Editor's Note: The information published in this story is accurate at the time of publication. Always refer to uab.edu/uabunited for UAB's current guidelines and recommendations relating to COVID-19.
Public Radio WBHM 90.3 FM is providing daily newscasts free of charge for nearly 50 radio stations statewide that have no access to daily news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
WBHM is offering twice-a-day newscasts, morning and afternoon Monday through Friday, in collaboration with the Alabama Broadcasters Association. The newscasts are available to commercial and noncommercial radio stations throughout the state for no charge. The newscasts, adapted from WBHM hosts’ daily workflow, focus on COVID-19 news in Alabama.
This is an opportunity to use WBHM’s news gathering resources and share them with the rest of the state on behalf of the public, says General Manager Chuck Holmes.
“Information is powerful, particularly in this unprecedented public health crisis,” Holmes said. “We’re pleased to be working with the ABA to provide these newscasts to other radio stations in the state. As a public radio station, WBHM has a mission to serve our communities.”
The newscast is recorded at WBHM and transmitted electronically to an FTP server, where ABA-member stations can access it, and also emailed to the ABA. More than 40 stations across the state are currently using it. Many of them have no news departments, making the WBHM newscast particularly valuable. Those 40-plus stations reach as many as 3.5 million Alabamians.
Public Radio WBHM 90.3 FM is a listener-supported service of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. WBHM is “Public Radio for the Heart of Alabama” and home to the Alabama Reading Service, a resource for the blind and print-impaired. More than a radio station, WBHM is an essential public resource that enlightens and enriches its audience and makes strong connections to its communities through journalism that is fair, credible, accurate and honest. Free from commercial and political influence, WBHM seeks to make Birmingham and Alabama a better place to live by educating, engaging and entertaining the people of the Birmingham Metro area and the state. WBHM is dedicated to the idea that an informed citizenry is vital to democracy and a thriving economy, and it celebrates diversity, innovation and lifelong learning.