90.5 WESA Station News

The new 90.5 WESA transmitter is up and running!  Thank you for your patience and for your contributions.  We are back at full power and your listening experience should be back to normal.  Please let us know by completing a short, anonymous survey at wesa.fm/transmitter.  We’re interested in how we sound in your home, as part of your normal driving routin and the ZIP Code where you live.  Your feedback will very useful and greatly appreciated. 

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90.5 WESA

Journalists from the WESA newsroom won five awards for Excellence in Audio Journalism in the Pittsburgh Black Media Foundation's 32nd annual Robert L. Vann Awards, announced Dec. 4. 

There were two expansions with the contest this year: new categories that include recognition of excellence in written word, visual, and audio storytelling in traditional and online platforms; and a broader engagement with municipalities that are part of the National Association of Black Journalists Region I.

WESA's winning stories included: 

Newly-Elected Slate of Officers and Board Members Includes Dina Clark as Vice Chair

Some traditions are too good to let pass by, and Kevin Gavin's annual all-request holiday music show is one of them. Kevin will be taking your requests from his vast, personal collection of holiday music and playing them on air Wednesday, Dec.23 from noon to 4 p.m.

Instead of calling in, we're doing things a little different this year. Let us know below what song you'd like to hear and/or share a special message you'd like Kevin to read on air via the form at wesa.fm/request.

PITTSBURGH— WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR news station, announced today the appointment of Kate Giammarise as a reporter covering the economic impact of COVID-19 on southwestern Pennsylvania and Laura Tsutsui as producer of The Confluence.

“This year continues to present a ton of news, so we’re really happy to be hiring staff, which will improve our ability to report, broadcast, and publish important journalism for southwestern Pennsylvania,” said WESA News Director Patrick Doyle.

During a virtual ceremony on the evening of Sept.3, it was announced that the 90.5 WESA newsroom was the recipient of eight Golden Quill Awards from The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. 

The Golden Quills competition honors professional and student excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism in Western Pennsylvania and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia.

“Why do we cry?” “Why does it rain?” “What is the moon made of?”

Maybe you’ve heard one of these questions from a kiddo in your life. Well, The Confluence thinks these are good questions, and we’re calling upon Pennsylvania teachers to help us answer them.

Kids can’t ask their teachers questions in the classroom, but they can over the airwaves.

There’s nothing short of a crisis in our state capital.

Every year, more of Pennsylvania’s sprawling and costly bureaucracy operates without scrutiny from investigative reporters, the watchdogs tracking how our hard-earned tax dollars are spent, ensuring the vulnerable are protected, and demanding answers from lawmakers about waste, fraud and abuse.

There are a number of ways to find 90.5 WESA and NPR on your preferred smart speaker.

Whether you're looking to live stream our station, get a news flash from NPR or listen to one of our podcasts, here's how you can find what you're looking for using your device.

Amazon Alexa

Streaming 90.5 WESA

"Alexa, play 90.5 WESA"

Listening to NPR

"Alexa, play NPR"

Morning Edition

"Alexa, play Morning Edition."

Partnership will Study and Report on the Region’s Recovery from the COVID-19 Crisis

Despite the coronavirus pandemic dominating the news cycle throughout the past several months, it’s still an election year. Before you mail in your ballot for the Pennsylvania primary on June 2, the 90.5 WESA government and accountability team, including Chris Potter, An-Li Herring, Lucy Perkins, and Ariel Worthy, is ready to take your questions about the candidates and issues on your mind as we head into this important election. 

It was announced this week that the WESA and Allegheny Front news rooms won 10 first place Keystone Media Awards, four second-place awards and five honorable mentions. 

Among what seems like a never-ending stream of headlines related to the coronavirus, 90.5 WESA received some good news Monday: reporters in our newsroom were nominated for 17 Golden Quill Awards! 

