Dear Friends,
Great things are happening in Catholic radio!
Over the last couple years, Owensboro Catholic Radio has facilitated the issue of four new permits for the construction of low power FM stations in our diocese. Two of these stations went on the air in the last six months: 93.1 FM WJOR in Whitesville and 107.9FM WPJP in Madisonville. Two more stations will hopefully go on the air later this year in Bowling Green and Paducah. Once these last two are on the air, this will bring the number of Catholic radio stations in the Diocese of Owensboro to a total of seven!
As we continue to grow, it is becoming more and more necessary for each community to find ways to work together in order to streamline their radio efforts, keep overhead costs down, and reduce the manpower requirements. To meet these needs, the members of the board of Owensboro Catholic Radio have moved to create a radio network.
Membership in a radio network brings many advantages to the different Catholic radio stations in Western Kentucky. For one, this will allow affiliated radio stations to receive and broadcast the signal from WIMM instead of having to worry about maintaining their own program logs, which requires a certain level of computer expertise.
Secondly, radio engineers who can address software and hardware problems are hard to find and expensive to hire. But, since network affiliates receive their signal remotely, they will have less engineering needs.
Finally, radio sponsors and affiliates will also see a benefit, since their radio spots can now be broadcast throughout the network, instead of simply on one station. We think this new relationship will be a positive for everyone involved.
For the Owensboro listeners of WIMM, the only difference is that our name will change. We will no longer be known as Owensboro Catholic Radio. Rather, we will be changing our name to Savior Radio Network. We already have a new web address: www.saviorradio.net.
On Monday, 93.1FM WJOR in Whitesville will become the first Savior Radio affiliate. They will be the first to carry the Savior Radio Network signal to their community.
We hope and pray that this effort will foster a greater sense of unity among the various communities in our Diocese, as well as provide more stability and resources to solidify and ensure the future of Catholic radio in Western Kentucky.
Ad Majorem Dei Glorium