Editing WRR (FM)

{{Short description|Radio station in Dallas}}
{{redirect|WRR-FM|the radio station in Philippines|DWRR-FM}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name = WRR
| city = [[Dallas]], Texas
| country = US
| logo = WRR-Full-Color.png
| logo_upright = 1 
| image = KERAstudiosandofficescomplex.jpg
| area = [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex]]
| frequency = {{frequency|101.1|[[MHz]]}} {{HD Radio}}
| branding = WRR
| format = Classical music
| owner = [[Dallas City Hall|City of Dallas]] 
| operator = North Texas Public Broadcasting, Inc.
| sister_stations = [[KERA (FM)]], [[KERA-TV]], [[KKXT]]
| airdate = {{start date and age|1949|10|14}}<ref name="hc">{{cite web |title=FCC History Cards for WRR (FCC.gov)|url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=83074}}</ref>
| former_callsigns = WRR-FM (1949–1978)
| callsign_meaning = Inherited from former 1310 AM sister station [[KTCK (AM)|WRR]]
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| facility_id = 11451
| class = C
| erp = 100,000 watts
| haat = {{Convert|508|m|ft}}
| coordinates = {{Coord|32|35|19|N|96|58|05|W|format=dms|display=inline,title|type:landmark_region:US-TX}}
| webcast = {{listenlive|https://www.wrr101.org/listen/}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.wrr101.org/}}
}}
'''WRR''' (101.1 [[MHz]]) is a listener-supported, [[non-commercial educational station|non-commercial]] [[FM radio]] station in [[Dallas]], Texas, United States, which provides a full-time [[classical music]] [[radio format]]. While the station is [[Municipality|municipally]]-owned by the City of Dallas, it is operated by North Texas Public Broadcasting, the owner of [[NPR]] member [[KERA (FM)|KERA]] (90.1 FM), [[adult album alternative]] station [[KKXT]] (91.7 FM), and [[PBS]] member [[KERA-TV]] (channel 13). WRR's studios are in the [[Fair Park]] complex in [[South Dallas]].

WRR is a [[list of broadcast station classes|Class C]] station. It has an [[effective radiated power]] (ERP) of 100,000 watts, and transmits an [[HD Radio]] signal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/fmpower |access-date=November 15, 2018|title=FMpower - Find ERP for an FM Station Class (FCC.gov)|date=December 17, 2015}}</ref> The station's [[transmitter]] is located on West Belt Line Road in [[Cedar Hill, Texas|Cedar Hill]].

Over the years, private broadcasters in the [[Dallas–Fort Worth]] [[radio market]] have made numerous but unsuccessful calls for [[privatizing]] the station. In January 2023, it transitioned from a [[commercial radio]] station to non-profit and listener-supported.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/247098/wrr-sets-new-lineup-following-non-commercial-conversion-under-kera/|website=RadioInsight.com|title=WRR Sets New Line Up Following Non-Commercial Conversion Under KERA|date=January 6, 2023|accessdate=April 18, 2024}}</ref>

==History==
===Early years===
WRR-FM began experimental broadcasts in 1948. It officially [[signed on]] the air on {{Start date and age|October 14, 1949}}.<ref>[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1951/Radio%20NE%20Ter%20BC%20YB%201951%20B&W-9.pdf#page=98 ''Broadcasting Yearbook''], 1951 edition, page 296.</ref> It began as a [[sister station]] to WRR (now [[KTCK (AM)|KTCK]] [[1310 AM]]), which is the oldest station in Dallas, first licensed for municipal and police transmissions on August 5, 1921.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221816&view=1up&seq=560 "New Stations: Commercial Land Stations"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', September 1, 1921. Limited Commercial license with the randomly assigned call letters WRR was issued to "City of Dallas (Police and Fire Signal Dept.)", which authorized transmissions on the wavelengths of 400, 450 and 500 meters (750, 667 and 600&nbsp;kHz.)</ref> It received an [[AM band]] broadcasting station license on March 13, 1922.<ref>[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WRR_radio,_Dallas,_Texas,_March_13,_1922_license.pdf WRR March 13, 1922 license] Limited Commercial license, serial No. 213, issued to the City of Dallas on March 13, 1922, for a three-month period for broadcasting on 360 and 485 meters.</ref>

In its first few decades, WRR-FM would mostly [[simulcast]] its AM counterpart. The stations were [[network affiliate]]s of the [[Mutual Broadcasting System]] and carried its schedule of comedies, dramas, news and sports during the "[[Golden Age of Radio]]". WRR-AM-FM later switched to the [[NBC Red Network]].

===Classical music===
As network programming shifted to television, WRR-FM began airing classical music full time, while the AM station concentrated on news, talk and information. The City of Dallas sold WRR 1310 to [[Bonneville International]] in 1978, which switched the [[call sign]] to KAAM.  Meanwhile, the Dallas government kept WRR-FM, which continued its classical format.<ref>[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1979/C-2%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201979-12.pdf#page=81 ''Broadcasting Yearbook''], 1979 edition, page C-213.</ref>

Also in the 1970s, the station increased its power to 100,000 watts, from its previous output of 68,000 watts.<ref>[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1980/C-2%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201980.pdf#page=84 ''Broadcasting Yearbook''], 1980 edition, page C-221.</ref>

===Dallas City Council===
As part of its municipal ownership, WRR began broadcasting Dallas City Council meetings in 1978. They usually took place every other Wednesday at 9&nbsp;a.m. In later years, however, [[Portable People Meter]] (PPM) evidence showed that the meetings, which interrupted the classical format, caused a significant drop in the station's ratings. The station averages more than 11,000 listeners on weekdays, according to [[Nielsen Audio]]; that number dropped to 1,900 during council meetings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 19, 2018|title=PPM Ratings Cited To Justify WRR Dropping City Council Meetings. |url=https://www.insideradio.com/free/ppm-ratings-cited-to-justify-wrr-dropping-city-council-meetings/article_39ca3b6e-ebc7-11e8-b7cc-b3dad2891a7b.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=Insideradio.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2018, station management was able to convince the city council to end the broadcasts. The meetings are still available on cable television in Dallas, as well as online.

