It was founded by John Roberts, professor emeritus of communications at Temple University and a one-time anchorman at WFIL-TV (now WPVI-TV).

The call letters stand for "Radio Technical Institute" with the station helping students who planned careers in broadcasting.

WRTI is also an affiliate of the WFMT Radio Network, broadcasting a wide range of programming from this Chicago-based syndicator, including concert broadcasts from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, the Deutsche Welle Festival Concert series on both the analog FM service and the digital HD2 service.

WRTI is also an affiliate of the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera Radio Network, airing the Met's Saturday Matinee performances live from December through May each year.

The award-winning Creatively Speaking general arts segments featured contributors Jim Cotter, David Patrick Stearns and Susan Lewis.

The forerunner of these features was a 30-minute Saturday morning arts magazine show, also called Creatively Speaking, which was cancelled in early 2013.

The Wanamaker Organ Hour, first aired in 2005, featured recordings of performances by Macy's Grand Court Organist Peter Richard Conte and various guests.

The Wanamaker Organ is housed in Macy's Center City Philadelphia department store and is the largest musical instrument in the world.

Scherch, Melinda Whiting, Greg Bryant, Bob Craig, Joe Patti, I. Robin "Bobbi" Booker, Courtney Blue, Rich Gunning, Mark Pinto, and Mike Bolton.

Air personality Debra Lew Harder left the station on September 21, 2021, to become the host of the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts.

Midday classical music host Bliss Michelson died on March 14, 2021, due to complications from COVID-19 at the age of 71.

Discoveries From the Fleisher Collection, first aired in 2001, was hosted by Kile Smith, former curator of the Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music at the Free Library of Philadelphia, the largest lending library of orchestral performance material in the world, and former WRTI classical host and program director, Jack Moore.

The web streams have proven popular with those who do not have an HD Radio receiver or are not within the coverage area of WRTI and WRTJ.

Combined with the main WRTI signal and numerous low-powered FM translators, their footprint covers much of eastern Pennsylvania, as well as most of Delaware and the southern half of New Jersey.