View source for WMNF

{{hatnote|"WMNF" may also refer to [[White Mountain National Forest]].}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=March 2013}}
{{update|date=October 2010}}
}}
{{Infobox radio station
| logo             = Wmnf logo.jpg
| logo_size        = 250px
| name             = WMNF
| airdate          = {{Start date and age|1979|9|14}}
| frequency        = 88.5 [[Hertz|MHz]] {{HD Radio}}
| city             = [[Tampa, Florida]]
| area             = [[Tampa Bay]]
| format           = Eclectic Music and Talk
| owner            = Nathan B. Stubblefield Foundation
| erp              = 6,650 [[watt]]s
| haat             = {{Convert|469|m|ft|sp=us}}
| class            = C1
| facility_id      = 47459
| branding         = WMNF Listener-Sponsored Community Radio
| callsign_meaning = '''M'''ember-sponsored '''N'''on-commercial '''F'''M
| webcast          = [http://stream.wmnf.org:8000/wmnf_high_quality.m3u listen live]
| website          = {{Official URL}}
| affiliations     = [[Pacifica Radio Network]]<br>[[NPR]]
| licensing_authority= [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
}}

'''WMNF''' (88.5 [[Hertz|MHz]]) is an [[FM radio|FM]] [[non-commercial educational station|non-commercial]] community [[radio station]] in [[Tampa, Florida]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Spata |first1=Christopher |title=At 40, WMNF still stickin' it to the man. But does it need to change? |url=https://www.tampabay.com/arts-entertainment/at-40-wmnf-still-stickin-it-to-the-man-but-does-it-need-to-change-20190802/ |access-date=4 September 2019 |publisher=Tampa Bay Times |date=3 August 2019}}</ref>  It is owned by the [[Nathan Stubblefield|Nathan B. Stubblefield]] Foundation and it airs a mix of music shows and news programming.  It is supported by listener contributions and has studios on East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Tampa.

WMNF is a [[list of broadcast station classes|Class C1]] FM station with an [[effective radiated power]] (ERP) of 6,650 [[watt]]s.  The [[transmitter]] is off Colonnade Vista Drive in [[Riverview, Florida]].<ref>[https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=Wmnf&nav=home Radio-Locator.com/WMNF]</ref>

==Programs and personnel==
Since its inception, WMNF has had a paid staff, but most of the programming is by volunteers. WMNF has aired a wide variety of music shows, including programs featuring [[Adult Album Alternative]] (AAA), [[Blues]], [[Bluegrass music|Bluegrass]], [[Folk music|Folk]], Alternative Rock, [[Rockabilly]], [[R&B]], [[Soul music]], [[Urban Gospel]], [[Celtic music]], [[Jazz]], [[Salsa music|Salsa]] and [[Experimental music]].

The early WMNF schedule featured Folk and Acoustic music in the morning; Big Band and Nostalgia midday; Jazz Blues and Reggae in the afternoon; and Bluegrass in afternoon drivetime. Gospel, Soul, Jewish, Sixties, Celtic and New Wave filled evenings and the weekend.

In the nineties the station phased out Big Band and Nostalgia and midday became filled with public affairs and talk shows, anchored by the national show Democracy Now and a daily talk show called Radioactivity hosted by News Director Rob Loeei until 2021.  WMNF airs several [[progressive talk]] and news programs focused on [[LGBTQ]] issues, animal and environmental preservation and civil right, hosted mostly by volunteers.

Among the long-running music shows are: ''The Sixties Show, Gospel Classic Hour, The Soul Party'' and  ''The Freak Show''. Past public affairs programs included ''RadioActivity'' and ''The Women's Show'', touching on [[feminist]] issues that first started running in the 1980s. Current long running PA shows include ''Art in Your Ear'', ''Talking Animals'', and ''True Talk,'' which focuses on the Middle East and the global issues Muslims face.

