WNYC Marks 100th Anniversary On the Air
Centennial Celebration kicks off on the July 8 anniversary with programming, partnerships, and public engagement projects across the five boroughs, and extends through fall
Highlights include a live re-imagining of WNYC’s first broadcast in 1924 starring Tony Award-winning actress SARAH JONES, and WNYC’s LAFONTAINE E. OLIVER, BROOKE GLADSTONE and JOHN SCHAEFER, with musical accompaniment by ARTURO O’FARRILL, J’NAI BRIDGES, and LUCÍA GUTIÉRREZ REBOLLOSO
A live broadcast from Central Park SummerStage hosted by BRIAN LEHRER, with IRA GLASS, FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME, MXMTOON, and a roster of beloved WNYC hosts
A Centennial digital music collection from All of It’s “Public Song Project” featuring renditions of 1920s songs by RHIANNON GIDDENS, THE LEMON TWIGS, ROSANNE CASH, NELLIE MCKAY, and THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, among others
“From the Archives” will highlight audio gems from the WNYC archives including the voices of DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., MARTIN SCORSESE, AMELIA EARHART, GLORIA STEINEM, MARIAN ANDERSON, BARACK OBAMA, as well as news reports of historic moments including the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Twin Towers
New York’s iconic Empire State Building will light up in red on July 8
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(New York, NY – June 18, 2024) – WNYC today announced details of its Centennial Celebration, which kicks off on the station’s 100th anniversary, Monday, July 8, and extends through the fall.
At the time of WNYC’s founding in 1924, New York had just celebrated its 25th anniversary of being a consolidated, five-borough metropolis. City Commissioner Grover Whalen had the idea to capitalize on an exciting and revolutionary new technology—radio—to bolster a sense of shared identity among the residents of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx. In the century since, WNYC has transformed from the city’s first municipal radio station into an independent media organization, becoming an anchor of the city’s civic and cultural life, a leader in multiplatform local news, a producer of the industry’s most influential public radio shows and podcasts, and now home to the city’s sole classical music station, WQXR.
Through live events, audio programming, public art, a city-wide storytelling initiative, and partnerships with other vital New York institutions, WNYC’s Centennial will spotlight the role the station has played during key moments in the city’s history. It will be an opportunity to celebrate the listeners we serve, and our enduring commitment to Whalen’s wish to bring New Yorkers together through news, information, and the New York conversation.
“One hundred years ago, WNYC was launched as a municipal radio station; today we are a global audio leader reaching millions of listeners in New York and around the world,” said LaFontaine E. Oliver, President and CEO, New York Public Radio (NYPR). “As we enter our next century, we remain rooted in the spirit of innovation, drive, and service that emboldened our founder Grover Whalen to pursue radio as a force to foster an informed citizenry and build a sense of common good. This Centennial will honor our longevity and legacy. But even more important – amid national division and a fractured media ecosystem – it will provide a powerful catalyst to recommit to our role as the oxygen of democracy and an important convening space for our local community.”
“WNYC commenced in 1924 with an ambitious task: to unite a city and be ‘the voice of New York’,” said Timothy Wilkins, Chair of the NYPR Board of Trustees. “We enter a new century embracing the challenge of reflecting the voices of all New Yorkers—across our local reporting, live radio shows and podcasts, and coverage of the culture and communities we serve. WNYC’s extraordinary transformation was driven through the support of New Yorkers and members who believe in our mission. It is with tremendous gratitude for the engagement, participation, and generosity of our listener community that we step forward into the next 100 years.”
The festivities kick off on Monday, July 8 with a slate of activities—including a live on-air birthday party hosted by WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, followed by a reimagining of WNYC’s very first on-air broadcast from the stage of WNYC’s performance studio, The Greene Space, set against the backdrop of the Empire State Building lighting up in red at dusk to commemorate the occasion. An ongoing series of audio gems from the archives will start airing on WNYC, along with an online timeline showcasing WNYC’s vibrant history and its many “firsts” in the city and media industry. July 8 also marks the unveiling of a public art project by acclaimed artist Katie Merz on The Greene Space’s street-facing windows, inspired by the century of stories that have defined WNYC, as well as the launch of a major initiative to collect New Yorkers’ audio stories.
The Public Song Project from the All Of It team will celebrate songs that entered the public domain this year, many of which were popular during the decade of WNYC’s founding. A special Centennial album will feature new renditions of songs from the 1920s by artists including Rhiannon Giddens, They Might Be Giants, and Rosanne Cash alongside highlights of listener submissions, and a special outdoor concert presented with St. Ann’s Warehouse pegged to the 100th anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue.
