WKNO
U.S. center-left (public media)
Background
WKNO-TV signed on June 25, 1956, as the first educational television station in Tennessee, founded by community leaders to promote education and culture in the Memphis region. It was initially financed by the city's commercial television stations and later supported by local and state educational grants. WKNO-FM followed on April 1, 1972, becoming the first public radio station in the Memphis area. Both stations eventually came under the umbrella of the Mid-South Public Communications Foundation, a nonprofit that continues to operate them as sister outlets. WKNO-FM is affiliated with NPR, American Public Media, and Public Radio Exchange, carrying a mix of classical music and NPR news and talk programming. The stations serve the broader Mid-South region, including parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. In 2025, the Trump administration signed an executive order directing the CPB to halt funding to NPR and PBS affiliates — a move that directly threatened WKNO's federal revenue stream — though federal courts ruled the order violated the First Amendment. As an NPR affiliate, WKNO's news content reflects NPR's editorial approach, which critics on the right describe as center-left and which the Trump administration has publicly labeled as biased against it.
Sources
- WKNO (TV) – Wikipedia
- WKNO-FM – Wikipedia
- About WKNO-FM | WKNO FM
- WKNO Public Broadcasting for the Mid-South | Cause IQ
- CPB Awards Public Media Stations Grants for Next Generation Warning System
- NPR, public radio stations sue Trump White House over funding ban
- Federal judge finds Trump violated free speech by ordering NPR defunded – OPB
- Congress rolls back $9 billion in public media funding and foreign aid
- Tennessee PBS – WKNO
Profile compiled 2026-09-03; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.