news Archives - WORT 89.9 FM

Contact Information

Music Director: Sybil Augustine – musicdirector@wortfm.org (for music submissions, charts and tracking, promotional exchanges for music events and following up on volunteer applications or other requests. Please include specifics in your subject line, such as “Hiphop Music Submission” etc, )

Music Assistant: Aaron Scholz – musicass@wortfm.org (for record donations and sales, promos recording volunteers, etc.)

Music Calendars: Submit your events online here or send by email to calendar@wortfm.org

How do I get my music played on WORT?

We accept submissions in most genres and styles of music, focusing on noncommercial, out-of-the-mainstream, independent releases (check out our playlists and music charts for more information.) It may take up to a few weeks for us to review and process your submission so we appreciate your patience, and feel free to contact us to follow up. Please send your music, indicating any tracks with language that needs to be aired after 10 pm and including a one-sheet description and any biographical and tour information, to WORT Music Director, 118 S. Bedford St, Madison, WI 53703 and/or to musicdirector@wortfm.org.

We do accept digital files on .wav or mp3, but currently we still prefer CDs to digital submissions because it’s the quickest way to get it into the hands of our programmers and onto the airwaves, though we have a growing digital library. Digital submissions should be .wav or other lossless files, or high quality mp3s [128-320 kbps.]

You can follow up or “track” your submissions by email, or call 608-256-2001 on Wednesdays between 1-4 pm CST to ask if we received it, has it been reviewed, has it been added to our library, and what kind of airplay it’s getting—e.g. light, medium, heavy or charting. Thanks and we look forward to hearing your music!

WORT Music Playlists

What was that song I heard? Who was the artist, what is the album title, where can I get it? Where can I find the entire playlist for a show?

Click on the Playlists button to bring up a calendar where you can choose any date to find the playlists for that day. If you can’t find the right playlist or the song you’re looking for, your best bet is to call the station the next time that program’s on and ask the host yourself. If that’s not possible we may be able to help you, but please have as much information as possible at hand when you contact us, such as: approximate day and time the music was played, what type or genre of music it was, who hosted the show and any other information you remember about the selection and we’ll do our best to track it down.

Once you figure it out, there’s a “Buy It!” link next to each track in online playlists that leads you to a place where you can buy songs and albums, and by doing it that way a small portion of each purchase goes to support WORT.

The Future of Community Radio with Ernesto Aguilar

October 8, 2019 by A Public Affair

In the wake of Pacifica Foundation’s announcement yesterday that it would be laying off staff and cancelling programming at WBAI 99.5 FM New York, we spend today’s episode discussing the future of community radio with Ernesto Aguilar from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. He emphasizes the importance of local news and access to information […]

News, Journalism, and the Digital Media Landscape

July 2, 2019 by A Public Affair

With the press increasingly under threat, we turn our attention today on all things news and journalism in the changing landscape of print and digital media. Our guest is Rob Chappell, associate publisher of Madison365 to discuss why trustworthy news sources, especially local and community reporting, are more vital than ever.

Nerds Having Fun! (No. 4)

June 27, 2019 by Perpetual Notion Machine

Occasionally, us Perpetual Notion Machine geeks like to pontificate on interesting science stories in the news. We sometimes refer to this as Science Geist, Nerd Nite, or Nerds Having Fun! Tonight, PNM’ers Matt Blackburn, Josh Mitchell, and Ary Clarke discuss two recent science studies with a common theme – microbiome. One involves a study where […]

Media Matters: News Coverage in a Reactionary Age

June 20, 2019 by A Public Affair

With newsrooms downsizing and closing around the country, we take a close look at the current news and media landscape with communications professor Bob McChesney. He covers a range of topics including foreign affairs coverage, the election cycle, threats to independent journalism, and corporate versus public interests. Bob McChesney is an activist scholar and professor […]

Nerds Having Fun

May 23, 2019 by Perpetual Notion Machine

PNM nerds Kevin Lauterjung, Kelly Schwartz, Ary Clarke, Matt Blackburn spin some news tracks and ask each other about ancient drugs, synthetic life, research misconduct, and other quarky things.

Fake News and the Media Landscape with Project Censored

November 30, 2018 by A Public Affair

For today’s special WORT Birthday Boost episode, we catch up with friends of the show Mickey Huff and Andy Lee Roth from Project Censored. They fill us in on their new publication, Censored 2019: Fighting the Fake News Invasion, which features under-reported stories from the past year and highlights independent news organizations that are doing truly […]

Now Playing

Contact Information

How do I get my music played on WORT?

WORT Music Playlists

WORT Week In Review for October 11th, 2019

New Report Shows Extreme Racial Disparities in Wisconsin, Midwest

Isthmus On WORT: Too Hot to Handle

Fascism Explained!

The War at Home with Glenn Silber

Rebroadcast: Poetry and Identity with Danez Smith

Undecided? Learn about the Candidates for Governor on Aug 8

Dane County DA Defends Record, Elected Seat

Would New State Funding Formula Help Or Hurt Ailing UW System?