In 1986, WMNF began the first hip hop show in the area, The Kenny K Wax Attack, which aired on Saturdays at midnight.<ref>{{cite web |title=Waves Of The Bay |url=https://www.wmnf.org/events/waves-of-the-bay/ |website=WMNF 88.5 FM |access-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512022028/https://www.wmnf.org/events/waves-of-the-bay/ |archive-date=12 May 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> An Arbitron rating showed 42% of radio listeners under 25 were listening to Kenny K.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}{{when|date=May 2024}} Saturday late night remains hip hop programming as of May 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Programming |url=https://www.wmnf.org/programming/ |website=WMNF 88.5 FM |access-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530181651/https://www.wmnf.org/programming/ |archive-date=30 May 2024 |date=30 May 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2014, WMNF added to the schedule, "The Rhythm Revival," hosted by nationally known recording artist/music historian Reverend Billy C. Wirtz. In 2021, Marvelous Marvin, a longtime popular DJ on Tampa Bay commercial radio, joined the show as a cohost. The Friday drive-time high-energy presentation of post WW2 blues, country and gospel is a station highlight.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

In 2022, WUSF discontinued evening and overnight jazz programming to the dismay of area jazz fans. WMNF recruited WUSF’s longtime former jazz director Bob Seymour to present a Monday evening jazz show on WMNF. Jazz fans have embraced the new show "Jazz in the Night."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Calise |first1=Gabrielle |title=As 'All Night Jazz' ends, WMNF announces a new jazz radio show |url=https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/music/music-news/2022/10/31/all-night-jazz-ends-wmnf-announces-new-jazz-radio-show/ |website=Tampa Bay Times |access-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531063246/https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/music/music-news/2022/10/31/all-night-jazz-ends-wmnf-announces-new-jazz-radio-show/ |archive-date=31 May 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
Before going on the air the station conducted a door to door campaign to raise startup funds. The station [[sign-on|signed on]] the air on {{Start date and age|September 14, 1979}}.<ref>''[[Broadcasting & Cable]] Yearbook 1984'' [https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1984/B-Radio-All-BC-YB-1984.pdf page B-60]. Retrieved November 24, 2023.</ref> It was established by the [[Nathan Stubblefield|Nathan B. Stubblefield]] Foundation, a [[Nonprofit organization|non-profit]] organization started solely for this purpose. The [[Board of Directors]] comprises programmers, volunteers, staff, and community members. The first WMNF studios were in an old house in south Tampa, moving to a vacated church on Nebraska Avenue in Tampa in 1981.

WMNF was originally powered at 70,000 watts but on a much shorter tower.  When its tower tripled in height in 2007, its power was reduced but still with better coverage.

WMNF holds periodic on-air fundraisers and seeks donations and volunteers on its website.  Its supporters account for approximately 70% of its funding.<ref>{{cite web |title=Needs Statement |url=http://thegivingpartner.guidestar.org/profile/1151112/nathan-b-stubblefield-foundation-wmnf.aspx |website=The Giving Partner |publisher=GuideStar |access-date=4 September 2019}}</ref> There are three [[pledge drive]]s each year. The station has paid operations staff, but most of the hosts and pledge drive workers are volunteers.

==Facilities==
In 2005, WMNF moved into new state of the art studios and production space financed by listener donations. The facility is located adjacent to the old studio which was demolished and now serves as a parking lot. The new facility is over {{convert|12000|sqft|m2}} with three broadcast studios, two [[recording studio|production studios]] and a live performance studio named in memory of Mike Eisenstadt, longtime host of the ''Sunday Simcha'', a [[Jewish music]] and public affairs show that still airs on Sundays at 2pm. The music library can store approximately 100,000 [[Compact Disc|CDs]], and has about 8,000 record albums.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 2007, WMNF moved to a higher [[radio masts and towers|antenna tower]] at 469 meters (1539 feet) in [[height above average terrain]] (HAAT).  The signal stretches from [[Clearwater, Florida|Clearwater]] and [[Bradenton, Florida|Bradenton]] to [[Lakeland, Florida|Lakeland]] and [[Fort Meade, Florida|Fort Meade]].

