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EMF gets yet another one...

Maybe I'm being picky here.

I find it interesting (and pretty discouraging) that so many don't think twice about dis-respecting over half of our industry by refering to shar-a-thons as "Beg-a-thons.'

I'm a commercial radio guy. But I think in a public setting we should have a bit more respect for our peers who are trying to accomplish basically the same mission in a non-com manner as we do commercially.

Just an observation.







> Now in the midst of the fall begathon, EMF hasn't had any
> problem finding a way to spend its cash infusion, purchasing
> WWJS Watertown, NY, and bringing an end to one more
> independent radio station. Details here:
http://> www.radioandrecords.com/NewsRoom/2005_10_20/Transactions.asp
>
 
> Now in the midst of the fall begathon, EMF hasn't had any
> problem finding a way to spend its cash infusion, purchasing
> WWJS Watertown, NY, and bringing an end to one more
> independent radio station. Details here:
http://> www.radioandrecords.com/NewsRoom/2005_10_20/Transactions.asp
>

At least that one's a non-comm to begin with. In Ohio they've forked up for a number of commercial FM's (of course, taking them non-comm and then applying for the main studio waiver). Nothing like a nice fat Class A satellator.
 
> Maybe I'm being picky here.
>
> I find it interesting (and pretty discouraging) that so many
> don't think twice about dis-respecting over half of our
> industry by refering to shar-a-thons as "Beg-a-thons.'
>
> I'm a commercial radio guy. But I think in a public setting
> we should have a bit more respect for our peers who are
> trying to accomplish basically the same mission in a non-com
> manner as we do commercially.
>
> Just an observation.

The problem I have with non-commercial CCM radio stations is that they basically sound the same as the commercial CCM radio stations. Secular non-commercial stations normally fills a void not served by the commercial outlets, rather it is music or the NPR agenda. However, that is not neccessarily the case when comparing CCM non-commercials to CCM commercial stations. In Louisville, there are two full-power CCM stations: non-commercial WJIE-FM 88.5 and Salem's commercial WRVI-FM 105.9. Overall, there is not a tremendous difference between the two. WJIE-FM is more energetic in it's local deliverance mainly because Salem has not invested much in it's Louisville cluster of stations. However, WJIE-FM 88.5 does not sound different than Salem commercial stations like WFSH-FM 104.7 in Atlanta and KLTY-FM 94.9 in Dallas. In Atlanta, I do not hear a huge difference between the non-commercial stations WWEV-FM 91.5 and WVFJ-FM 93.3 compared to Salem's commercial station WFSH-FM 104.7.

Now, some non-commercial Christian Talk may carry ministries that Salem Communications commercial Christian Talk station refuse to carry. Dallas Christian Talk KVTT-FM 91.7 does offer an alternative lineup compared to Salem's KWRD-FM 100.7. Moody Broadcasting non-commercial Christian Talk Stations offers different programs compared to Salem Communications commercial Christian Talk stations. So, there may be some difference between non-commercial and commercial stations when it comes to Christian Talk. Although, the majority of both types air James Dobson, Chuck Swindoll and Charles Stanley. But, as far as the CCM stations, I just wonder what does the non-commercial CCMs have to offer that is not offered on the commercial CCMs?<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by The RadioFan on 10/21/05 01:07 AM.</FONT></P>
 
I just
> wonder what does the non-commercial CCMs have to offer that
> is not offered on the commercial CCMs?
>



I think it's going to differ from market to market.

But I'm not sure com and non-com need to SOUND different than each other to accomplish their individual goals. I think the decision whether to go com or non-com may just an operating philosophy difference. It might be a signal availability issue (in some cases) that would cause an entity to go one way or the other.
 
> The problem I have with non-commercial CCM radio stations is
> that they basically sound the same as the commercial CCM
> radio stations. Secular non-commercial stations normally
> fills a void not served by the commercial outlets, rather it
> is music or the NPR agenda. However, that is not
> neccessarily the case when comparing CCM non-commercials to
> CCM commercial stations. In Louisville, there are two
> full-power CCM stations: non-commercial WJIE-FM 88.5 and
> Salem's commercial WRVI-FM 105.9. Overall, there is not a
> tremendous difference between the two. WJIE-FM is more
> energetic in it's local deliverance mainly because Salem has
> not invested much in it's Louisville cluster of stations.

