ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Non-Commercial Radio Stations In Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW)

Updated on July 17, 2014

Dallas / Fort Worth has dozens of radio stations, and some of the best are non-commercial, student or community stations. Here is a brief look at some of the more prominent ones...

KNTU 88.1 FM

KNTU is the campus radio station of the University of North Texas, located in Denton. It has primarily a jazz format, but also airs shows covering other musical genres, such as tejano, classical and electronic music. They also feature news programming, which is student-produced at the local level. KNTU has actually received an award from the Broadcasting Education Association for having the best student-produced radio newscast and sportscast in the U.S. As of summer 2014, it is the only jazz station covering the DFW metro area. Coverage is good in most of the Metroplex, although not as strong in the southern portions. Their website is www.kntu.com/.

KEOM 88.5 FM

KEOM 88.5 FM is a high school radio station run by the Mesquite Independent School District. It broadcasts Mesquite ISD sporting events, usually commentated by students and/or faculty, as well as other student produced programming, community announcements and syndicated segments. However, it is also well known for its playing of classic rock and 70s music, with song choices that are as good -- and often better -- than what you would hear on a similar commercial station. The students DJs do an excellent job, and the station sounds professional and well-run. Its 61,000 watt transmitter gives KEOM excellent coverage over a wide area across DFW. You can listen live at their website, www.keom.fm.

KNON 89.3 FM

This Dallas-based community radio station started broadcasting in 1983, and has been filling the local airwaves with earnest, quirky, interesting radio ever since. Funded almost entirely by listener and business donations, KNON is the station you tune into when you want music you will not hear anywhere else on the DFW radio dial: stuff like zydeco, death metal, reggae, Jewish music, polka and other genres. A daily morning show (The Blend), a labor-oriented talk show, Sunday morning religious programming and LGBT programming round out the offerings. KNON is also seems to be the most Blues-focused station in the area, with a good deal of airtime (and fund-raising shows) devoted to that genre. Compared to commercial radio, the main appeal of this station's volunteer DJs is simply that they sound like real people. Their coverage of the metro area is also very good at 55,000 watts. Check out their website at www.knon.org.

KERA 90.1 FM

Dallas/Fort Worth's National Public Radio affiliate, KERA is the go-to station for substantive analysis of not just national news, but local issues and politics as well. The local reporting team is excellent, giving time to North Texas news and issues that commercial news radio doesn't seem to have the time for. KERA's local and statewide election night coverage is also the best on local radio. 90.1 carries most of the national shows you would expect to find on any NPR station: All Things Considered, Diane Rheems, Fresh Air, Car Talk (ugh), This American Life, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and BBC World Service in the overnights. Their locally produced shows Think and Everything You Ever Wanted To Know provide for pleasant mid-day listening. KERA's only major weak spot is real-time weather and traffic info, so when there's a weather emergency, my radio dial has to immediately leave KERA. All in all, though, this is probably the best overall radio station in this market, and their muscular 100,000 watt signal reaches far beyond the core of the DFW area. Their website is www.kera.org/radio.

KKXT 91.7 FM

KERA's sister music station, KXT (formerly Christian station KVTT) began broadcasting under its current ownership and format in 2009, when KERA purchased it. It plays an Adult Alternative format, with a mix of mostly pop and rock ranging from the 70s to the present. You probably won't hear much gangsta rap or death metal on KXT, as the station's target demographic seems to be urban/suburban adults in their 20s to 40s, but you do sometimes get to hear something new or different that might not get airplay on commercial radio. You can also sometimes sample local artists, as well as hear about local shows and events. The station also often gives away tickets to local shows, mostly by independent or alternative artists. KXT relies mostly on listener donations. Their coverage and signal quality are excellent. Check out their website at www.kxt.org.

Which type of radio stations do you prefer?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)