St. Louis Public Radio has transformed itself, from its founding and first broadcast in 1972 as a music station with news breaks, to later adding NPR programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered. In the 1990s KWMU switched format to a news-talk station with expanded local coverage on St. Louis on the Air and music and entertainment programming on the weekends.
The station led the way in broadcast innovation in St. Louis and was the first station in the US to air programs in ambisonic sound. In the 2000s, KWMU became “St. Louis Public Radio,” to fully encompass its expanded service, with the addition of dedicated classical and jazz channels, and a merger with the St. Louis Beacon to more than double the size of the newsroom and make it the local journalism powerhouse it is today.
STLPR now has a professional staff of more than 70 employees; national recognition for its regional news coverage and podcasts; and an expanded broadcast reach to include Rolla and Quincy and rural areas in Missouri and Illinois.
STLPR is a listener-supported service of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. We are forever grateful to our founder Don Driemeier, former dean of the College of Business Administration, who made his vision a reality.