Like most Americans, I live in a community where Christian radio is prevalent in several formats: country Christian, contemporary Christian, Christian rock, and Christian talk radio. While these stations provide relief from secular stations, they do not feed listeners with the fullness of Catholic truth. In fact, most Christian talk radio is anti-Catholic. I long to listen to programs that will support my faith.
To add insult to injury, my city is about thirty miles outside listening range of a well-established Catholic radio station, KBVM in Portland, Oregon. So close, yet so far. But there is hope. Folks from local parishes have combined forces to get Catholic radio translated here. Nor are we alone in our quest. In just the past year, the number of full-time Catholic stations has almost doubled, from eight to fourteen.
Compared to mainline Protestant and Evangelical radio stations, Catholic stations are few. Catholics have been asleep at the transmitter for decades. Today there are forty-one Catholic radio stations operating on a full- or part-time basis. Many of these are owned by Catholic universities and do not offer full-time Catholic broadcasting—or any at all. The remaining stations are owned and operated by courageous individuals, lay Catholic organizations, and dioceses.
Among the pioneers in the field:
- WEWN:
Mother Angelica’s worldwide Catholic radio programming is available to any AM or FM station that wishes to carry it, as well as to individuals who pick it up as a short-wave signal, either with a radio or via the Internet. Offering outstanding educational and inspirational shows twenty-four hours a day, WEWN is a perfect source of solid Catholic programming. Twelve radio stations carry WEWN either full- or part-time in the United States. WEWN can reach as many as 700 million people around the world. - St. Joseph Radio:
Director/Producer Lucille (“Lu”) Cortese was one of the first to produce quality instructional shows for radio broadcast. Headquartered in Orange, California, St. Joseph Radio celebrates its ninth anniversary in August. “St. Joseph Radio Presents” is a daily program carried on WEWN shortwave; a live, weekly call-in program airs on WEWN and is re-broadcast on AM/FM stations throughout the country. - KBVM:
A non-profit twenty-four-hour Catholic FM station in Portland, Oregon, KBVM began broadcasting on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 1989. Supported solely by its listeners, KBVM offers programming that includes WEWN, music, Scott Hahn, Archbishop Fulton Sheen, call-in talk shows, and inspirational spots. KBVM is owned by Catholic Broadcasting Northwest, Inc., and is operated by a board of directors. The station recently began seeking to place translators in outlying towns, hoping to serve a large portion of the Pacific Northwest. - WBVM:
Another twenty-four-hour Catholic station, located in Tampa, Florida, WBVM is supported both by listeners and through funding from the Diocese of Tampa/St. Petersburg. WBVM has been broadcasting quality Catholic programming for more than ten years. It carries WEWN part-time. - LCBN:
Lay Catholic Broadcasting Network founder and executive director Chris Lyford and director of development Jerry Usher have extensive experience in both communications and ministry. LCBN’s primary mission is to help communities get started with Catholic programming and to help people through the process of obtaining a Federal Communications Commission license.
Three Essentials
These are three essentials needed for Catholic radio. The first is obtaining an FCC license. The second is available, solid Catholic programming. The third is funding.
There are several ways to get an FCC license to broadcast. Purchasing an existing radio station with a valid license is the quickest but perhaps the most expensive way. If an open frequency is available, one also can apply for a license and construction permits to build a new station. A third avenue is to re-broadcast a nearby existing Catholic station through a translator. All of these processes are subject to licensing by the FCC—and to its rules and regulations. These can be intimidating and complicated, but resources such as LCBN and other Catholic stations that have “been there” can ease the process.
To avoid the FCC process altogether, one may purchase airtime on an existing Christian or secular station. This takes spiritual fortitude—and a good weekly or daily program for stations to broadcast. Purchasing time on commercial stations may be the least expensive and quickest way to achieve someCatholic programming, but it can offer only limited material. Still, it might be the best first step, as it was for KBVM (see below).
Several companies produce tapes that can serve as Catholic programming material. In the forefront are WEWN, St. Joseph’s Radio, St. Joseph’s Communications, LCBN, and Ignatius Press. Catholic Answers also is gearing up to provide Catholic programming for radio and expects to be on the air in early 1998.
Started from Scratch
In the 1950s Catholics in the Portland, Oregon, area gathered together to form the Metropolitan Holy Name Union. Its mission was to underwrite the costs of airing the rosary over commercial radio. The group was successful in broadcasting the rosary daily at 7:00 P.M. It contracted with several radio stations over thirty-three years. The Union envisioned airing the rosary indefinitely, which led to establishing the Radio Rosary Perpetual Trust Fund, Inc. In 1983, the only slot available on any Portland radio station was 11:45 P.M. The recitation of the rosary over the airwaves was at risk.
With the loss of commercial radio time due to deregulation of the radio industry in the early 1980s, the Union thought of starting its own radio station. Without an ounce of radio experience, and with the guidance of the Dominican Fathers at Holy Rosary Church in Portland, the group formed Metro Catholic Broadcasting, Inc. The sole mission was to obtain a full-service station that would broadcast prayer, Christian music, and family programming. On December 8, 1989, KBVM-FM 88.3 began broadcasting over the airwaves. From conception to fruition took six years. (Recently, Metro Catholic Broadcasting, Inc., owners of KBVM, changed its name to Catholic Broadcasting Northwest, Inc., since it is translating its signal to The Dalles, Oregon, approximately seventy miles east of Portland.)
