KUOW-FM
A Seattle public radio station operated by KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio as a service of the University of Washington.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
KUOW-FM is a noncommercial public radio station broadcasting at 94.9 MHz from Seattle, Washington. It is a National Public Radio member station and serves the broader Puget Sound region through its primary FM signal, translators, satellite stations, and digital audio distribution. The station is owned by the University of Washington, but its day-to-day operation is carried out by KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, a nonprofit community organization. Its studios are in Seattle's University District, while its main transmitter is located on Capitol Hill. The station began broadcasting in 1952 at 90.5 MHz from a transmitter on the University of Washington campus. In 1958, after KING-FM moved frequencies, KUOW began using a 94.9 MHz transmitter and antenna associated with Edison Vocational School, now Seattle Central College. That arrangement placed KUOW on a frequency outside the portion of the FM band normally reserved for noncommercial educational stations, making it an unusual example of a public broadcaster operating at 94.9 MHz. From 1954 until 1987, KUOW was a sister station of KCTS-TV, the University of Washington's educational television outlet. The university separated KCTS in 1987, after which the television station became a community licensee. KUOW initially carried a substantial amount of music programming. During the 1960s, however, it expanded its news output and developed a stronger public-affairs identity. It became a charter member of NPR in 1970. In 1992, the station completed a major format shift from music toward news and information, a change that established the basic editorial and programming model it uses today. In 1999, KUOW moved from the university campus to its present University Way facilities, and the University of Washington outsourced station operations to Puget Sound Public Radio. KUOW's core service combines local reporting, regional public affairs, national and international news, interviews, cultural coverage, and explanatory journalism. The station also produces podcasts and on-demand audio, including local-news programs, interview series, documentary work, and specialized shows. Notable productions have included The Record, Soundside, Seattle Now, KUOW Shorts, The Wild With Chris Morgan, Terrestrial, and How to Be a Girl. The latter, created by a parent using the pseudonym Marlo Mack, examined the experience of raising a transgender child and received major podcast recognition, including a Webby Award and a nomination for a Peabody Award. KUOW broadcasts in HD and has used additional channels and translators to extend its service. In 2018, it discontinued its HD2, HD3, and HD4 subchannels; KUOW2 remained available through a translator and another station's HD service, while KUOW Jazz was discontinued. The station's terrestrial network also includes KQOW in Bellingham and an AM relay serving the Olympia and Tumwater area. KUOW has historically provided specialized public-service programming, including the Evergreen Radio Reading Service for blind and print-disabled listeners until that service ended in 2014. The station's audience and digital reach have made it one of the leading public radio services in the Seattle-Tacoma market. KUOW reported an average weekly audience of 413,600 in 2019 and 2.9 million on-demand audio and podcast downloads that year. Its funding model is typical of public broadcasting, relying primarily on individual listeners, with additional support from businesses, institutions, and other sources. KUOW remains an active University of Washington-affiliated public media brand centered on journalism, civic information, and regional storytelling.
