WBEW

Originally titled The Secret Radio Project, the website was created by Chicago Public Media in an attempt to create "radically public radio" that reached a more racially diverse and younger audience than NPR.[7] The station adopted its current format on June 4, 2007. While created by Chicago Public Media, Vocalo.org is not marketed as a public radio station, does not broadcast nationally produced public radio programs and also does not openly use on-air pledge drives as a funding source.[8] In January 2016, Vocalo's story-focused programming caught the attention of The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the funder gave Chicago Public Radio $450,000 for research to “develop and refine a fresh format that can potentially be scaled to other public radio stations.” [9] By August 2017, Vocalo had officially began to base their sound and identity on hip-hop, dance, and R&B, a CPB-backed format serving as the template for the new Urban Alternative. The programming features lesser-known local artists alongside big names.[10]

In January 2013, Vocalo began simulcasting on 90.7 FM WRTE in Chicago's west side.[11] The WRTE signal was previously the youth driven bilingual (Spanish-English) community radio project called "Radio Arte" The signal was purchased from the National Museum of Mexican Art and subsequently moved to the 90.7 FM frequency and expanded. In late 2015, WRTE began simulcasting Glen Ellyn jazz station WDCB, strengthening the western suburban station's coverage in the city of Chicago.