WPKN 89.5-FM is a 10,000-watt non-commercial, community radio station founded in 1963 as the college radio station of the University of Bridgeport. While our studios and offices remain on the campus of the University of Bridgeport, in 1989 we became an independent, non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. Since then WPKN has been a listener-supported community radio station, broadcasting at 89.5 FM. WPKN can also be heard streaming live on the internet at www.wpkn.org, is listed under the “Eclectic” category on iTunes Radio, and has become available on many mobile tuning apps. Initially established to serve the needs of the residents of Bridgeport’s local educational institutions, WPKN’s terrestrial signal now serves a potential listenership of 1.5 million people in Connecticut, Long Island, and parts of New York and Massachusetts. Programs on WPKN include live and recorded music, news, public affairs, and spoken word.

WPKN’s volunteer programmers present a wide variety of music and alternative information, in an eclectic mix of free-form programming that seeks to serve those whose needs are not met by mainstream media in a unique and vibrant way. WPKN’s programming mix is a cornucopia of genres and styles. From the obscure to the recognizable, it is presented by informed programmers who help listeners discover and rediscover the best in live and recorded performance. Some of our self-produced talk/news oriented shows, such as Between the Lines, are nationally recognized. WPKN is proud of its bold independence and its fearlessness to program without any strings attached. Generations of our dedicated and loyal audience have defined us as the real alternative to an increasingly homogeneous and limited choice in broadcast radio.

WPKN’s programs are not intended to duplicate that which is available on commercial, non-commercial or “public” radio stations. When the FCC licensed FM radio in 1945, it reserved the twenty channels at the lower end of the band exclusively for noncommercial use. At the time, the Commission indicated that it was doing so in order to foster “diversity of programming service”, and to provide opportunity for the widest possible variety of programs. WPKN’s mission has been to remain true to this original noncommercial directive, and be “The Real Alternative”.