History
KUOW began broadcasting in Seattle in 1952 on 90.5 FM. Its original transmitter was installed on the University of Washington campus, atop the Administration Building, now known as Gerberding Hall. The station's early identity was closely connected with the university's educational mission and with the wider educational broadcasting system that also included KCTS-TV. A significant technical and institutional change occurred in 1958. KING-FM moved to 98.1 MHz, and its former 94.9 MHz transmitter and antenna were donated to Edison Vocational School, now Seattle Central College. KUOW began using the 94.9 MHz facilities that year. Because 94.9 MHz lies outside the 88–92 MHz reserved band normally associated with noncommercial educational FM broadcasting, KUOW became an unusual public radio operation from a frequency-allocation standpoint. During the 1960s, KUOW expanded beyond its original music-oriented schedule and added more news programming. The station became one of NPR's charter member stations in 1970, linking it to the national public radio network while it continued to develop local and regional coverage. Until 1987, KUOW and KCTS-TV were sister outlets associated with the University of Washington. The university spun off KCTS in 1987, and the television operation subsequently became a community licensee. KUOW's most important programming transformation came in 1992, when it changed from a music format to a schedule centered on news and information. This shift aligned the station more closely with the emerging public-radio model built around journalism, interviews, analysis, and public affairs. Music did not disappear immediately from the station's broader history: The Swing Years and Beyond, a program featuring jazz, swing, and blues from the early twentieth century, continued from 1968 until 2017. In 1999, KUOW moved from campus facilities to its current location on University Way in Seattle's University District. That year, the University of Washington outsourced operation of the station to Puget Sound Public Radio, a nonprofit community organization. The resulting structure preserved university ownership while placing operational management and public-media development in a separate nonprofit organization. KUOW subsequently broadened its reach through relay facilities and digital distribution. Its service area includes Seattle and the wider Puget Sound region, with KQOW serving Bellingham and an AM relay serving Olympia and Tumwater. KUOW also broadcast in HD. In March 2018, it discontinued its HD2, HD3, and HD4 channels. KUOW2 continued through a translator and another station's HD service, while KUOW Jazz ended. The station developed a substantial podcast and on-demand portfolio. Programs such as KUOW Newsroom, Seattle Now, Soundside, KUOW Shorts, and The Wild With Chris Morgan extend its local and thematic reporting beyond the broadcast schedule. How to Be a Girl attracted particular attention for its intimate account of a parent's experience raising a transgender child; it received a Webby Award and a British Podcast Award and was nominated for a Peabody Award. Terrestrial, an environmental podcast produced by Ashley Ahearn in 2017, was recognized in podcast coverage and later received an iHeartRadio Podcast Awards nomination. KUOW has also faced editorial and technical moments that drew public attention. In 2020, it stopped airing White House COVID-19 briefings live every day, citing concerns about misinformation and public safety. In 2022, a technical problem involving KUOW's HD station-logo data caused certain Mazda infotainment systems to repeatedly display and play KUOW. These episodes illustrate the range of issues confronting a modern public broadcaster, from editorial judgment during a public-health crisis to the interaction between broadcast metadata and consumer electronics. Today, KUOW remains a University of Washington-affiliated NPR member station operated by KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio. Its principal role is regional public media: reporting on Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, carrying selected NPR and other public-radio programming, producing podcasts, and providing civic and cultural information to audiences across multiple broadcast and digital platforms.
- 2022
Mazda infotainment glitch affects some vehicles
[1]A station-logo metadata problem causes certain Mazda systems to repeatedly display and play KUOW.
- 2021
The Record ends
[1]KUOW concludes its local news and interview podcast The Record in July.
- 2020
Daily live COVID-19 briefings are dropped
[1]KUOW stops carrying White House coronavirus briefings live on a daily basis, citing concerns about misinformation and public health.
- 2018
KUOW discontinues most HD subchannels
[1]KUOW ends HD2, HD3, and HD4; KUOW2 remains available through other broadcast facilities, while KUOW Jazz is discontinued.
- 2017
The Swing Years and Beyond concludes
[1]The long-running jazz, swing, and blues program ends after decades on the station.
- 2014
Evergreen Radio Reading Service ends
[1]KUOW stops carrying the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library's reading service on its subcarrier after the service closes.
- 1999
Operations move and nonprofit management begins
[1]KUOW moves to its University Way studios, and the University of Washington outsources station operation to Puget Sound Public Radio.
- 1992
Format changes from music to news and information
[1]KUOW adopts the news-and-information format that becomes central to its modern identity.
- 1987
KCTS-TV is spun off
[1]The University of Washington separates KCTS-TV from KUOW's former sister-station structure.
- 1970
Charter membership in NPR
[1]KUOW becomes a charter member station of National Public Radio.
Products and positioning
Seattle-area public radio focused on local journalism, NPR programming, public affairs, interviews, cultural reporting, and digital audio.