WRVI is starting to pull away from WJIE musically - it's not uncommon to hear songs from Lifehouse and Switchfoot on 105.9 The River (they started playing Lifehouse when they went all local). Both stations' presentation need a lot of work: WJIE does dumb things like play a sweeper about "the latest hits from your favorite artists" and then play a song from 1990; WRVI needs to figure out whether they are trying to compete with Lite 106.9 or 102.3 The Max-some of the imaging seems out of place with the music. No amount of money will translate to on-air delivery (unless of course, Salem can figure out how to upgrade that puny 640-watt stick on which WRVI resides, or Evangel Christian Schools can get FCC approval for a better antenna pattern).

EMF was supposed to put a translator of WJLR-FM on 98.5 FM in Jeffersontown (one of those 80-something suburbs of Louisville that's now surrounded by Louisville), but that appears to have fallen by the wayside.

Back to the original topic . . .

Interesting pickup for EMF-basically a small city in the Northeast. Approximately 12% of EMF's budget is for signal expansion.<P ID="signature">______________
chargeradioweb.jpg
</P>
 
> I just
> > wonder what does the non-commercial CCMs have to offer
> that
> > is not offered on the commercial CCMs?
> >
>
>
>
> I think it's going to differ from market to market.
>
> But I'm not sure com and non-com need to SOUND different
> than each other to accomplish their individual goals. I
> think the decision whether to go com or non-com may just an
> operating philosophy difference. It might be a signal
> availability issue (in some cases) that would cause an
> entity to go one way or the other.
>
i wish they would buy a second station here in baton rouge and make it air 1. we have no chr christian stations down here..buy=t klove is much better than what we had before..<P ID="signature">______________
note to tvland...bring back wkrp!!!</P>
 
> Maybe I'm being picky here.
>
> I find it interesting (and pretty discouraging) that so many
> don't think twice about dis-respecting over half of our
> industry by refering to shar-a-thons as "Beg-a-thons.'
>
> I'm a commercial radio guy. But I think in a public setting
> we should have a bit more respect for our peers who are
> trying to accomplish basically the same mission in a non-com
> manner as we do commercially.


I grew up listening to non-comm Christian radio, and I've heard a lot of share-a-thons in my time. I do have a great deal of respect for non-comms that do it right. EMF, however, will talk all through their fundraising event about how they need the money or else the station in your town might not survive, then turns around and lays down millions for new stations. That's not right, that's not an accurate picture of their financial status, and that's why I don't give them any respect. Add on top of that the dubious moral standpoint of "serving the public interest" by reducing the numbers in the local workforce, reducing the local content of a signal to near nil, and sending local donations to California where they can be spent on doing the same thing to another community, and I find EMF to be on very shaky ethical ground. Sure, there's nothing illegal about what they're doing, but how can EMF, with honesty and integrity, say that they are fulfilling the requirements of their FCC licenses?
 
> Maybe I'm being picky here.
>
> I find it interesting (and pretty discouraging) that so many
> don't think twice about dis-respecting over half of our
> industry by refering to shar-a-thons as "Beg-a-thons.'
>

I heard Dick Jenkins, the president of K-Love, on the air a few mornings ago begin his pitch saying that "last night 2/3's of the world went to bed hungry." He went on to say how blessed we are living here in the US (which I agree with) and then said that because of our wealth we should give money to K-Love. I may be mistaken but didn't he mention billions of people starving...and then ask me to send money to his American radio station? I can't fathom that and to be honest, it make me sick!
 
Ok.

But if you'll read my post carefully, you'll see that I never once mention K-love as my subject matter. My subject was the flippant useage of the phrase "Beg-a-thon" in relation to the work of non-coms in general.

I was defending non-com's and sharathons. I never singled out K-love.












> > Maybe I'm being picky here.
> >
> > I find it interesting (and pretty discouraging) that so
> many
> > don't think twice about dis-respecting over half of our
> > industry by refering to shar-a-thons as "Beg-a-thons.'
> >
>
> I heard Dick Jenkins, the president of K-Love, on the air a
> few mornings ago begin his pitch saying that "last night
> 2/3's of the world went to bed hungry." He went on to say
> how blessed we are living here in the US (which I agree
> with) and then said that because of our wealth we should
> give money to K-Love. I may be mistaken but didn't he
> mention billions of people starving...and then ask me to
> send money to his American radio station? I can't fathom
> that and to be honest, it make me sick!
>
 
Again...

