About

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What is the Mission of WYSU?

WYSU is a listener-supported public radio station committed to being our community’s leading source for trusted, in-depth news and lifelong learning opportunities through enlightening conversation, enriching music, and engaging community connections.

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What is the Vision of WYSU?

WYSU envisions a future where every individual in our region has access to the information and inspiration needed to enhance their life and community. As our modern media landscape shifts, we remain the most trusted, visible, and entertaining voice for the intellectually curious, ensuring that the tradition of lifelong learning remains a vital part of our regional heritage.

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What is the History of WYSU?

WYSU has connected listeners with news, music, and the arts since 1969. The public radio service of Youngstown State University and a charter NPR affiliate, WYSU serves the region with programming that informs, inspires, and encourages lifelong learning.

Proposed by two university professors who wanted the community to have a fine arts radio station, WYSU came to fruition and found its first home in room 310 of the Valley Park Motel.  

From such humble beginnings for high art, WYSU honed its mission and grew its twelve-hour broadcast into a venerated voice at the vanguard of public radio.  

As a charter NPR affiliate, WYSU was among the first stations to bring NPR programming, like All Things Considered, to listeners. Alongside its own programming, such as Now's The Time with Martin Berger, WYSU expanded its reach and became part of the first radio network to use satellites to distribute programs.

The station further expanded, with low-power translators in Ashtabula and New Wilmington, to amplify its reach across the region.  

WYSU found its next home at Cushwa Hall and continued to broaden its broadcasting across genres and integrate itself within the community, hosting concerts, lecture series, and special guests. 

Just up the street from its original home, WYSU now broadcasts from Melnick Hall on Wick Avenue.  

WYSU remains one of Youngstown State University's strongest daily links to the community and a valuable asset, serving as a valuable forum for the artistic and intellectual activities of the university—its faculty, staff, and students.

Today, listener support helps WYSU carry its pioneering spirit forward, adapting to the changing landscape of public radio while continuing to bring together the arts, information, and community. Its purpose remains rooted in the idea that started it all: making the arts and information available to everyone.