Is there a place for Christian radio?

[northernlightsmedia]

Just a liitle input. Are you saying put a cap on what Ican give or what I can claim on my taxes. Let me tell you go ahaed abd cap, heck cap it at $5.00 that I claim. You know what, I do not give for the tax break, I give because I wat to!

 

[rbrucecarter5]

It sounds like the original poster is angry because his local NPR sold out to a Christian station. If somebody isn't a Christian, it is probably a good degree of culture shock. Some of the posts in this thread, though, border on anti-Christian bigotry which has no place on this or any other board. NPR sold out -in that market - because they did not get enough donations to make a go of it. NPR takes donations, churches take donations - I don't see much difference in the business model myself.

I do agree that most Christian radio is terrible. It is usually because some church gets hold of a frequency, they have an agenda to promote - the next thing you know you get lame preaching 24/7, hymns - they program it like the radio is a church service. It is NOT - it is radio, a primarily entertainment medium. The few networks out there like Salem and WAY are being successful because they give the audience what they want to hear - NOT what some authority figure thinks is good for them to hear. I don't find that objectionable at all - they listen to the audience, they program what people want to hear, they get ratings. How many times do I have to post this:

Ratings = potential salvations = support dollars.

Christian radio has a dual purpose, to make money and to save souls. There is no reason why one goal has to be exclusive of the other, they can co-exist. If nobody listens, nobody gets saved, and no money comes in - the station goes under. And probably ends up NPR. Now if an NPR station is not playing what people want to hear, they will not get support dollars, and they go under. NPR's equation is even simpler:

Ratings = support dollars.

Period. They blow it with their programming, people don't listen, it WILL go under. There is nothing hard to understand in all this. Why the original poster thought there was something mysterious or wrong about it I can't fathom. Stations change formats all the time. That is what makes new DX'ers or satellite listeners. I don't give a flip about NPR, but my guess is they are on Sirius and Xm - go for it if you miss the format.

 

[skippertthomas]

Great point... I always have love the way the Way-Fm network developed... Ministrty first, in the support relm... Two point mission... "A spiritual vitamin to the Believer, and a cold cup of water to the lost!" Nothing more.. Stay true the mission and relate without watering it down.. Some WILL be offended (offense of The Gospel), but many will understand, as the Scriptures did in their use of the agricultural world of the day in which the letters were written... Not relating for relating sake.. But an effort to clearly and in an everday lifestyle, relate to the audience... If it's rural or city, older, younger or whatever.. My only concern is a general marketing division that has CCM playing to such a white suburban audience.. I always had enough R&B influence in my old Way charts (when I was asst. pd and music man) that the audience was much more colorless... True CHR is like that and I feel after a time, each new format in CCM becomes another version of 'playing to a particular part of the choir'...