Today, KBVM-FM broadcasts Catholic programming twenty-four hours a day. Russell Niehaus, founding member and board member, states that the mission of KBVM is to provide Catholics with continuing support of their faith—and KBVM aims to evangelize non-Catholics as well. The range of programs is as broad as the various interests in the Catholic Church. “KBVM is dedicated to the magisterium of the Church,” Niehaus says. “We will never intentionally air anything that is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic faith.”
Indeed, KBVM’s mission is to further the faith in the Portland area. The station promotes parish events, provides archdiocesan information, and gives the archbishop and priests a forum to communicate to their flocks. KBVM offers music, prayer, education, and entertainment. It also provides Hispanic programming, perhaps more that any other station in the Portland area. The most successful programs? “The benchmark for Catholic education and instructional programs is anything produced with Scott Hahn” Niehaus says. “We receive more positive comments on Scott Hahn than any other instructional programs.”
KBVM also produces local shows that are popular. It has a call-in show, “A Question of Faith,” hosted by Fr. Michael Maslowsky, director of pastoral services for the Archdiocese of Portland. Former Archbishop Francis George, OMI, guest-hosted the program on occasion and took questions from all callers. The “Catholic News Update,” which airs during morning and afternoon rush hours, presents the news from “home to Rome and back again.”
The station’s success of can be measured by the many testimonies from Catholics who have recently either entered or returned to the Church, crediting KBVM with a role in their conversions. “I don’t think we were the sole reason why people had these conversions, but it is nice to hear that we played a part,” Niehaus says.
Music is probably the most controversial programming issue, and it is tough to satisfy all listeners. Some think “Ave Maria” should be played twenty-four hours a day, and others think anything goes. KBVM is trying to use music to attract listeners, in the hope that non-Catholics will be prompted to think about the Church and that fallen-away Catholics will be nudged to return to it. But some believe secular music (for example an instrumental version of “New York, New York”) inappropriate for Catholic broadcasting. In striking the balance of ministering to Catholics and evangelizing non-Catholics, a station must try to avoid losing existing listeners who provided the impetus to start the station in the first place.
KBVM relies solely on donations from sponsors and listeners. Monthly operating costs are about $30,000. KBVM conducts two “radiothons” each year. They provide about half of its annual costs, and the rest comes from regular donors, sponsors, and special events.
Purchasing a Station
One of the newest of the full-time Catholic stations is AM 1590 KIHM in Reno, Nevada. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it broadcasts twenty-four hours a day, carrying WEWN’s programming most of the day. KIHM, which began broadcasting on January 2, 1997, is the result of the efforts of Tahoe City, California, homebuilder Douglas Sherman. Sherman, with no radio or communications background, in 1995 began to find a way to bring Catholic radio programming to the Reno–Carson City–Lake Tahoe area. “Our purpose is to serve the Catholic community, to offer programming that helps Catholics deepen their faith and increase their understanding of the Catholic faith,” says Sherman.
Faced with the choice of attaining a new frequency and of building a station or of purchasing a station already on the air, Sherman heard of the availability of AM 1590, which previously aired a talk-radio format. He made arrangements to purchase the station as an apostolate of Thomas Aquinas School, a non-profit, private Catholic school in Tahoe City, of which Sherman is a co-founder and board member.
One of KIHM’s themes is “Sharing the Heart of the Christian Faith.” Sherman feels that a station that broadcasts Catholic programming can benefit those unfamiliar with the Catholic faith. “In my experience I have seen how some people greatly misunderstand the Catholic faith,” Sherman says. “Our plan is to present Catholicism to our listeners in a way that is unambiguous and persuasive.”
Sherman sees KIHM within the context of a larger movement in Catholic radio in the United States. “Since we’ve been under way, we have heard from people in fifteen or twenty cities across the country who are trying to start Catholic radio stations,” he says. “It’s exciting to see an increase in the efforts of evangelization by means of Catholic radio.”
As a non-profit station, KIHM will be supported mainly by its listeners. Like KBVM in Portland and some of the nation’s other Catholic stations, KIHM eventually will conduct on-air fund drives. These, together with the generous contributions of faithful donors, will be necessary to ensure the long-term health of KIHM.
The station plans to serve the local Catholic community by offering locally-originated programming, such as music, interviews, call-in talk shows, Catholic news and information, and live broadcasts of the Mass and of ordinations. “KIHM can help promote parish and diocesan events and assist the bishop in speaking to his people. Our desire is to be of assistance in uniting the Catholics, and even the non-Catholics, within our listening area” Sherman says.
