WZRU provides public radio service to Halifax, Northampton, Warren and Edgecombe Counties, but their 35,000-watt signal can be heard in northeastern parts of the Triangle area as well. WZRU signed on July 4th, 1994, at 88.5 on the public radio dial with 60% of its coverage area serving places previously unable to hear public radio. WZRU's popular standards format is unique among NPR outlets, which generally stick to classical, jazz or talk programming. The station has a license to greatly boost their power, which will put a city-grade signal in the northeastern reaches of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill radio market. In late November of 2003, WZRU signed on a rebroadcaster, WZRN, 90.5 FM, in Norlina. In 2004, WZRU negotiated a frequency swap with WRTP-FM, 90.1 FM, a cross-town Christian station. This swap took effect on the evening of May 1st, 2005.