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New Hampshire Public Radio
Broadcast area	New Hampshire and bordering areas of Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and Quebec
Slogan	"News and information for the Granite State"
Frequency	88.3, Nashua, WEVS 89.1, Concord, WEVO 90.3, Nashua, WEVO 90.7, Keene, WEVN 91.3, Littleton, WEVO 91.3, Hanover, WEVH 97.3, Plymouth, WEVO 99.5, Jackson, WEVJ 103.9, Portsmouth, WEVO 104.3, Dover, WEVO 105.9, Colebrook, WEVC 107.1, Gorham, WEVC
First air date	1981
Format	Public Radio
Owner	New Hampshire Public Radio
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	www.nhpr.org

New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) is a public radio network serving the state of New Hampshire. NHPR is based in Concord and operates six transmitters and five translators covering nearly the whole state. All signals carry the same programming, which comprises news and talk shows on weekdays and a mix of cultural and music programs on weekends. NHPR is the primary carrier of National Public Radio (NPR) programming in New Hampshire.

NHPR's news staff of 21 is one of the largest in the state and is the only statewide source of radio news.

History and listenership

NHPR began in 1981 as one station, WEVO, broadcasting from Concord and known as "Granite State Public Radio," after New Hampshire's state nickname. WEVO had 500 members at its start.

Over several years the station grew in size. In 1991 NHPR began broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It gradually broadened its signal area as it increased its number of transmitters. In 1995 NHPR launched "The Exchange", hosted by former NPR reporter Laura Knoy.

In Spring 2007 NHPR had a weekly audience of 161,100 listeners and about 16,000 contributing members. It had an annual budget of $4.5 million, with contributions from listeners, local businesses, grants and funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Contributions from listeners and businesses in New Hampshire make up more than 90 percent NHPR's revenue. NHPR does not receive funding from the state of New Hampshire.

Programming

Local staff produces three hours each day of newscasts and feature reports on local New Hampshire news and two daily interview programs. The Exchange, hosted by Laura Knoy, is a one-hour morning news and public affairs call-in show. "Word of Mouth" hosted by Virginia Prescott is a one-hour midday general topics interview show.

NHPR broadcasts the major daily news programs produced by NPR, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, as well as programs from Public Radio International like This American Life and A Prairie Home Companion. NHPR also airs programming from international broadcasters, such as As It Happens, a production of Canada's CBC Radio One; news from Deutsche Welle, the German international broadcaster; and the BBC World Service from Britain.

NHPR locally produces The Folk Show, a live show featuring performances by local musicians, on Sunday evenings.

Writers on a New England Stage

As of late 2005 NHPR, in conjunction with the Portsmouth Music Hall, has produced a series on New England writers and authors. So far the series has had such authors as John Updike (Terrorist), Doris Kearns Goodwin, Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code), Alan Alda, and Mitch Albom. It will soon host Louise Erdrich and Cokie Roberts. Laura Knoy of The Exchange is the interviewer, and the trio Dreadnaught is the house band. The River Run Bookstore in Portsmouth is also affiliated.

See also Writers on a New England Stage at the Music Hall's website

Notable employees

• Mark Handley, NHPR's General Manager from 1990 to 2005, was chairman of NPR's Board of Directors for two terms.

• Eric Westervelt, now a foreign correspondent for NPR who often reports on the Arab-Israeli conflict, was a reporter and news director at NHPR for several years.

In popular culture

• NHPR was featured in Part 1, Season 6 of the television series The Sopranos. Recently uncloseted mobster Vito Spatafore is hiding out at an inn in New Hampshire while reading a magazine and listening to the news on the radio. A newscaster says "you're listening to New Hampshire Public Radio, news and information for the Granite State."

External links

• NHPR's official website