Wisconsin Public Radio’s upcoming programming change isn’t a rebrand of its two existing networks, it’s a reconfiguring of how the service presents programming and which stations carry which shows.
Overall, eight current News & Music stations will switch to WPR News, while four will switch to WPR Music. Seven Ideas Network stations will switch to WPR News, while 11 will switch to WPR Music. (This tally excludes translators.)
| Community | Station | Old network | New network |
| Adams | 89.1 WHAA | Ideas | Music |
| Ashland | 90.9 WUWS | Ideas | News |
| Ashland (Washburn) | 104.7 WHWA | News & Music | Music |
| Auburndale | 930 WLBL | Ideas | Music |
| Brule | 89.9 WHSA | News & Music | News |
| Eau Claire (Menomonie) | 88.3 WHWC | Ideas | News |
| Eau Claire | 89.7 WUEC | News & Music | Music |
| Elgin, IL | 88.9 WEPS | Ideas | Music |
| Green Bay | 88.3 WHID | Ideas | Music |
| Green Bay | 89.3 WPNE | News & Music | News |
| Highland | 91.3 WHHI | Ideas | Music |
| Kenosha | 91.1 WGTD | News & Music | News |
| La Crosse | 88.9 WLSU | News & Music | Music |
| La Crosse | 90.3 WHLA | Ideas | News |
| Madison | 970 WHA | Ideas | News |
| Madison | 88.7 WERN | News & Music | News |
| Menomonie | 90.7 WVSS | News & Music | Music |
| Milwaukee (Delafield) | 90.7 WHAD | Ideas | Music |
| Oshkosh | 90.3 WRST | Ideas | News |
| Park Falls | 90.3 WHBM | Ideas | News |
| Platteville | 89.1 WSSW | News & Music | News |
| Rhinelander | 89.9 WHSF | Ideas | Music |
| River Falls | 88.7 WRFW | Ideas | News |
| Sheboygan | 91.7 WSHS | Ideas | Music |
| Sister Bay | 89.7 WHND | News & Music | News |
| Sister Bay | 91.9 WHDI | Ideas | Music |
| Wausau | 90.9 WHRM | News & Music | News |
| Wausau | 91.9 WLBL-FM | Ideas | Music |
The new WPR News will combine programming currently heard on the News & Music network and the Ideas Network into one service, reducing the WPR’s daily offering of long-form news programming from 33 to 24 hours.
The changes means different lineups for every station, but most will keep at least some of the shows and hosts they currently carried. Including only full-power licenses, here’s a look at how the old and new schedules for each station compare:
Keeping Morning Edition and All Things Considered: 8 stations
8 weekday hours unchanged
Stations moving from the old News & Music network to the new WPR News network will keep NPR’s flagship long-form news programming, along with American Public Media’s “Marketplace.” Other parts of the broadcast day will be filled with programming and hosts that previously aired on the Ideas Network.
- WHSA/89.9 (Brule)
- WPNE/89.3 (Green Bay)
- WGTD/91.1 (Kenosha) owned by Gateway Technical College
- WERN/88.7 (Madison)
- WSSW/89.1 (Platteville)
- WHND/89.7 (Sister Bay)
- WSSU/88.5 (Superior)
- WHRM/90.9 (Wausau)
Keeping Classical music: 4 stations
14 weekday hours unchanged
Stations moving from the old News & Music network to the new WPR Music network will keep Classical music and see it expand to a 24-hour schedule.
- WUEC/89.7 (Eau Claire)
- WLSU/88.9 (La Crosse)
- WVSS/90.7 (Menomonie)
- WHWA/104.7 (Washburn-Ashland)
Keeping Larry Meiller and several long-form news shows: 5 stations
10 weekday hours unchanged
Stations moving from the old Ideas Network to the new WPR News will keep Larry Meiller’s midday show, the BBC World Service in the overnight hours, and syndicated shows “1A,” “On Point,” and “The World.” They will add NPR and APM programming previously heard on the News & Music network and the new “Wisconsin Today.”
- WUWS/90.9 (Ashland)
- WHWC/88.3 (Menomonie-Eau Claire)
- WHLA/90.3 (La Crosse)
- WHA/970 (Madison)
- WHBM/90.3 (Park Falls)
Keeping nothing in current weekday timeslots: 9 stations
Stations that will move from the old Ideas Network to the new WPR Music will have no overlap between their old and new weekday lineups. On weekdays, the only program staying is “Chapter A Day,” which will move to a later timeslot. On weekends, “Simply Folk” will stay on WPR Music (it’s currently simulcast on both networks).
- WHAA/89.1 (Adams)
- WLBL/930 (Auburndale)
- WHAD/90.7 (Delafield-Milwaukee)
- WEPS/88.9 (Elgin, IL) owned by Board of Education School District U-46, airs local programming from 7-8 a.m.
- WHID/88.1 (Green Bay)
- WHHI/91.3 (Highland)
- WHSF/89.9 (Rhinelander)
- WHDI/91.9 (Sister Bay)
- WLBL-FM/91.9 (Wausau) shares time with another station and is off the air from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.
WPR stations with student programming: 4 stations
- WRST/90.3 (UW-Oshkosh) will change its morning lineup from the Ideas Network to WPR News, keeping 5.5 hours of existing programming. It runs student-produced programming from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m.
- WRFW/88.7 (UW-River Falls) will change its daytime lineup from the Ideas Network to WPR News, keeping 7.5 hours of existing programming. It runs student-produced programming from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
- WSHS/91.7 (Sheboygan) is owned by the Sheboygan Area School District and airs student programming during the school day. It currently airs the Ideas Network at other times and will switch to WPR Music during those hours, keeping no existing network programming.
- KUWS/91.3 (UW-Superior) will change its daytime lineup from the Ideas Network to Classical music, keeping no existing daytime programming. The station runs student-produced Jazz from 7 to 10 p.m. and Alternative from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.