WNPH
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[[File:Template:Ambox globe current red|42px|link=|alt=]] | Parts of this article (those related to the station's operational status) need to be updated. The reason given is: the station seems to be on the air under special temporary authority. (October 2025) |
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| Currently silent | |
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Broadcast area | Newport, Rhode Island |
| [[Frequency|FrequencTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | 90.7 MHz |
| Ownership | |
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| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| 53078 | |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 360 watts |
| HAAT | 24 meters (79 ft) |
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Public license information | Template:FCC Licensing and Management System facility |
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WNPH (90.7 FM) is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, United States, serving the Aquidneck Island area. The station is owned by Ocean State Media (OSM), the statewide NPR member station for Rhode Island, through licensee Ocean State Media Group.
OSM, as The Public's Radio (TPR), acquired the license in 2021 from Portsmouth Abbey School, a Benedictine institution, which had established it as a classical music station under the WJHD call letters in 1972. After nearly 50 years, the station was taken off the air in 2021 and the license sold.
WNPH is currently operating at low power under special temporary authority from the Federal Communications Commission as OSM seeks to relocate to a new transmitter site off the Portsmouth Abbey School campus.
As of early 2026, Ocean State Media is undergoing restructuring to consolidate operations and enhance broadcast quality, including oversight of its stations such as WNPH.
History
WJHD—named for John Hugh Diman, the founder of the Portsmouth Abbey School[2]—first went into service in early 1972, using only a 10-watt RCA BTE-10C exciter and transmitter, two AR turntables, and a Shure mixer. Father Geoffrey Chase served as the station trustee during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In 1981, the station was approved to increase its effective radiated power to 360 watts.[3] During most of those years, the station was operational only nights and weekends, playing classical music.[citation needed]
In 1999, Father Edmund assumed responsibility for managing the staff and setting the operating hours. Debuting "The Blue Monk," Edmund's show played requests for faculty, parents, and members of the Rhode Island State Police who were listening while on patrol.[citation needed]
Portsmouth Abbey School opted to remove terrestrial broadcasting from its curriculum in 2021. It surrendered WJHD's license to the Federal Communications Commission on August 16, 2021; it was cancelled the same day.[4] Later, in early September 2021, Portsmouth Abbey School rescinded its request, and the license was restored. The Public's Radio then purchased WJHD for $7,500 effective November 23, 2021.[5] An application is pending to relocate the transmitter site from the school and to new facilities in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, increasing coverage in the southern portion of the state; the WJHD call sign was changed to WNPK on January 4, 2022. On December 8, 2022, the station's call sign was changed again, this time to WNPH.
Notable WJHD alumni
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Facility Technical Data for WNPH". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Student Station Honors Educator's Ideals". Newport Daily News. March 1, 1972. p. 21. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."History Cards for WNPH". Federal Communications Commission. (Guide to reading History Cards)
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Venta, Lance (August 22, 2021). "FCC Report 8/22: Madison AMs Plan To Diplex". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Venta, Lance (October 1, 2021). "Station Sales Week Of 10/1". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Support the Portsmouth Abbey Journey". portsmouthabbey.org. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
External links
- Template:FCC Licensing and Management System facility
- WNPH in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
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