WNYC launched onto the airwaves on July 8, 1924, with a bold mandate: to serve, in the words of our visionary founder Grover Whalen, as “the voice of New York.” Today, that first broadcast echoes as a credo, a challenge, and a resounding call to action.

“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.”

For ongoing updates on how you can join WNYC's centennial celebration and explore our rich archives, visit www.wnyc.org/100

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.

#WNYC100

Follow WNYC:
Facebook:   / wnyc  
Instagram:   / wnyc  
Twitter:   / wnyc  
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@wnyc

WNYC is listener-supported public radio. Support the next 100 years of WNYC by making a donation here: https://wnyc.org/donate