WCMU-FM

Public radio station at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan

WCMU FM (89.5 FM) is a public radio station in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The station, owned by Central Michigan University, is a National Public Radio member station, airing a news/talk format along with a variety of other programming. It is the flagship station of a network called WCMU Public Radio made up of six other affiliate stations in Northern Michigan.

WCMU Public Radio broadcasts news and talk programming during the week, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, 1A, Fresh Air, Here and Now, and On Point. On weekends, the station airs a mix of news, talk, entertainment and music programs. These include national shows like Weekend Edition, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!, and This American Life, and local music programs such as The Juke Joint, Homespun, and Destination Out. Overnight, WCMU airs programming from the BBC World Service.

WCMU FM was originally a 10 watt campus radio station at 90.1, signing on on April 6, 1964. During its early years, the station broadcast a wide variety of programming aimed at the campus population of the university, including classical, popular music, and progressive rock. By 1969 the station was an affiliate of the National Educational Radio Network, which became NPR in 1970, and since then, the station has broadcast primarily classical and jazz music and news. WCMU FM moved to 89.5 with 100,000 watts of power in the mid 1970s, and in 1978 began to add a series of rebroadcaster stations around central and northern Michigan, beginning with WCML FM in Alpena. WCMU launched its current format on March 1, 2023. The same day, it launched a 24/7 classical music station called WCMU Classical. The classical service can be heard online, on the station's mobile app, on smart speakers, and on its HD 2 sub channel in the communities of Mount Pleasant, Alpena, Harbor Springs, and Bay City. Prior to March 1, 2023, WCMU Public Radio was a mixed format station, airing news programming from NPR, and locally hosted classical, jazz and blues programming. Previously aired programs include Nightside Jazz and Blues, Take Five, The Beat, Central Stage, Afternoon Classical and Mosaic. The station won regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2018. The station has received multiple awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, and was MAB Public Station of the Year for 2002. Producers and Hosts including David Nicholas, Rick Westover, Mike Horace, Amy Robinson, Robert Barclay, Ben Thorpe, Brett Dahlberg, Jamie Lynn Gilbert, Sara Bingham and Eileen LaTarte have also won state awards.