Salem Media Group

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Salem Media Group, Inc.
legal form Inc.
ISIN US7940931048
founding 1972
Seat Camarillo , California ,United StatesUnited States
management Edward G. Atsinger III (CEO)
Number of employees 1,198 (February 21, 2016)
sales 265,787,000 US dollars (31 December 2015)
Branch media
Website www.salem.com

The Salem Media Group ("The Message Is Our Mission") is a publicly traded media group based in Camarillo , California . The group is committed to an evangelical- conservative orientation of its programs and operates most of its media with corresponding content. After the market leaders iHeart Media and Cumulus Media, the Salem Media Group ranks fifth as the operator of commercial radio stations in the USA , based on the total number of radio stations (as of 2017).

history

Stuart Epperson and his brother-in-law Edward G. Atsinger founded Salem Communications in 1972 . Epperson was a member of the Council for National Policy and the Directorate of the National Religious Broadcasters Association . They gradually expanded the Christian radio talk shows and made the hosts James Dobson , Randall Terry , Janet Parshall and Michael Medved known.

In the early 2000s, Salem was the second fastest growing radio company after IHeartMedia. With the deregulation of the radio market from 1996, the group of companies bought several stations in important radio markets in the metropolitan regions. Salem has four stations in Los Angeles and seven in Honolulu , Hawaii . With the increasing spread of iPods, Salem developed its own offer, which is known colloquially as "godcasting".

Disney Radio thinned its portfolio of stations from 2015 and Salem bought WMKI- Boston for $ 500,000 and expanded its presence to five stations in the market. At the same time, Salem bought KMKI Plano in Texas for $ 3 million.

In 2015, Salem participated for the first time in broadcasting the debates in the primary to determine the Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election . Working with CNN , Salem broadcast three of around a dozen debates. Salem journalist Hugh Hewitt participated in the question-and-answer panels from September 2015. In May 2018, CNN reported that some corporate executives had put pressure on Salem radio hosts during the 2016 main election campaign to portray Republican candidate Donald Trump more positively.

Programs and direction

The Salem Media Group is the leading radio provider for Christian and family-oriented topics as well as conservative values ​​in the USA. The group is also an online retailer as well as a magazine and book publisher.

As the core format of its radio programs, Salem produces a conservative, light talk music format that conveys its conservative orientation in concrete political and everyday issues. Salem calls this format "Christian Teaching and Talk".

In addition, the "news talk format" is the second most popular and most widely broadcast radio format in the United States. This format follows on from Salem's core focus, the “Christian Teaching and Talk” program, and is called “Conservative Talk”. According to their own statements, both formats convey both conservative and family values.

In its 2003 annual report, the Salem Media Group wrote about its values ​​in its mission statement : “A healthy marriage. A childhood regained. A recovered faith. A broadcast at the right time. ”(“ One mended marriage. One regained childhood. One restored faith. One broadcast at a time. ”).

Talk show hosts

A number of conservative talk show hosts are under contract with the Salem Radio Network .

  • A former Reagan-era United States Secretary of Education and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under Bush, William Bennett is considered one of the most conservative hosts. He is committed to the war on drugs  .
  • Larry Elder calls himself "libertarian with a small 'l'" to distance himself from the Libertarian Party . For example, he supports the “ War on Terror ”. After his contract with KABC or the ABC Radio Network was not renewed, he moved to Salem KRLA in Los Angeles and is now broadcast US-wide by SRN.
  • Mike Gallagher is ranked among the top 10 most popular radio hosts in the US. He rejects Hillary Clinton and holds Barack Obama  and other Democrats responsible for various abuses. His proposals included z. B. to set up a separate queue for Muslims at airports in 2010. Since 2006 the "Mike Gallagher Show" has been broadcast throughout the US on weekdays.
  • Dennis Prager has been broadcasting for KRLA from Los Angeles since 1982 and has been syndicated since 1999. In 2016 he was ranked 36th among the “Heavy Hundred” talk hosts.
  • Michael Medved represents absurd theses, including a. that Adolf Hitler was gay and had such orgies. He is of Jewish descent and, as an Orthodox Jew, easily softens the strong Christian evangelical orientation of Salem. In 2016 he was ranked 27th among the "Heavy Hundred" talk hosts. The "Michael Medved Show" runs nationwide on weekdays.
  • Hugh Hewitt hosts his show on both radio and television on KCET-TV in Los Angeles. SRN syndicated the program across the US. In 2016 he was ranked 27th among the "Heavy Hundred" talk hosts.