I wasn't addressing K-love.

Just the non-com situation.


>
> I grew up listening to non-comm Christian radio, and I've
> heard a lot of share-a-thons in my time. I do have a great
> deal of respect for non-comms that do it right. EMF,
> however, will talk all through their fundraising event about
> how they need the money or else the station in your town
> might not survive, then turns around and lays down millions
> for new stations. That's not right, that's not an accurate
> picture of their financial status, and that's why I don't
> give them any respect. Add on top of that the dubious
> moral standpoint of "serving the public interest" by
> reducing the numbers in the local workforce, reducing the
> local content of a signal to near nil, and sending local
> donations to California where they can be spent on doing the
> same thing to another community, and I find EMF to be on
> very shaky ethical ground. Sure, there's nothing illegal
> about what they're doing, but how can EMF, with honesty and
> integrity, say that they are fulfilling the requirements of
> their FCC licenses?
>
 
> Again...
>
> I wasn't addressing K-love.
>
> Just the non-com situation.
>

Nor was I addressing all non-comms with the term "begathon," just EMF.
 
>
> Nor was I addressing all non-comms with the term "begathon,"
> just EMF.
>

Ah. I see. I misunderstood.
 
> Let's not go in the direction of "you can't crticize EMF or
> you're disrespecting Jesus", though.>
>


Make sure you stop me before I get there. =)

Sorry. I'm a smart alleck. Must be the cheese from dinner talking. <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by GaryThompson on 10/22/05 03:30 AM.</FONT></P>
 
> Let's not go in the direction of "you can't crticize EMF or
> you're disrespecting Jesus", though.>
>
You should have to deal with these EMF "Christians" on a daily basis. I wonder what Bible their reps read - do unto others and do it good. Grab all you can anywhere even if it isn't yours, make behind the scenes agreements that get your competitor (the station that actually lives here) off of the main floor during concerts and up in a balcony which freaks the promoters because they are caught int the middle - steal things from station tables, go to promoters of exclusive concerts with local stations and take all of their flyers leaving the church promoters very confused, better yet crash the exclusive event and whine for a table or when told "no table" show up in your station garb and do networking behind the scenes. Steal, grab and destroy - I'm sorry I just dealt with this group a few days ago AGAIN and I'm dismayed almost to the point of wondering where Christianity is going in Christian radio. I'm venting....................I also understand this type of behavior happens in whatever city they are in. Is this some new type of evangelism - they know how, other stations don't??? Someone needs to stop this nonsense!!!!!
 
> > Maybe I'm being picky here.
> >
> > I find it interesting (and pretty discouraging) that so
> many
> > don't think twice about dis-respecting over half of our
> > industry by refering to shar-a-thons as "Beg-a-thons.'
> >
>
> I heard Dick Jenkins, the president of K-Love, on the air a
> few mornings ago begin his pitch saying that "last night
> 2/3's of the world went to bed hungry." He went on to say
> how blessed we are living here in the US (which I agree
> with) and then said that because of our wealth we should
> give money to K-Love. I may be mistaken but didn't he
> mention billions of people starving...and then ask me to
> send money to his American radio station? I can't fathom
> that and to be honest, it make me sick!

Honesty - what is that? Is that in EMF's directory? The barf bag is close by.
 
">EMF, however, will talk all through their fundraising event about how they need the money or else the station in your town might not survive, then turns around and lays down millions for new stations"

Look at their info about where the money goes. You will read that it goes to your local station, most will stop there and sigh a breath of relief but if you read on down - more to the bottom you will find that they have the right to put donars money anywhere they please. Also visit their pie of expenses - look closely, it's very cleverly done. You will see operating expenses listed, then you will see salarys for staff -I'm sure that little pie is the rep's salaries, then there are engineering fees, new station funds etc. so what is the huge pie. Since the big pie is operating expenses and everything that you need to operate has it's own separate pie elsewhere on the circle, could the big one be the salaries of the staff (not reps) like Jon & Sherry Rivers etc.
Also they get to opt out of having the FCC visit them in the localities they broadcasting in because they don't have a staff - so no public file, because they can't afford it. Give me a break - I wonder if that would work for most of us. I'm going to give it a try and I will let you know........I know of a poor noncom station with a small staff. The GM went out for lunch, the FCC dropped by and bingo was given a fine by the FCC for not having a staff. Where is the balance here? I'm sure you can tell I'm really upset by these people's actions. They try and run over the local stations and I'm really fed up with it. I'm not talking about stealing listeners - I'm talking about behavior - running hot and loud for one but I won't go there, it's obvious in this area when they are the loudest station and the farthest one away on the dial.
 
