WTMD (89.7 FM) is an adult album alternative-formatted public radio station owned by Your Public Radio, previously licensed to Towson University and located in Towson, Maryland. The station serves Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. History Like most college radio stations, WTMD has its origins in a network of closed-circuit carrier current transmitters inaugurated in spring 1972. Although carrier current stations are not licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the operation adopted the unofficial call sign WVTS ("Voice of Towson State") as a familiar form of identification. Efforts immediately began to build out an FM station, although it was hampered by a lack of available frequencies as other educational broadcasters built their stations first. A plan to partner with Morgan State University to launch a shared station (later to become WEAA) fell through. A 1973 letter to The Towerlight was reflective of the overall mood surrounding the station, bemoaning the fact that the largest mass communications program in the state had only a carrier current station – which the author described as a "sophisticated intercom" – for training. Concerns also abounded about poor news and events coverage, and a lack of professionalism on the part of airstaff. In 1974, the FCC granted Towson State permission to build on 89.7 MHz. This station was assigned the callsign WCVT ("Communications Voice of Towson"), and signed on February 12, 1976 with a typical college radio format of primarily progressive rock and a variety of specialty shows. The carrier current station was also renamed WCVT and became a training ground for the FM station, greatly improving its on-air quality. WCVT's eclectic music found a small but loyal audience. The station was recognized by the Baltimore City Paper in 1988 as the city's best. WCVT upgraded to 10,000 watts in 1981. Towson State began directly funding the station in 1988 with the intention of hiring professional management, which it did in the same year. In 1991, faced with an audience that was unsustainably small for its funding needs, WCVT flipped to smooth jazz and light adult contemporary "89.7 The Breeze", changing callsigns to WTMD. Despite the apparent meaning of "Towson, Maryland", the call letters began as an initialism for "Where Towson Makes a Difference." Students protested the loss of their musical outlet, arguing that since they were still a major funding source it should play what they wanted. General manager Jim English put it bluntly