WGDR

WGDR
Broadcast areaCentral Vermont
Frequency91.1 MHz
Programming
FormatFreeform
AffiliationsPacifica Radio Network
Ownership
OwnerCentral Vermont Community Radio Corporation
WGDH
History
First air date
1973
Former call signs
WGOD [1]
Call sign meaning
W GoDdard College Radio
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID24438
ClassA
ERP1,700 watts (Legal)
920 watts (Actual)
HAAT-106.0 meters
Transmitter coordinates
44°17′4.00″N 72°26′28.00″W / 44.2844444°N 72.4411111°W / 44.2844444; -72.4411111
Links
Public license information
WebcastOfficial website
Websitehttp://www.wgdr.org

WGDR (91.1 FM) is a noncommercial American radio station licensed to Plainfield, Vermont, serving central Vermont.[3] WGDR, owned by Central Vermont Community Radio Corporation,[4][5] is a hybrid community/public radio station, broadcasting a freeform format. Founded in 1973, it is the oldest non-commercial community radio station in Vermont.

The station broadcasts a mix of music and public affairs programming produced by local volunteers from northern and central Vermont, plus Pacifica Radio programming. It was one of only a handful of radio stations in the U.S. to broadcast news from the English-language international channel of the Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera, until the network launched a separate U.S.-based channel, Al Jazeera America, in August 2013. The broadcast radius is from 20 to 25 miles (32 to 40 km). There are 65 on-air volunteers on the staff.[6]

In 2009, WGDR received a My Source Community Impact Award (an award created by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting) for its Community Broadcast Training program.[citation needed] That same year, the station was granted a construction permit by the Federal Communications Commission to build a second transmission tower near Hardwick, Vermont and operate on a second frequency to reach a much wider area of northern and central Vermont.

On March 1, 2011, the FCC granted an operating license to the new station, which began full-power regular broadcasting on March 7, 2011. The new station, assigned the call letters WGDH, broadcasts at 91.7 FM, simulcasting with WGDR.

Effective May 10, 2021, Goddard College Corporation donated the licenses for WGDR and sister station WGDH to Central Vermont Community Radio Corporation.

  1. ^ "Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGDR". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "Home Page". WGDR official website. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  4. ^ "WGDR Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  5. ^ "WGDR Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  6. ^ Hallenbeck, Brent (20 May 2010). "Voice of the People". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 1D.