In July 2021, the Dallas city government began seeking applications for a new management structure for WRR. Due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Texas|COVID-19 pandemic]], advertising revenue dropped; prior to the pandemic, however, the station had been losing money for eight years, per a press release issued by the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.<ref>[https://dallasculture.org/2021/07/wrr-classical-music-radio-station-statement/ DallasCulture.org "WRR Statement"]</ref> The statement said the city government believes steps are needed "to ensure it remains a City-owned classical music format radio station". In recent years, most classical music stations in large U.S. cities have switched from commercial operations to listener-supported models, including [[WQXR-FM]] in New York City, [[KDFC]] in San Francisco, [[WCRB]] in [[Boston]] and [[KING-FM]] in [[Seattle]]. WRR was one of the few classical stations to earn its revenue from advertisers. In June 2022, Dallas City Council voted to award management of the station to North Texas Public Broadcasting, which runs [[KERA (FM)]], changing the funding model from commercial to sponsorships while continuing to broadcast classical music.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 9, 2022 |title=KERA to manage Dallas-owned classical radio station WRR |url=https://www.fox4news.com/news/kera-to-manage-dallas-owned-classical-radio-station-wrr |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=FOX 4 |language=en-US}}</ref> WRR dropped its remaining brokered programming on November 25, and transitioned to KERA management on January 3, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WRR To Go Classical Christmas Ahead Of Non-Comm Shift |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/245089/wrr-to-go-classical-christmas-ahead-of-non-comm-shift/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |website=RadioInsight |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Unusual callsign===
While most radio stations in Texas have four-letter [[call sign]]s beginning with a K, this station has three-letter callsign beginning with a W. Many stations going on the air in the early 1920s received three-letter call signs. The AM station with which WRR-FM had once been partnered dates back to 1921. WRR (AM) was the first licensed radio station west of the Mississippi and among the earliest in the country.

With the introduction of land-based U.S. radio station licensing in late 1912, it had been the practice to assign call signs starting with "K" in the west and "W" in the east.<ref>[https://earlyradiohistory.us/kwtrivia.htm "K/W Call Letters in the United States"] by Thomas H. White.</ref>  (Ship-based stations were just the opposite.) The original boundary line was located along the Texas-New Mexico border, and it wasn't until the shift in early 1923 to the [[Mississippi River]] that new stations going on the air in Texas received K instead of W call signs.  However, existing stations were allowed to keep their non-conforming callsigns, which included such stations as WRR, [[WBAP (AM)|WBAP]] in [[Fort Worth]] and [[WOAI (AM)|WOAI]] in [[San Antonio]]. When WRR put the FM station on the air in 1949, the FCC allowed it to use the same call sign, plus the "-FM" [[suffix]].

After the AM station was sold and its callsign changed to KAAM, WRR-FM dropped the no longer required "-FM" suffix from its call sign, effective May 15, 1978.<ref name="hc" />

===Notable personalities===
The station was the starting point of [[John Peel]]'s radio career. Peel, who later became a British disc jockey, notably covered the [[arraignment]] hearing of [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] shortly before Oswald was shot and killed.

===Transmitting tower===
The WRR (FM) lattice radio tower was located in the [[Fair Park]] complex. The tower was visible across [[Dallas]] and in the Fair Park vicinity. The FM antenna on top of the tower was removed in 2003. The tower was used as a cell tower for the last few years and was eventually dismantled in December 2015. The current transmitter is located at the Cedar Hill Antenna Farm in [[Cedar Hill, Texas|Cedar Hill]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite news |first=Eric |last=Nicholson |newspaper=[[Dallas Observer]] |publisher=[[Voice Media Group]] |location=Dallas, TX |title=At WRR, Dallas' Classical Music Station, Employees Blame the Bloodletting on City Hall|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/at-wrr-dallas-classical-music-station-employees-blame-the-bloodletting-on-city-hall-7122556|date=February 12, 2013 |access-date=November 15, 2018}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{officialwebsite|https://www.wrr101.org/}}
* {{FM station data|11451|WRR}}
* {{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=83074 |title= History Cards for WRR (covering 1946-1980) |publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]}} ([[Wikipedia:WikiProject Radio Stations/History Cards|Guide to reading History Cards]])<!--Converted from {{FCC letter}}-->

==Further reading==
* {{URL|https://www.dfwradioarchives.info|DFW Radio Archives}}
* {{URL|https://www.dfwretroplex.com|DFW Radio/TV History}} 
* {{URL|https://www.friendsofwrr.org/|Friends of WRR}}

{{Dallas Fort Worth Radio}}

[[Category:1949 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:American Basketball Association flagship radio stations]]
[[Category:Classical music radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Government of Dallas]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1949]]
[[Category:Radio stations in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex|μWRR (FM)]]
[[Category:Texas classical music]]