1. What in your opinion is the
current state of Christian radio?
I think it's the strongest it's ever
been! We still have our significant challenges,
like continuing to evolve beyond a mentality that assumes we
know what's best for our audience, and moving toward a greater
embrace of research. We need to continue to realize that
our one station is unlikely to provide the "total Christian
experience" for all listeners. Fragmentation affects us,
too, and it means some Christian stations will meet needs for
positive music and a safe place for the family, others will
serve the 3 times a week churchgoer who wants Christian action
information and lots of news, and more (hopefully) will arrive
on the scene to serve the needs of non-English
speaking audiences.
But overall, there's no question
Christian radio is making it's greatest impact ever, right now.
2. Who is your favorite Christian radio air personality (not
on your station) and why?
Brant Hansen of WDWS / Champaign,
IL. That's not a Christian station, but Brant is a
committed believer and has years of experience in Christian
radio. He's smart, funny, his show has a very wide appeal,
and he just has the best instincts. When it comes to
relating to listeners, he "gets it" better than many PDs.
I love listening to him, and believe everyone will be hearing
much more from him in the future. I actually wish I was
Brant.
As far as a personality currently in
Christian radio, I think Frank Reed at KLTY is one of the very
best. Gary Walsh at 106.5 The Promise in Jacksonville is
great. There's more programmers and jocks in the format that I
think highly of than I can mention here. One of the PDs I
really admire is Mike Novak at K-LOVE.
3. Desribe the most successful promotion your station did in
the last year?
Listeners tell us they love doing
things that let them put their faith into action. Last
year we worked with Compassion International to give listeners a
chance to call and sponsor children. We'd never really
done anything like that before and set a low goal which was
absolutely shattered. Well over 1,000 children were
sponsored in just 22 hours, setting a record for CI. We
just don't do much contesting or try to compete with big prizes,
because we really can't, and our listeners seem to prefer
promotions that come from the heart.
4. If you weren't programming a Christian radio station what
would you be doing?
Probably working in a church or
other parachurch ministry, or figuring out a way to make a
living working from home
5. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
It's not pretty. Less hair, a
bigger gut, with an 18-year old daughter in the house.
She's beautiful now, of course, so I have to worry about that,
too.
6. What does your station do internally to get focused on the
ministry of Christian radio?
One of our positioners is "WAY-FM,
it's not just a radio station...it's a ministry". Bob
Augsburg started WAY-FM with a vision and passion to reach youth
and young families with the positive influence and message of
hope and truth through Christian music. That continues
today with a constant reminder in meetings and in planning of
our 7 core values and our mission statement. Believe me,
everyone on our staff wants to win, but most of all we want to
touch lives. My staff is as flexible a group as I've seen
at doing what they need to do to conform to that goal, even if
it means altering their own style or leaving their comfort zone.