FM radio station · 1952
KUOW 94.9 FM
KUOW's main terrestrial service broadcasts at 94.9 MHz from Seattle. Its schedule emphasizes local and regional reporting, NPR-linked news, interviews, public affairs, cultural coverage, and other noncommercial programming for audiences in the Seattle and Puget Sound region.
Local journalism
KUOW Newsroom
KUOW Newsroom is the station's local-news output, covering Seattle, Washington State, and the Pacific Northwest. It represents the station's core editorial role as a regional public broadcaster and is distributed through broadcast and digital channels.
Podcast
Seattle Now
Seattle Now is a KUOW-produced podcast focused on the people, events, issues, and culture of the Seattle area. It extends the station's regional reporting beyond the live FM schedule in an on-demand format.
News and interview podcast · 2021
Soundside
Soundside is a weekday midday KUOW program created after The Record ended. Hosted by Libby Denkmann, it combines news, interviews, and regional conversation and airs Monday through Thursday.
Parenting and documentary podcast
How to Be a Girl
How to Be a Girl is a personal documentary podcast made by a mother who uses the pseudonym Marlo Mack. It explores her experience raising a transgender daughter and became notable for its intimate treatment of family life, gender identity, and parenting. The program received a Webby Award, a British Podcast Award, and a Peabody nomination.
Environmental podcast · 2017
Terrestrial
Terrestrial was an environmental podcast hosted by Ashley Ahearn. Its episodes examined climate change through individual experiences rather than treating environmental reporting only as an abstract global issue. The series ran in 2017 and later received recognition in podcast awards coverage.
Local news and interview podcast · 2013
The Record
The Record was KUOW's flagship local news and interview podcast, hosted by Bill Radke. It debuted in 2013 and ended in July 2021. Its Friday edition, Week in Review, was associated with award-winning commentary and analysis.
Secondary public-radio service
KUOW2
KUOW2 is a secondary KUOW service that continued after the station discontinued its HD2, HD3, and HD4 subchannels in 2018. It remained available through translator K214EW and KQOW-HD2 in Bellingham.
Brand decisions
2021
Replacement of The Record with SoundsideGeneration changeBackground
The Record, KUOW's local news and interview podcast, ended in July 2021 after several years as a major local-audio offering.
Action taken
KUOW created Soundside as a new midday news and interview program.
Aftermath
The change preserved a weekday conversational and regional-news format while replacing the earlier podcast structure.
2020
Editorial decision on live White House briefingsOtherBackground
During the early COVID-19 pandemic, White House briefings were a major source of rapidly changing public-health information and political messaging.
Action taken
KUOW stopped airing the briefings live on a daily basis.
Aftermath
The station said its decision was driven by concern about false information affecting community health and safety, rather than by political considerations.
2018
Discontinuation of HD subchannelsStrategyBackground
KUOW operated several HD Radio subchannels, including KUOW2 and KUOW Jazz.
Action taken
On March 7, 2018, the station discontinued HD2, HD3, and HD4. KUOW2 continued through other broadcast facilities, while KUOW Jazz ended.
Aftermath
The main analog signal continued to be simulcast on HD1, while secondary services were consolidated or discontinued.
1999
Operational transition to Puget Sound Public RadioStrategyBackground
The University of Washington continued to own KUOW while seeking an operating structure suited to community-oriented public media.
Action taken
The university moved KUOW to University Way facilities and outsourced operation to the nonprofit Puget Sound Public Radio.
Aftermath
KUOW retained its university affiliation while operating as a community-oriented public radio service.
1992
Shift from music to news and informationStrategyBackground
KUOW had historically included substantial music programming but had expanded its news output during the 1960s and developed as an NPR member station.
Action taken
The station changed its principal format from music to news and information.
Aftermath
The decision established KUOW's modern positioning around journalism, public affairs, interviews, and regional information.
Sources1 sources
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