Huntsville’s public radio station WLRH is expanding its locally produced programming from 32% to 72% of its weekly schedule beginning today.
The shift makes the vast majority of the station’s content original and community-focused, a rarity even in public media. “It’s rare, even in public media, that over 70% of your programming is 100% local and original,” General Manager Erich Brukner said.
“Ultimately, the common goal is to serve the community in ways that other media around here can’t.”
WLRH made the changes after declining to renew its National Public Radio programming in September 2025. Its parent company, Alabama Public Television, lost $2.8 million from federal funding cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in July 2025. Continuing NPR would have required the station to cover $192,000 itself.
Since dropping NPR, listenership has risen. WLRH ranks as the No. 4 most-listened-to station in its most recent Nielsen report, according to Brukner—up from its typical position around No. 10.
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| WLRH 89.3 FM (100 Kw) |
Membership donations fell 40% immediately after the NPR departure but have recovered significantly, down only 7% in the first financial quarter of 2026 compared with the prior year. Underwriting support from local businesses has grown 22%.
Leadership deliberately directed the budget toward staffing rather than national content. In the past year the station hired a news director and morning show host and converted two part-time positions in the digital and membership departments to full-time roles.
Most of the new local focus centers on weekdays. Tennessee Valley Mornings, airing 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., remains the primary news block. A new 30-minute evening news program, “ICYMI” (In Case You Missed It), will debut at 5 p.m. weekdays, condensing the morning show’s top stories for the evening commute. Existing local programs such as Arts Underground, Valley Sounds, and Curiosity Squad have moved to early weekday evenings.
The largest schedule addition is Adult Album Alternative, a mix of alternative rock, acoustic folk, and related genres hosted by rotating local DJs. It will air every weekday from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Brukner said the overall weekday lineup was restructured for better musical cohesion and smoother hour-to-hour flow while preserving the mix of talk and music that listeners value.