WDUQ-FM Becomes WESA-FM

The sale of public radio station WDUQ-FM by Duquesne University to Essential Public Radio was completed yesterday. It was also announced that the station on 90.5 MHz will henceforth be known as WESA-FM. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a story on that milestone today. The changes were mentioned by the station on the air, but I could find no mention of the transfer or change of call letters on the Web sites of the university, the station, or Essential Public Radio.

I was surprised when I heard the new call letters. If there was a reason to select “WESA,” it was not obvious to me. A friend pointed out to me last night, however, that there used to be a WESA-FM station at 98.3 MHz broadcasting from Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Whether the new call letters are meant to refer to that earlier station, are intended to stand for something else, or are more or less arbitrary, I do not know. More information about the other WESA-FM can be found on Wikipedia and on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Web site.