==Controversies==
In 1997, Florida State Senator John Grant zeroed out $104,000 in state funding from the annual budget, citing his displeasure at the lyrics of a song he had heard broadcast ([[The Way I Should|Iris DeMent]]'s "Wasteland of the Free"). In response to the shortfall, the station staged an emergency fundraiser that took in $122,000 in a day and a half.<ref>{{cite web|last=Deggans|first=Eric|title=30 years later, we're still listening to WMNF|url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/media/30-years-later-were-still-listening-to-wmnf/1035074|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912184949/http://www.tampabay.com/features/media/30-years-later-were-still-listening-to-wmnf/1035074|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 12, 2009|publisher=Tampa Bay Times|access-date=28 May 2012}}</ref> Then Program Director Randy Wynne indicated his belief that such difficulties arose after WMNF aired several criticisms against State Senator Grant's opposition to Olympic gold medalist diver and outspoken LGBTQ activist [[Greg Louganis]] attending a speaking engagement at the [[University of South Florida]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lawmakers Race To Save Money For Adult Education|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=19970501&id=7ccPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Uo4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4365,5839|work=[[Google News Archive]]|publisher=[[Boca Raton News]]/[[Associated Press]]|access-date=28 May 2012}}</ref>

On February 18, 2019, WMNF posted that they ended their "long-running relationship with News Director Rob Lorei" and for more information to "contact General Manager Craig Kopp."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wmnf.org/changes-at-wmnf/ | title=Changes at WMNF - News Director Rob Lorei out | date=18 February 2019 }}</ref> Rob Lorei filed a grievance with the station’s board of directors. There was a "public outcry" with "some supporters canceled donations"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/tampa/2021/07/22/wmnf-says-it-fired-host-rob-lorei-over-email-containing-racial-slur/ | title=WMNF says it fired host Rob Lorei over email containing ethnic slur }}</ref> and within the first few days comments from listeners and supporters "poured in at station meetings, and online via WMNF’s social media bulletin board"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cltampa.com/news/rob-lorei-reinstated-at-tampa-community-radio-station-wmnf-885-fm-12215683 | title=Rob Lorei reinstated at Tampa community radio station WMNF 88.5 FM }}</ref>

Josh Holton, former WMNF board member and previous supporter of Craig Kopp wrote that he would no longer support him due to “the completely inappropriate manner in which he has handled this monumentally catastrophic decision, which has hurt our budget, our brand and our reputation.”<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cltampa.com/news/rob-lorei-reinstated-at-tampa-community-radio-station-wmnf-885-fm-12215683 | title=Rob Lorei reinstated at Tampa community radio station WMNF 88.5 FM }}</ref>

On March 18, 2019, the Board of Directors of WMNF posted a statement which said that they would "reinstate Rob to his role as News & Public Affairs Director at WMNF."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wmnf.org/wmnf-board-president-reinstatement-rob-lorei/ | title=WMNF Board President on the reinstatement of Rob Lorei | date=20 March 2019 }}</ref> David Harbeitner (President of the Board of Directors of WMNF) shared that:

<blockquote> The Board has reached the decision to reinstate Rob to his role as News and Public Affairs director at WMNF. We believe that both Rob and Craig Kopp, the station general manager, can and should play a critical role in the present and future of WMNF. This event, unfortunately, has reinforced the value of WMNF and the impact we have in the local community, particularly in regards to News and Public Affairs. It also has heightened our commitment to support the Tampa Bay community and to give a voice to the under-served.”<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wmnf.org/wmnf-board-president-reinstatement-rob-lorei/ | title=WMNF Board President on the reinstatement of Rob Lorei | date=20 March 2019 }}</ref></blockquote>

On April 15, 2019 WMNF's General Manager Craig Kopp resigned and noted the community’s reaction to the firing and re-hiring of Rob Lorei as a reason, alone with "anti-Semitic and other ‘toxic’ comments made"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wmnf.org/wmnf-general-manager-craig-kopp-resigns/ | title=WMNF General Manager Craig Kopp resigns | date=15 April 2019 }}</ref>