In September, Brian Lehrer will be joined by a roster of WNYC hosts and special guests for a variety show at Central Park’s SummerStage Festival. On the Media, New Sounds, and This American Life will take to the stage for segments celebrating the breadth of public radio, along with musical performances by Freestyle Love Supreme and mxmtoon.
100 Years of WNYC: A Centennial Celebration
JULY 8
Happy Birthday WNYC! An on-air celebration, hosted by Brian Lehrer, 7pm (on WNYC 93.FM and AM 820)
Re-imagining of WNYC’s inaugural broadcast, 8:52-10pm (on WNYC 93. FM and AM 820 and live on stage in The Greene Space)
The Empire State Building lights up in red, approximately 8:30pm
WNYC’s long-running, award-winning public affairs host Brian Lehrer throws an on-air birthday party! He will be joined by WNYC’s Archivist Andy Lanset, who will take listeners through the decades with stories and audio clips capturing the role WNYC has played in our city. Listeners can call in with their own WNYC memories and birthday wishes; expect a few surprise guests and notable New Yorkers!
At 8:54pm, the exact time WNYC went on the air in 1924, Lehrer’s special will segue into a radio theater re-imagining of WNYC’s inaugural broadcast, performed live in The Greene Space. While the original audio no longer exists, WNYC’s re-creation of the 1924 run of show through archival scripts and press clippings, will serve as source material for this contemporary staging. The roles of then-Mayor John Hylan, borough presidents, and various city officials and well-wishers will be performed by Tony-winning performer and host of the upcoming podcast America, Who Hurt You? Sarah Jones, Brooke Gladstone (Host, On the Media), John Schaefer (Host, New Sounds), with a cameo by NYPR President and CEO LaFontaine E. Oliver. Eight-time Grammy winner and founder of The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Arturo O’Farrill, will be joined by an ensemble of musicians and singer Lucía Gutiérrez Rebolloso performing his new arrangements of musical selections from the 1924 broadcast. Two-time Grammy Award winning mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges will perform the national anthem.
New York City’s iconic Empire State Building will provide a festive backdrop for the celebration. It will be illuminated in WNYC’s signature red at approximately 8:30pm to commemorate this once-in-a-century occasion. To view the lighting live, visit the Empire State Building’s Earth Cam here.
“From the Archives” Audio Spots (July 8 – ongoing)
Past and present WNYC staff Sara Fishko, Latif Nasser, and Stevan Smith will take listeners on a tour of key moments from the WNYC and NYC Municipal archives, starting with WNYC’s oldest surviving piece of audio – Charles Lindbergh from 1927. Other selections include press conferences, events, and interviews with Jack Kerouac (1958), Bob Dylan (1961), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1964), Martin Scorsese (1970), Gloria Steinem (1982), and Barack Obama (2007). Listeners will also hear key historic news reports that aired on WNYC, including the announcement of the attack on Pearl Harbor (1941), a broadcast of a town hall meeting on the Atom Bomb (1951), and WNYC journalists running toward the Twin Towers to report on 9/11 (2001).
Public Art for Public Radio: A Katie Merz Art Installation (ongoing)
Acclaimed multidisciplinary artist, lifelong New Yorker, and Artist in Residence at The Greene Space Katie Merz is best known for her contemporary large-scale murals on urban building exteriors and in public spaces. A passionate public radio fan whose work also includes NPR and WNYC host portraits, Merz will create a public art piece on the street-facing windows of The Greene Space, inspired by a century of stories that define our city and listeners’ contributions of what is iconically New York.
“Your New York Stories” – an audio storytelling initiative (July 8 – ongoing)
Starting July 8 through the end of the year, listeners are invited to join the New York conversation and share their own tales of this messy, complex and beautiful city. Participants will be able to record their stories online at wnyc.org/100, at WNYC Centennial events, and at select partner organizations across the five boroughs. Select stories will be shared on-air on WNYC, online, and on our social channels.
100 Years of 100 Things with Brian Lehrer (July 8 – ongoing)
On his regular weekday show (10am-noon M-F), Brian debuts a new series that takes listeners through a century’s worth of history of things that shape our politics, our lives, and our world. First up, 100 Years of WNYC! Additional topics will include everything from immigration policy to political conventions, American capitalism to American socialism, the Jersey Shore to the Catskills, baseball to ice cream.