Structure and program distribution

The Salem Media Group is divided into several business areas.

  • The Salem Media Group owns and operates 118 radio stations. Of these, 73 stations are located in the “nation's top 25 top market” and 25 in the “top 10”. The stations can access the online and marketing branches of the parent company.
  • The Salem Radio Network assigns the productions of its own stations as national syndicate programs to around 2,700 stations in the USA. Among them is z. B. the " Michael Medved Show ".
  • Nationwide radio advertising is sold through Salem Radio Representatives .
  • The Salem Web Network is one of the leading providers of Christian conservative content and online streaming services. Salem Publishing publishes Christian magazines.

reception

According to political scientist John C. Green of the University of Akron , conservative Christians listen to Salem programs, "the same way sports fans listen to sports radio shows". They wanted to know the latest developments in abortion, same-sex marriage, and the US wars.

Carol Pierson, President (CEO) of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, said in 2005 that religious programs such as Salem Media's were increasingly being used on many small local radio stations. In some areas where the free local radio stations played jazz and NPR programs were now broadcasting religious programs. In the highly competitive commercial markets, on the other hand, financially strong corporations like Salem overturn all competitors. Pierson said: "I think this is a major issue, and its impact on democracy is incredible."

It is criticized that the Salem Radio Network prominently allowed climate critics, homophobes, radical anti-abortionists, “ American exceptionalists ” and one-sided right-wing media such as WorldNetDaily to have their say.

Known stations

The group does not operate most of the stations directly, but rather through sub-media companies that are majority owned by it. Their stations are more oriented towards the individual US states and regions.

Christian talk

“Christian Teaching and Talk” is Salem's core format. The following stations in the group send this content:

Conservative talk

Most Salem talk radio stations use the slogan and make the programmatic claim The Answer .

Contemporary Christian Music

The so-called CCM format ( Christian Contemporary Music ), also known as “The FISH”, is a fixed genre on US radio.

Spanish language programs

Salem serves the radio market of the growing Hispanic community in the southern United States with Christian programs.

Business talk

The Wall Street Business Network of Salem Salem offers these transmitters current financial news and "Business Talk".

Other formats

In addition to the core topics, Salem Media has stations with formats such as Country , Southern Gospel , Praise and Worship (praise and worship).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Executive Management
  2. ↑ a b Form 10-K 2015 ( PDF )
  3. ↑ a b c d A Higher Frequency. December 2005, accessed September 1, 2016 .
  4. ^ Salem Media Group acquires two stations from Radio Disney -. June 11, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016 (American English).
  5. ^ Inside Beltway: Conservative Salem Media Group gets a presidential showcase. In: The Washington Times . Retrieved September 3, 2016 .
  6. ^ Hadas Gold, Oliver Darcy: Salem executives pressured radio hosts to cover Trump more positively, emails show. In: CNN.com , May 9, 2018.
  7. ↑ Conservative News / Talk | Station format. In: salemmedia.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016 .
  8. ↑ https://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2003/05/15/from-democrat-to-independent-to-republican-n908981
  9. ↑ By Nafees Syed, Special to CNN: Airport screening for 'Flying while Muslim' - CNN.com . ( cnn.com [accessed June 3, 2017]).
  10. ^ The Mike Gallagher Show - Salem Radio Network . In: Salem Radio Network . ( srnonline.com [accessed June 3, 2017]).
  11. ^ Dennis Prager Articles - Political Columnist & Commentator - Dennis Prager. Retrieved June 3, 2017 .
  12. ^ The Dennis Prager Show - Salem Radio Network . In: Salem Radio Network . ( srnonline.com [accessed June 3, 2017]).
  13. ↑ a b c http://www.talkers.com/2016-talkers-heavy-hundred-26-50/
  14. ^ Stanley J. Baran, Dennis K. Davis (2011): Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future. Cengage learning
  15. ^ The Michael Medved Show - Salem Radio Network . In: Salem Radio Network . ( srnonline.com [accessed June 3, 2017]).
  16. ↑ About Us. In: salemmedia.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016 .
  17. ^ Salem Communications - Salem Communications Appoints Bob Fox as General Manager for Sacramento Station Cluster. In: salem.mwnewsroom.com. Retrieved September 3, 2016 .
  18. ↑ WYLL-AM 1160 kHz Radio Station Information. In: radio-locator.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016 .