WGLT (“We Gladly Learn and Teach”) first came on the air April 24, 1962 as a student-run radio station on the campus of Illinois State University. The AM closed-circuit broadcast transmitted 43 hours per week and planned to feature programs such as Highlights of Psychology, Music from the Bottom of the Barrel, and Communist Expose. In 1966 it was licensed by the FCC and started broadcasting over FM radio with a 15-mile radius.
The 70s saw a lengthening of broadcast hours and a broadening of programming, including live sporting events, Top 40 music, world affairs, and minority issues. By 1972 the FM station had moved towards a professional staffing model, while the AM channel, initially renamed WILN and later WZND, continued on as a student enterprise. WGLT’s current FM frequency, 89.1, came in 1976 when the station upgraded to a 2,500-watt transmitter, allowing it to reach listeners within 35 miles of campus. Two years later the station elected to affiliate with National Public Radio and received its first grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
In the decades since, WGLT has continued to grow and evolve as an NPR member station and local news source. It came under the aegis of the university’s School of Communication in 1997 and took over management of Peoria’s public radio station WCBU in 2019. A 2024 partnership with the American Archive of Public Broadcasting saw the digitization of over 500 WGLT recordings dating from around 1973 to 1999. These audio files include interviews with university leaders, cultural and educational programming, and reporting on a wide variety of topics.