Maryland Public Television has made available, free of charge, the audio files of its public affairs programs for use by commercial and public radio stations in the region under a new program called the MPT Regional Radio Service, including WNAV AM/FM in Annapolis.
The program is designed to provide meaningful content to enable radio stations to round out their public affairs programming. The RRS is a free service under which radio stations in any market can use the audio files of MPT weekly public affairs programs Direct Connection and State Circle.
MPT will also make available to RRS clients the audio from other programs it produces, such as political candidate debates, the annual Ways to Pay for College public affairs production and town hall meetings that air on the statewide public television network.
The initial RRS subscribers are:
● WNAV-AM, also a commercial station that serves listeners from its Annapolis base and is led by Christopher Roth
● WHFC-FM, which, under then-General Manager Gary Helton, was the first to utilize MPT content to provide public affairs programming to its Bel Air and Harford County area listeners
● WHCP-FM, a public radio station in Cambridge headed by General Manager Judy Diaz
● WHGM-AM, a commercial station in Havre de Grace led by General Manager Steve Clendenin.
MNN currently has 44 affiliates operating in 28 distinct markets in Maryland, southern Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, and West Virginia.