Wow, that's good to know. In my experience a good deal of Christians view commercial Christian stations as evil while non-comms (ie. K-Love in this case) are "holy." It appears that the FCC agrees (after reading some other posts about FCC inspections...or lack-thereof.) I would love to take what you have written about their behind-the-scenes practices and publish it.

Why do non-comms like K-Love prey on the gullible Christian? Outsiders who view the church with their hands out, constantly passing the plate most likely see K-Love as the same. K-Love has blurred the line and created a false sense of entitlement. "Look at what I did...you owe me money now!" I have a great deal of respect for all commercial radio stations (Christian especially.) They should all be commended for "working" to find businesses to cover the cost of ministry. No guilt, no financial burden on the listener.

I guess "Jesus" does cover a multitude of sins.

> > Let's not go in the direction of "you can't crticize EMF
> or
> > you're disrespecting Jesus", though.>
> >
> You should have to deal with these EMF "Christians" on a
> daily basis. I wonder what Bible their reps read - do unto
> others and do it good. Grab all you can anywhere even if it
> isn't yours, make behind the scenes agreements that get your
> competitor (the station that actually lives here) off of the
> main floor during concerts and up in a balcony which freaks
> the promoters because they are caught int the middle - steal
> things from station tables, go to promoters of exclusive
> concerts with local stations and take all of their flyers
> leaving the church promoters very confused, better yet crash
> the exclusive event and whine for a table or when told "no
> table" show up in your station garb and do networking behind
> the scenes. Steal, grab and destroy - I'm sorry I just dealt
> with this group a few days ago AGAIN and I'm dismayed almost
> to the point of wondering where Christianity is going in
> Christian radio. I'm venting....................I also
> understand this type of behavior happens in whatever city
> they are in. Is this some new type of evangelism - they know
> how, other stations don't??? Someone needs to stop this
> nonsense!!!!!
>
 
Oh, you're going to love this!

My wife was listening to K-Love over the weekend and their cash flow must have slowed. So they went to their "I need cash in a hurry" playbook and pulled out this gem:

"We just found out that we're having some problems with our phone lines. That explains why we are not at our goal. Satan is in our phone system so go to the internet and pledge on our website because Satan can't take down the whole internet?"

I've had phone problems before and the phone company has given me some excuses but never once have they blamed the Prince of Darkness.

On top of that...if Satan did indeed take it upon himself to disrupt their telephone service, why on earth would he not be able to interrupt their online service? Do they think the internet is such new technology that Satan couldn't figure it out?

I guess if you're a "real" Christian you will be rallied to stomp out Satan by logging on and passing them your credit card number. That'll show the Devil! They were having a real holy war in northern California...or Texas...or the Hillbilly Ranch...or whichever non-local location they were broadcasting from.

How about this...maybe K-Love has already tapped all their listeners for cash and the river is dry. Maybe these poor saps who feel the need to pay for what others provide for free are all out of money. They can't support ministries saving starving children around the world because they're PAYING FOR RADIO!!!


> > > Maybe I'm being picky here.
> > >
> > > I find it interesting (and pretty discouraging) that so
> > many
> > > don't think twice about dis-respecting over half of our
> > > industry by refering to shar-a-thons as "Beg-a-thons.'
> > >
> >
> > I heard Dick Jenkins, the president of K-Love, on the air
> a
> > few mornings ago begin his pitch saying that "last night
> > 2/3's of the world went to bed hungry." He went on to say
>
> > how blessed we are living here in the US (which I agree
> > with) and then said that because of our wealth we should
> > give money to K-Love. I may be mistaken but didn't he
> > mention billions of people starving...and then ask me to
> > send money to his American radio station? I can't fathom
> > that and to be honest, it make me sick!
>
> Honesty - what is that? Is that in EMF's directory? The barf
> bag is close by.
>
 
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