The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania's 56th Tri-State Golden Quill Awards for Excellence in Journalism, Media and Communications recognizes professional excellence in written, broadcast, photographic, video and digital journalism, and communications in Western Pennsylvania and neighboring counties in Eastern Ohio and Northern West Virginia.

Among what seems like a never-ending stream of headlines related to the coronavirus, 90.5 WESA received some good news Monday: reporters in our newsroom were nominated for 17 Golden Quill Awards! 

The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania's 56th Tri-State Golden Quill Awards for Excellence in Journalism, Media and Communications recognizes professional excellence in written, broadcast, photographic, video and digital journalism, and communications in Western Pennsylvania and neighboring counties in Eastern Ohio and Northern West Virginia.

Looking to proclaim your public radio fan-dom on Zoom? How about transport your colleagues and family to the Gateway Clipper?  Download these Zoom virtual backgrounds from WESA. 

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Ira Glass, host of This American Life, is coming to Pittsburgh's Byham Theater on March 21 -and we want to send you to meet him! 

Support 90.5 WESA today and you'll automatically qualify to win. Everyone who makes a membership donation on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. will automatically qualify to win a pair of premium tickets to see Ira Glass at the Byham Theater on Saturday, March 21. A meet and greet opportunity is also included. 

Neil deGrasse Tyson is coming to Pittsburgh's Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland on March 19 — and we want to send you meet him!

Support 90.5 WESA today and you'll automatically qualify to win. Everyone who makes a membership donation on Saturday, March 7, 2020 between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. will automatically qualify to win a pair of premium tickets to see Neil deGrasse Tyson at the Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland on Thursday, March 19. A meet and greet opportunity is also included.

Make your donation today and automatically qualify to win. Click here to give.

No donation necessary. Legal residents of the 50 United States (D.C.), 18 years or older. Promotion starts: Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 8 a.m. and promotion ends: Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 1 p.m. To enter without making a donation, click here. For full official rules, including prize descriptions and odds, click here. Sponsor: Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. Void where prohibited.

What have you always wondered about Pittsburgh? Are you curious how your neighborhood originally received its name? Or maybe how Pittsburgh formed its unique dialect? Or maybe you've always wanted to know what happened to all of our street cars and inclines? From serious to silly, we're here to help.

*Not all pledge drive thank you gifts will be available at all times. Tune in daily for specials!

PITTSBURGH— Pittsburgh’s NPR news station, 90.5 WESA, will be the recipient of a 2020 Report for America grant to place a reporter in Johnstown, Pa.

We review our program schedule twice each year with an ear towards improving our overall service. We are excited to announce several new additions to our weekday evening and weekend lineup. We are adding two new programs on weekday evenings: On Point from NPR and WBUR at 8 p.m. and Think with Kris Boyd at 10 p.m. You can still catch 1A Plus with Joshua Johnson, it will move to 9 p.m. And the full two hours of 1A will still air from 10 a.m.

WESA is about to go into its new fiscal year and several generous WESA Leadership Circle members are encouraging you to invest in local reporting that is meaningful to you. They will do that by matching your contribution dollar-for-dollar.

90.5 WESA reporters, hosts, editors and producers have garnered awards in several competitions recently, including the RTDNA Edward R. Murrow awards, Pennsylvania Associated Press Media Editors Awards, Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Awards , Western PA Press Club Association Golden Quill Awards, and the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation Robert L. Vann Awards. The categories run the gamut from breaking news to public affairs to technology, and showcase the station's hard news and enterprise reporting. Here is a listing of this season's awards:

NPR host and special correspondent Melissa Block, one of NPR's most familiar and beloved voices, comes to Pittsburgh on March 19 for a conversation about the past, present and future of journalism—part of the Media Innovators Speaker Series at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. 

WHAT: A public forum on the future of energy, presented by StateImpact Pennsylvania, The Allegheny Front and 90.5 WESA

WHEN: January 29, 2019, 6:15 p.m.

WHERE: Energy Innovation Center, 1435 Bedford Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15219

REGISTER: This event is free to attend, but space is limited. Please register here.