WCSB (FM)

For other uses, see WCSB (disambiguation).

WCSB (89.3 FM) is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, United States, featuring a jazz format known as "JazzNEO". Owned by Cleveland State University (CSU) and operated by Ideastream Public Media, WCSB serves much of Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio as an affiliate of NPR, Public Radio Exchange and the WFMT Jazz Network. WCSB's studios are located at the Idea Center in Downtown Cleveland, while the transmitter resides atop Rhodes Tower on the CSU campus. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WCSB is available online and simulcast on the second HD Radio subchannel of WCLV (90.3 FM).

WCSB

Cleveland, Ohio United States
Broadcast area	Greater Cleveland
Frequency	89.3 MHz
Branding	JazzNEO
Programming
Format	Jazz
Affiliations	NPR PRX WFMT Jazz Network
Ownership
Owner	Cleveland State University
Operator	Ideastream
Sister stations	WCLV WCPN WKSU WVIZ
History
First air date	May 10, 1976 (1976-05-10)
Call sign meaning	"Cleveland State Broadcasting"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	65553
Class	A
ERP	630 watts
HAAT	62 meters (203 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	41°30′12.00″N 81°40′30.00″W
Repeater	90.3-HD2 WCLV (Cleveland)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	ideastream.org/jazz

From its 1976 establishment until October 2025, WCSB operated with a campus radio and free-form format programmed largely by CSU students.

History

WCSB began broadcasting on May 10, 1976, with programming from Cleveland State University students, faculty, and staff members.^[2] In addition, members of the Northeast Ohio community not affiliated with the university hosted programs on WCSB.

In 2020, WCSB received a grant from the College Radio Foundation to defray costs of replacing the station's antenna on Rhodes Tower. ^[3]

As a student-programmed station at Cleveland State University until 2025, WCSB aired a wide variety of music, including blues, folk, psychedelic rock, noise, indie rock, experimental, ambient, jazz fusion, electronic jazz, free jazz as well as traditional jazz, hardcore punk, punk, outlaw country, reggae, soca, salsa, emo, synthpop, darkwave, new wave, minimal wave, electronica, IDM, K-pop, heavy metal, death metal and grindcore, hip hop, turntablism and soul. The station also aired late night talk radio^[4], as well as news, information and music oriented toward many of the ethnic groups represented in Greater Cleveland: Latin, Hispanic, German, Hungarian, Polish, East Asian, Arabic, Congolese, and Slovenian.^[5] Programming, information and music with a focus on Northeast Ohio was heavily featured. Weekly public affairs programs focused on a range of topics, from drug prohibition to space exploration.^[6]

Station events

At Cleveland State University, WCSB held annual parties and concerts around Halloween. The Halloween Masquerade Ball began in 2009 to show appreciation to the station's listeners and their undying support as a free event offered to the local community. Until 2016, this event was held at the Cleveland Public Theater in the Gordon Square district of Cleveland.

Other events included Radiothon^[7], an annual week-long fundraising event in November, and an annual record fair in the summer.

Transfer to Ideastream and switch to jazz

On October 3, 2025, Ideastream Public Media took over WCSB's operations via an eight-year^[8] public service operating agreement: Ideastream's "JazzNEO" jazz format supplanted WCSB's campus programming, and Ideastream offered internships and career opportunities for CSU students.^[9][10] The transfer was announced by CSU president Laura J. Bloomberg to WCSB management and staff via a Zoom call at 11 a.m.^[11] Negotiations between the two parties had been in place for several months but bound to a non-disclosure agreement due to the involvement of a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license^[12] and was without input from students or community members.^[13] Staff retrospectively told local media of being nervous when scholarships promised to WCSB staff for the academic year did not materialize and keycard locks to the studios failed to work.^[14]

WCSB staff were escorted out of the building by university police and WCSB's website was taken offline; coincidentally, the transfer occurred on College Radio Day and came as the station was preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary.^[15] Under police presence, students were given limited time to remove assets, memorabilia, and personal effects.^[16] As part of the agreement, Bloomberg received a seat on Ideastream's board of directors^[8] and Ideastream obtained right of first refusal to purchase WCSB outright.^[17] Ideastream was the recipient of a $1 million grant that specified new studio facilities for JazzNEO at the Idea Center several weeks earlier^[11][18] but this was claimed to be unrelated to the lease of WCSB.^[19]

WRUW-FM criticized the changeover on its website, saying, "[r]adio, to us, is an act of creative expression that students deserve a right to engage in, regardless of their academic path ... it is important to note that students are not solely involved in college radio for career experience".^[20] Along with a petition circulated around the CSU campus calling for the resumption of campus programming,^[5] several protests took place, including one on the campus^[19] and another in front of the City Club of Cleveland building during their Friday Forum program, which had Ideastream CEO Kevin Martin as a speaker.^[21] Cleveland City Council additionally passed a resolution in support of the former campus format.^[22]

Programming

WCSB currently features a jazz format locally hosted by Dan Polletta, Dee Perry and John Simna; the format originated from, and continues to simulcast over, the second HD Radio subchannel of WCLV,^[10] and launched on February 26, 2024.^[23]