Wisconsin Public Media
Delivering on the UW–Madison Wisconsin Idea that education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom, Wisconsin Public Media (WPM) offers Wisconsinites trustworthy journalism, compelling programming, and educational resources through its award-winning statewide services, PBS Wisconsin and Wisconsin Public Radio.
For more than 100 years, WPM has grown and evolved on the UW–Madison campus. Today, WPM’s 300+ employees work throughout the state, extending our reach and deepening the impact of our essential services. Our unique blend of locally produced content, education services, and community engagement, coupled with the programming and resources of PBS and NPR, inform, entertain, and enrich the lives of Wisconsinites.
As a public broadcaster, WPM, with its fellow member stations, delivers on the public media mission to provide instructional, educational, and cultural programming to the American public with a particular call to serve diverse and underserved audiences.
Mission
Through the power of public media, engage Wisconsin communities and connect people with content and resources that educate, inform, enrich lives, and celebrate the diversity of the human experience.
Statewide Reach
583,000+
broadcast viewers per week
347,000+
broadcast listeners per week
235,000+
users to wpr.org per week
Public Media in Wisconsin
Our Values as an Organization
Editorial Integrity
We hold ourselves to the highest editorial and ethical standards. Trust, with our audience and each other, is essential to everything we do. We earn trust by doing what’s right, communicating honestly, and taking responsibility, especially when it’s difficult.
Community
We work together with shared purpose and mutual respect within our organization and in communities across Wisconsin. We listen, engage, and support one another, recognizing everyone contributes to our collective success. We foster a culture where people are welcomed, valued, and heard.
Stewardship
We take responsibility for what has been entrusted to us by the people of Wisconsin. We work with intention and accountability. We make thoughtful use of our time, skills, and resources to ensure meaningful, lasting public value.
Innovation
We approach our work with creativity, a spirit of curiosity, and a drive to solve problems through forward-thinking solutions. We ask bold questions, challenge assumptions, and pursue strategic changes that strengthen our mission and service to the people of Wisconsin.
PBS Wisconsin & Wisconsin Public Radio
PBS Wisconsin educates, informs, and entertains through our programming, educational resources, and engagement activities. In homes, communities, and classrooms throughout the state, our services ignite curiosity and support lifelong learning. Each week across media platforms, more than half a million Wisconsinites rely on PBS Wisconsin’s cost- and commercial-free programming and education resources.
Public broadcasting began in Wisconsin on the UW–Madison campus. In 1914, work by physics Professor Earle Terry and students led to the Experimental radio station 9XM, which originally transmitted in Morse code. By 1917, 9XM was broadcasting voice and music. In 1922, the station became WHA-AM which continues to broadcast as one of WPR’s 36 news, talk and music stations. Each week, 400,000 Wisconsinites turn to WPR for independent news covering local, national, and global issues, Wisconsin-based features, and music from around the world.
Educational Communications Board Partnership
The University of Wisconsin and Educational Communications Board maintain a statutory affiliation and together hold the FCC licenses comprising the PBS Wisconsin and Wisconsin Public Radio networks. The partner organizations share responsibilities for the operations and distribution of public broadcasting. Additionally, ECB plays a critical role in managing the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in Wisconsin which includes AMBER and NOAA Weather Service alerts.
PBS & NPR our National Partners
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a membership organization that, in partnership with its member stations including PBS Wisconsin, provide the American public with programming and services of the highest quality, using media to educate, inspire, entertain, and express a diversity of perspectives. In addition, PBS’s educational media helps prepare children for success in school and opens the world to them in an age-appropriate way.
National Public Radio (NPR) is an independent, non-profit media organization that was founded on a mission to create a more informed public. Every day, NPR connects with tens of millions of Americans to explore the news and ideas. Through its network of member stations, including Wisconsin Public Radio, NPR makes local stories national, national stories local, and global stories personal.