Christian radio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christian radio is a radio format that focuses on transmitting programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering associated topics that can have a political angle to them. Many Christian radio stations are commercial in nature, and select music in a manner intended to increase profitability of advertisers, thereby increasing the value of the station's advertising, and the station's profits. Other Christian radio stations are supported by listeners, or by Christian organizations/institutions, or both; these stations seek to evangelize their message instead of commercial gain.

Christian music radio outlets mirror commercial radio in many ways, and music in a variety of different genres is available. Many stations play primarily gospel music or worship music, while others play all formats of contemporary Christian music including rock and roll, pop, rap, country, and alternative. Many artists within the Christian music industry criticize Christian radio for only playing "safe" music, and not taking enough chances on new artists, or in some cases older artists, that may not be as appealing to the largely conservative Gospel Music Association.

Other Christian stations will feature a no-music format that features talk radio-style programming and/or long-form "preaching and teaching" programs. Notable examples include Focus on the Family with host Dr. James Dobson and Living Way with Pastor Jack Hayford; an example of an inspirational program is Moments of Melody. Radio drama programs, long dead in most other radio formats, continue to live on Christian radio; notable examples include Adventures in Odyssey and Unshackled!. Still other Christian stations will feature a combination of music and long-form programs.

Many Christian radio stations have a mission to encourage their listeners in their faith through encouraging music and teaching, and through supporting ministry events within their listening area.

Popular artists on Christian radio include Third Day, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Mercy Me, Steven Curtis Chapman, Carman, Sandi Patty, Relient K, Switchfoot, and the Bill Gaither Trio. Note that this short list runs the gamut of Christian music formats from pop to rock to inspirational.

Most Christian radio stations as well as programmers are members of the National Religious Broadcasters organization. There are reportedly 1,600 different Christian broadcasting organizations in the United States, ranging from single stations to expansive networks. It is a common practice for religious broadcasters to purchase many small broadcast translators to create networks that stretch across large regions. Moody Broadcasting Network was the first example, and still one of the largest, though most of its stations broadcast stand-alone programming as well as network feeds. The WAY-FM Network, K-LOVE and Air 1 are other notable examples.

Contents

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/h/r/Christian_radio.html"
    Advanced Search
    Included Web Search Engines


    Safe Search

    close

    Top Matching Results

    Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

    Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

    Sponsored Links

    This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

    Search Results

    Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

    The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.