KERA (FM)

KERA (90.1 MHz) is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station in Dallas, Texas. It is a member of National Public Radio (NPR). KERA 90.1 FM, KKXT 91.7 FM and KERA-TV 13, a PBS affiliate, are owned by North Texas Public Broadcasting, with studios on Harry Hines Boulevard in Dallas.

KERA is a Class C0 station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 30,000 watts. The transmitter is on Plateau Drive in Cedar Hill, co-located with towers for other Dallas-area FM and TV stations. KERA is also heard on three FM translators serving Tyler (100.1 FM), Wichita Falls (88.3 FM) and the Sherman/Denison area (99.3 FM).

Programming
KERA has a news and information format that includes reports from the KERA newsroom and the weekday hour-long program Think. KERA also carries Texas Standard, a weekday program from the state capital in Austin. The rest of the weekday schedule comes from NPR and other public radio networks: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Here and Now, Fresh Air, On Point and Marketplace. The BBC World Service runs all night.

On weekends, KERA features hour-long specialty shows from NPR and other public radio networks: Planet Money, Radiolab, Snap Judgment, This American Life, Travel with Rick Steves, The Moth Radio Hour, Latino USA, Hidden Brain, The TED Radio Hour, Freakonomics Radio, Code Switch, Left, Right and Center and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

KERA's on-air staff includes Morning Edition host Sam Baker, All Things Considered host Justin Martin, and reporters Stella Chavez, Christopher Connelly, Lauren Silverman, Jerome Weeks and Bill Zeeble. KERA News Digital Storytelling projects provide an in-depth look at the people of Texas — the crises they endure, the issues they overcome and the triumphs they achieve.

Think
The KERA production Think, hosted by Krys Boyd, features guests, authors and political leaders who discuss topics in the news. Call-in comments and texted questions are also encouraged. The show's host and crew have traveled to Washington, D.C., yearly since 2015 to broadcast live from NPR headquarters. Notable guests during Think in D.C. have included professor Michael Eric Dyson and U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn.

Think is sydicated to other public radio stations in Texas, Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington State.

History


In 1960, public television station KERA-TV was launched. Channel 13 had already been set aside by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for non-commercial broadcasting in Dallas. The call sign is said to represent a "new era in broadcasting." The Dallas Independent School District joined with the Area Educational Television Foundation to start the TV station. This group evolved into North Texas Public Broadcasting.

In the early 1970s, the organization applied for a construction permit to start a non-commercial FM station. It was given a call sign of KZAG but it took the television station's call letters by the time it debuted. KERA signed on the air on July 11, 1974. In its early years, it played classical music with news and discussion shows. It became a member station of NPR and began adding the network's programs to its schedule. The station later expanded its reach into other North Texas communities using rebroadcasters: Wichita Falls (88.3), Tyler (100.1), and Sherman (99.3).

In the 1990s, KERA scaled back its music programs. It switched to an all news and information format in 2000. In 2014, KERA expanded its news department, leading to increased local reporting. Since this expansion, hundreds of KERA stories have been broadcast nationally and internationally by NPR, PRI and the BBC.

Prior to the launch of KKXT 91.7 FM, KERA aired a locally-produced Sunday evening music program, 90.1 at Night, hosted by Paul Slavens. The program was moved KKXT and was renamed The Paul Slavens Show. KERA was rebroadcast on the public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable tv channel, Irving Community Television Network during its off-air times prior to 2009.

From 2012 until April 2018, KERA has enjoyed a news partnership with NBC-owned television station KXAS Channel 5 in Fort Worth. This was a part of a larger partnership effort between all NBC owned-and-operated stations and nonprofit news organizations in their communities, a byproduct of the Comcast-NBCUniversal merger which took place in 2011. The content has since then moved to Audacy-owned news station KRLD 1080 AM.

North Texas Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation registered in the state of Texas. While there is cross-promotion between the group's stations, KERA, KKXT, WRR and KERA-TV operate their own pledge drives.

Station slogans

 * Radio Worth Listening To (1990s-2001)
 * Radio Unlimited (2001–2009)
 * Go Public. (2016–present)