All of It’s “Public Song Project”
All of It’s “Public Song Project” is an open invitation for New Yorkers to engage and explore American cultural history by recording new versions of music that has recently entered the public domain. This year, in honor of WNYC’s Centennial, All of It invited listeners and special musical guests to focus on their own renditions of songs from the 1920s. A panel of judges including Lincoln Center’s Chief Artistic Officer Shanta Thake, WNYC’s John Schaefer, and Switched on Pop podcast host Charlie Harding will select the top entries to play on air.
Starting July 8, All of It will release a special Centennial digital collection featuring performances of these works by artists including Rosanne Cash, The Lemon Twigs, They Might Be Giants, Rhiannon Giddens, Valerie June, Arturo O’Farrill, Nellie McKay, and Joanna Sternberg, as well as standout public submissions. The album will be available for streaming on www.wnyc.org.
On Saturday, July 20 at 6pm, All of It listeners will get a shot at performing their submissions on-stage along with award-winning interpreter of Black folk music Jay Blount at The People’s Concert at Lincoln Center, presented as part of Civic Saturdays.
On Saturday, July 27 at 6pm, WNYC and St. Ann’s Warehouse will present Rhapsody for This Land: The American Odyssey in Music, a free concert in Brooklyn Bridge Park that celebrates a century of hope, protest and change as expressed through American music. Rhapsody for This Land will feature renowned pianist Lara Downes performing her exuberant new project, Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined, created to mark the centennial this year of Gershwin’s landmark composition. The concert will also feature performances by other acclaimed artists spanning a broad range of genres and traditions including Christian McBride, Rosanne Cash, Arturo O’Farrill, Time for Three, and the Orchestra Elena under Aram Demirjian. WNYC will broadcast the concert live, and All of It’s Alison Stewart will host.
SEPTEMBER
Central Park SummerStage | September 9, 2024
Join Brian Lehrer for a live radio broadcast from Central Park! The evening will include some of the most beloved voices you’ve heard on the air and a lineup of comedy, music, trivia, and more. Featuring performances by Freestyle Love Supreme and mxmtoon, a DJ set by Donwill, and segments with WNYC’s All Things Considered host Sean Carlson, On the Media‘s Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger, All of It’s Alison Stewart, This American Life‘s Ira Glass, New Sounds’‘ John Schaefer, and storytelling from The Moth. Other guests to be announced – plus a few surprise guests you’ll have to be there to hear!
NOVEMBER
New York Public Radio’s Centennial Gala | Tuesday, November 19
New York Public Radio hosts its annual Gala honoring its work and the generosity of those who support it. This year’s event will be held at The Glasshouse and includes cocktail hour, seated dinner, and an amplified after-party for young New Yorkers, all to celebrate a century of public service journalism and usher WNYC into its next 100 years. The program will feature special performances and speakers from across New York Public Radio’s celebrated programs. More information here; additional details to be announced.
For ongoing updates and an interactive timeline of WNYC’s 100 year history, visit www.wnyc.org/100.
WNYC’s Centennial Celebration at Central Park’s SummerStage is sponsored by AARP New York City.
New York Public Radio received leadership support for the digitization and preservation of the New York Public Radio Archives from the Leon Levy Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust.
Lead philanthropic support for The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space is provided by The Jerome L. Greene Foundation. Additional support for The Greene Space comes from the Howard Gilman Foundation and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The Greene Space Artist-in-Residence Program is supported in part by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Rhapsody for This Land has been made possible by major support from the Robert W. Wilson Trust.
About WNYC
With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, WNYC is New York’s public radio station, broadcasting and streaming award-winning journalism, groundbreaking audio programming and essential talk radio to the city and beyond. WNYC is a leading member station of NPR and broadcasts programs from the BBC World Service, along with a roster of WNYC-produced local programs that champion the stories and spirit of New York City and the surrounding region, including The Brian Lehrer Show and All of It with Alison Stewart. From its state-of-the-art studios, WNYC is reshaping audio for a new generation of listeners, producing some of the most beloved nationally-syndicated public radio programs including Radiolab, On the Media, The New Yorker Radio Hour, and Notes from America with Kai Wright. WNYC broadcasts on 93.9 FM and AM 820 to listeners in New York and the tri-state area, and is available to audiences everywhere at WNYC.org, the WNYC app and through major digital radio services, all made possible through the generous support of our members, donors and sponsors.