming. Local long-format programs include: Speaking Of, a weekly local affairs talk show, and Capital Report, a weekly magazine-style program highlighting news and information from around the State of Florida.

    Classical Music

    On 91.5, WFSQ-FM (Tallahassee)/90.7 WFSL-FM (Thomasville) listeners will find classical music and music programs 24 hours a day.

    A man and woman are pictured in the foreground in-front of an array of digital audio equipment within an audio studio. In the background, four other individuals sit around a table, within the recording studio, recording the Tally Benchwarmers podcast
    Behind the scenes snapshot of the recording of the Tally Bench Warmers podcast; February 18th, 2025.

  • Television
    Camera operator is pictured from behind with state representative forum occuring in the background with American and Florida flags and red and blue lighting.
    Snapshot from the State Representative District 9 Candidate Forum hosted by WFSU October 11th, 2024.

    WFSU operates two FCC-licensed broadcast stations: WFSU in Tallahassee and WFSG in Panama City. Both stations commonly use the name WFSU Public Media.

    WFSU's television lineup includes PBS KIDS, PBS national programming, Create-TV, The Florida Channel (a state government-based programming service of WFSU-TV).

    While WFSU utilizes the programming available through PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), we also locally produce television content. Many of our television programs and segments are available to view online or by using the PBS app on your smart-tv or mobile device. Users must be localized to WFSU Public Media.

    Get more information about WFSU's channel lineup.


  • Education Outreach

    WFSU employs a staff dedicated to The Learning Neighborhood, an overarching theme that supports Family & Community Learning and more. Primarily, this model for multi-generational hands-on family engagement is designed to support emergent literacy skills, critical thinking, science curiosity, and civics understanding among children and families. WFSU, in partnership with PBS, PBS KIDS, and CPB, provides educational programming and curriculum resources packed with full activity plans, supporting materials for facilitators, links to related video and digital media, and additional take-home materials to support ongoing family engagement. Our programs are open to all learners and their families.

    You can learn more about our education outreach programs here.

    Two women stand next to, and one sits at, a table with a WFSU and PBS Kids table cloth with various coloring art supplies on top and large WFSU Public Media banner with a drone image of the station behind them.
    WFSU hosts an annual Be My Neighbor Day with various kid friendly activities.

  • The Florida Channel

    The FLORIDA Channel is a public affairs programming service funded by the Florida Legislature and located on the 9th floor of the Florida Capitol. It is produced and operated by WFSU-TV. The Florida Channel features live, unedited coverage of the Governor and Cabinet, the state Legislature, and the Florida Supreme Court.

    Today, the FLORIDA Channel produces more than 2,500 hours of original programming that can be seen on PBS multicast channels, cable systems and public, education, and government access channels across the state. The FLORIDA Channel also broadcasts live coverage of briefings from the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.

    You can learn more about the FLORIDA Channel here.


  • Florida Public Radio Emergency Network

    FPREN is a public safety and emergency alerting service covering the entire state of Florida through a collective of 14 public media broadcasters. We provide Floridians with the latest information regarding severe weather events including, but not limited to, hurricanes, tropical storms, flooding, wildfires, and freezes. Operating from WUFT-TV/FM at the University of Florida, FPREN provides partner stations with live-action and pre-produced content for all media platforms 24/7/365. FPREN’s broadcast station partners operate with resilient infrastructure to ensure they remain on the air to serve audiences even when other forms of communication (such as cell phones, internet, and social media) are not operable.

    You can learn more about FPREN here.


  • Florida Center for Interactive Media

    At the Florida Center for Interactive Media, we take pride in being a part of one of the nation's top public research institutions. Our suite of comprehensive services includes customized content development, interactive online courses, integrated data systems, high-stakes and adaptive assessment development, game-based learning, and intervention experiences. We invite you to partner with our team to plan, design, create, and implement solutions to meet your needs!

    FCIM began at Tallahassee Community College in 1997, with a two-person team and a partnership with the Florida Department of Education. In 2004, we moved to Florida State University and became a self-supporting center. Over the years, FCIM has grown to include over 50 people and has a diverse portfolio of partnerships consisting of state, federal, and privately owned organizations.

    You can learn more about FCIM here.


Coverage Map Overview

An artist's rendering of the WFSU FM coverage area showing a map of NW Florida with overlaid circles.
An artist's rendering of the WFSU FM coverage area.
WFSU-FM: News & Information

Tallahassee - 88.9 FM
Downtown Tallahassee - 93.7 FM
Apalachicola - 96.7 FM
Carrabelle - 97.1 FM

WFSQ-FM: Classical

Tallahassee - 91.5 FM
NE Tallahassee - 92.7 FM
Thomasville - 90.7 FM (WFSL-FM)

WFSW-FM: News & Information

Panama City - 89.1 FM
Marianna - 106.1 FM
Port St. Joe - 91.1 FM

icon depicting a radio with a signal antenna and music symbols above it. Radio Streaming Online

WFSU-TV

WFSU's broadcast signal reaches from as far west as Okaloosa County in Florida (WFSG), and as far east as Taylor and Madison Counties. WFSU also reaches into most of South Georgia's western counties.
FCC Gain/Loss Map WFSU
FCC Gain/Loss Map WFSG

Television streaming online via the WFSU/PBS App