EST. WASHINGTON, DC - 1977
THE STORY OF A
Signal
WPFW 89.3 was not built in a boardroom. It was built by a group of local and national movement leaders who believed the airwaves belonged to the people — and that jazz, funk, soul, and the ongoing struggle for human dignity deserved a permanent home on the dial.
ABRIDGED MISSION
BROADCAST
THE STRUGGLE.
AMPLIFY
THE GROOVE.
Our mission is to operate an independent, community-powered radio station that amplifies the voices, music, and movements most ignored by commercial media — with a particular commitment to jazz as a living art form and to the social justice traditions of Washington, DC and the African diaspora.
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The purpose of WPFW-FM Pacifica is to provide outlets for the creative skills and energies of the community, to contribute to a lasting understanding between individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors, and to promote the full distribution of public information. Programming on WPFW will principally be a mix of jazz, Third World music, news and public affairs.
The airwaves at 89.3 will be an accessible media outlet for Blacks, Hispanics, cultural groups, women, seniors, youth and other ethnic and non-traditional groups. WPFW programming will make the concept of community radio real by providing the local majority population with important and relevant education, information and entertainment. Through its programming the station will act as a networking agent for the community at large.
WPFW's air will be commercial free and in conformance with Pacifica Foundation resolutions prohibiting commercial under- writing of programming.Programming will lend itself to an on-air listener participation, will strive to exemplify journalistic integrity, and will work toward being engaging and intellectually stimulating.
Jazz, a major American art form which grows from the African-American experience, will be the major music programming. WPFW will act as archivist, educator, and entertainer on behalf of this under served national cultural resource.
WPFW is dedicated to programming which reflects progressive social change and democracy. The station will continue and further a global, humanistic, and futuristic approach to news, public affairs, the creative arts and cultural programming. Internally WPFW will work to upgrade the quality of work at all levels.
Our continued use of and high regard for volunteers will provide an opportunity for individual skill development in radio broadcast techniques, and broadcast management. Volunteer opportunities will be available in most areas of program administration.
VISION
A DISTRICT
WHERE EVERY
FREQUENCY
IS FREE.
We envision a Washington, DC — and a world — where community radio is recognized as essential public infrastructure, where low-power FM licenses are protected from corporate consolidation, and where Black music, progressive thought, and independent journalism are not marginalized but centered.
We see WPFW as a permanent institution — as embedded in the cultural fabric of the District as the Smithsonian, as vital to the community as the public library. A place where the next generation of DJs, journalists, musicians, and activists find their voice.
We are building that future — one broadcast, one show, one listener at a time.
49 YEARS ON THE AIR
THE HISTORY
WPFW is the fifth station of the Pacifica Foundation, founded in 1949 by maverick broadcaster and pacifist Lewis Hill. Our sister stations are in New York (WBAI), Houston (KPFT), Los Angeles (KPFK), and Berkeley (KPFA). The Pacifica Network also boasts almost 200 affiliates.
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