Purchasing Airtime
The Lay Catholic Broadcasting Network was founded in 1995 by Chris Lyford, a lay religious studies teacher at Marin Catholic High School, Kentfield, California. Chris is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville and a former program director for KBVM. LCBN recently started Sunday morning programming in the Santa Rosa, California, area. It purchased three hours, from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M., from the local Hispanic station, to air the rosary, Catholic news, Sunday Mass, music, and call-in shows. Even though LCBN’s programs have been on the air for just two months, the station has offered to increase the available time to six hours each Sunday, from 6:00 A.M. to noon. LCBN is keeping the show going through donations and commercial sponsorship.
Lyford gives the following advice for approaching a station about airing Catholic broadcasting:
- Listen to your local radio stations and decide which ones will be likely to be open to airing Catholic programming. Sometimes Christian stations are open, other times not. “Ethnic” or “fringe area” stations are a good source, since these stations may welcome the revenue gained from selling airtime.
- Call the program director and explain that you are interested in getting some Catholic programming on the air on a regular basis (let him know you represent a group—that you are not just one pious individual). If the answer is yes, ask for details: cost, format, hour, day, and advertising requirements or limitations.
- Decide as a group whether you can commit to supporting this ministry financially. Can it live on through new membership? How it will be financed? Loose agreements may lead to collapse down the road.
- Decide exactly what you will air. If you don’t have any idea, call LCBN.
LCBN sponsors Catholic Radio Institutes, which have drawn experienced Catholic radio leaders from across the country. The events feature talks on FCC law, engineering, fund-raising, diocesan media relationships, general managers, and programming. The next Catholic Radio Institute is February 27–March 1, 1998, in San Francisco and will be keynoted by Scott Hahn. For more information write to P.O. Box 11152 San Rafael, California 94912 or phone toll free: 1-888-FOR-KJMJ. The e-mail address is lcbnrace@aol.com, and the Web address is www.catholicity.com/market/lcbn.
Getting Started
- First, pray for guidance and perseverance through the process. It is slow, and the virtue of patience must be practiced. You must deal with engineers, lawyers, and the FCC to get your foot in the door. The best way to start is by forming a group of people with a common vision for Catholic radio in your community. With luck, the group will include some who may already be in the radio business, understand the FCC process, and know the technical.aspects of radio.
- Find a potential frequency. Methodically listen to the radio, scanning each frequency. Make a note of all stations you pick up, and make a special note of those frequencies that are “silent.”
- Hire a telecommunications engineer. The engineer does most of the technical research required by the FCC to determine if there is a frequency available in your area. For a minimal fee, the engineer will run a frequency search for the location of the tower site and will provide you with a report of all the available potential frequencies. Some frequencies maybe silent during your initial listening, but this does not mean that they are available. The FCC may already have licensed an owner to that frequency.
- If potential frequencies are available, the engineer will ask you to conduct a received interference study. This is done simply by driving around your community and listening to the potential frequencies for “interference.” A radio outfitted with a digital frequency dial and a signal-strength indicator is useful. The engineer will coach you as to what needs to be done during the interference drive. Once the drive-around study is completed, supply the engineer with your list of channels having the least interference. The channels need not be absolutely silent, but you must be able to overcome any interference with the strength of your proposed transmitter.
- The engineer will then conduct a final interference contour map of the preferred frequency. This is to predict if interference will occur from your proposed transmitter to existing or previously licensed stations in your area. If it is clean, you are ready to head into stage two.
Licensing and Construction
If you will be translating an existing station (re-broadcasting its signal), the engineer will prepare the drawings needed to construct the antenna and transmitter, as well as the technical data needed for the application to the FCC. Hiring a lawyer familiar with the FCC process to review and submit the application is recommended. The lawyer can serve as a go-between for your group and the FCC—a help if the FCC needs subsequent information.
The FCC will hold the application for a long time before it is approved. In the case of translating an existing station, expect eight to twelve months prior to issuance of a license and construction permit.
If it is a new “full-service” station, it could take years (as it did with KBVM), especially if there is more than one applicant for the same frequency. In such a case it is not uncommon for competing applicants to pay other applicants to drop license applications.
Now is the time for fund-raising and community awareness. To translate an existing frequency, you will need $4,000 to $5,000 for the application and another $20,000 to $25,000 to construct the antenna and translator, assuming you rent space on an existing tower. Monthly rent will be a manageable fee and may even include electricity to operate the translator. The rent should not be beyond the ability of most communities to raise.
For a new radio station, expect to spend about $300,000 to build a studio and transmitter site, in addition to the amount spent to buy out your competitors during the application phase, and anticipate an annual budget of $350,000 for staff and operation costs. Obviously, one needs to consider whether the available market in the listening area can support a full-service station.
If funding is available, and a radio station comes up for sale in your community, purchasing an existing radio station is the most surefire method of obtaining Catholic radio in your area.
Programming
Programming is where the rubber meets the road. Programming will make or break the listening audience you are trying to target. The most important issue in Catholic programming is not to deviate from the teachings of the magisterium, lest you cause confusion for listeners.
If you are serious about getting a program together, call one of the Catholic radio stations, or an established Catholic program producer, such as LCBN, St. Joseph Radio, or WEWN. Or, early next year, contact Catholic Answers about its new program.