Craig Kopp wrote: “I love WMNF as a concept and have dedicated myself to setting it up to continue far into the future ... But the reinstatement of Rob Lorei assures that it will remain firmly rooted in the past.”<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wmnf.org/wmnf-general-manager-craig-kopp-resigns/ | title=WMNF General Manager Craig Kopp resigns | date=15 April 2019 }}</ref>

In 2021, 43-year station veteran Rob Lorei was terminated by WMNF. Lorei, the public affairs director and show host said he was not given a reason. He told the ''[[Tampa Bay Times]]'' "No community radio station has been as consistently successful as WMNF. You'll have to ask the general manager why he terminated me."
The station told the newspaper that Lorei was given the reason by the general manager and a member of the board and that it would be his choice to disclose the reason. Lorei had been the host of ''Radioactivity with Rob Lorei'', which aired weekdays at 11 a.m.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rob Lorei Fired By Tampa's WMNF. Reason Why Remains a Mystery. |url=https://www.insideradio.com/free/rob-lorei-fired-by-tampa-s-wmnf-reason-why-remains-a-mystery/article_6cfaba90-9b51-11eb-986f-477323feba88.html |website=insideradio.com |date=12 April 2021 |access-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124222638/https://www.insideradio.com/free/rob-lorei-fired-by-tampa-s-wmnf-reason-why-remains-a-mystery/article_6cfaba90-9b51-11eb-986f-477323feba88.html |archive-date=24 November 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Over three months later WMNF stated in a letter that Rob Lorei used an "ethnic slur towards a listener from a station email account." Rob Lorei denied using 'an ethnic slur' and said he used a 'political term' in a reply to a listener who wrote it to "downplay the dangers of the Proud Boys." Will 
Greaves, WMNF Board President, disagrees and said the term was not a political term but rather “It was an anti-Semitic racial slur that is highly offensive to any Jewish person.”<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/tampa/2021/07/22/wmnf-says-it-fired-host-rob-lorei-over-email-containing-racial-slur/ | title=WMNF says it fired host Rob Lorei over email containing ethnic slur }}</ref>

Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reported that opinions on use of the term and its 'hurtfulness' were mixed from the Jewish community. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay wrote that while "most folks agree that it was not the best choice of words ... many in the community do believe that Lorei never meant to use the word in an anti-semitic manner."

Creative Loafing Tampa Bay says they are giving some context by referencing that Rob Lorei, in 1978, snuck into a Ku Klux Klan rally to 
assess how deep-seated the racism was" and how much of "a threat the KKK was to the Tampa Bay area." and in 1980 Rob Lorei helped "usher in WMNF’s first Jewish program (“The Jewish Sound,” now known as “The Sunday Simcha”)" <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cltampa.com/news/wmnf-and-rob-lorei-at-odds-over-alleged-slur-that-led-to-his-firing-12443435 | title=WMNF and Rob Lorei at odds over alleged 'slur' that led to his firing }}</ref>

==HD channels==
WMNF broadcasts four [[HD Radio]] channels which are also online streams and accessible on the WMNF app.<ref>{{cite web |title=Streaming WMNF |url=https://www.wmnf.org/programming/streaming/ |website=wmnf.org}}</ref>
* HD-1 simulcasts the main WMNF signal.
* HD-2 The Urban Cafe featuring classic soul, R&B, blues, reggae and rap.
* HD-3 The Source, which airs news, public affairs, and arts programming.
* HD-4 Classic Live featuring new Indie music and music shows featuring new releases.

==See also==
*[[List of community radio stations in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* [http://www.wmnf.org/thesource The Source HD-3]

{{FM station data|47459|WMNF}}

{{Tampa Radio}}
{{NPR Florida}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|27.820|N|82.261|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}

[[Category:Radio stations established in 1979]]
[[Category:Radio stations in the Tampa Bay area|MNF]]
[[Category:Community radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:NPR member stations]]
[[Category:1979 establishments in Florida]]