Chicago Public Media launches Vocalo programming simulcast on both WBEW 89.5FM and the newly acquired WRTE 90.7FM (formerly 90.5FM), greatly expanding Vocalo’s ability to serve younger, culturally diverse communities. With a new antenna atop University Hall at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and its frequency change to WRTE 90.7 FM, the joint station coverage area will double and include neighborhoods such as Little Village, Pilsen, University Village, North Lawndale, Bridgeport, Humboldt Park, and West Town. Chicago Public Media purchased the WRTE FM frequency from the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) last summer; funding for the expansion of Vocalo is made possible in part by a grant from the John D., and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Programming simulcast on 89.5FM and 90.7FM will include popular Vocalo shows such as the Morning Amp, the Overdrive, and the MusicVox, along with new community programming, including Practically Speaking, a show that features frank yet thoughtful conversations about issues impacting people of color.

“We want to continue to serve the communities that know WRTE for its Spanish-language programming. Sundays will be dedicated to ‘Vocalo en Español,’ which will start with primarily Latin Alternative music programming, followed by news and talk programming that will debut in the Spring,” said Silvia Rivera, Vocalo’s managing director, whose career in public media began in 1998 as a result of her participation at Radio Arte, the NMMA’s youth-media training program.

In addition, Chicago Public Media is targeting the opening of a community bureau in Little Village later this year, which would not only serve as a home base for WBEZ reporting, but also from where Vocalo will expand its community training programs.