Salem Media Group

Last updated

Salem Media Group, Inc.
Company typePublic company
Nasdaq:  SALM (Class A)
Russell Microcap Index component
IndustryMass media
commercial radio broadcasting
GenreRadio broadcasting, publishing, internet content provider
Founded1974
Founders Stuart Epperson
Edward Atsinger III
Headquarters
6400 N Beltline Road
Irving, Texas
,
United States
Revenue$262.78 million (2018) [1]
Number of employees
1,173 (2019)
Website salemmedia.com

Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Irving, Texas, targeting audiences interested in Christian values and what it describes as "family-themed content and conservative values". [2]

Contents

Salem Media Group owns 117 radio stations in 38 markets, including 60 stations in the top 25 markets and 29 in the top 10, making it tied with Audacy for the fifth-largest radio broadcaster. [2]

In addition to its radio properties, the company owns:

The company was founded by brothers-in-law Stuart Epperson and Edward G. Atsinger III and is a for-profit corporation. This allows it to accept commercial advertising.

History

Former logo of Salem Communications. Salem Communications.svg
Former logo of Salem Communications.

In 1974 Atsinger (chief executive officer) and Epperson (chairman of the board) combined their radio assets to create Salem Communications. Beginning with stations in North Carolina and California, Atsinger and Epperson purchased station properties in Boston, San Antonio, New York, San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles and other markets, converting them to Christian talk stations. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, they expanded formats to include contemporary Christian music (with most stations under this format branded as "The Fish"), [3] news talk (branded as "The Answer"), Spanish-language Christian content, and business programming. [4]

Many of Salem's stations are licensed to subsidiaries, organized by geographical area and media cluster as the company has acquired new stations and their previous licensees.

Salem Communications Corp acquired Twitter curation site, Twitchy.com. In January 2014, the Company announced the acquisition of the assets of Eagle Publishing, including Regnery Publishing, Human Events, and RedState, as well as sister companies Eagle Financial Publications and Eagle Wellness. [5]

On February 23, 2015 Salem Communications changed its name to Salem Media Group. [6] [7]

In 2015 Salem Media Group expanded their digital platform with acquisitions of several businesses and assets, including DividendYieldHunter.com, [8] Stockinvestor.com; [9] DividendInvestor.com, [10] a Spanish Bible mobile app, along with its related website and Facebook properties; the DailyBible mobile app; the Daily Bible Devotion mobile app; and also, Bryan Perry's Newsletters.

In 2016 Salem Media Group continued to expand by acquiring the websites ChristianConcertAlerts.com, Historyonthenet.com and Authentichistory.com; as well as Mike Turner's line of investment products, including TurnerTrends.com; [11] the Retirement Watch newsletter and website, Retirementwatch.com; [12] and the King James Bible mobile application. Salem Media Group also acquired Mill City Press from Hillcrest Publishing Group, Inc.

In July 2017 Salem Media Group merged DividendYieldHunter.com and transferred all content into DividendInvestor.com. [13]

In March 2019 political writer Raheem Kassam and lawyer Will Chamberlain purchased Human Events from Salem Media Group for $300,000. [14]

In early 2021 the company moved most operations from the former main operations city of Camarillo, California to Irving, Texas, the same location of their long-owned radio station KLTY.

On November 8, 2023 Salem exited the Upstate market after it sold WGTK in Greenville, North Carolina and the Earth FM stations to Educational Media Foundation, resulting in WGTK switching to the K-Love network and WRTH and WLTE switching to Air1 several days before.

Radio stations and licensees

Salem's radio stations are organized into six categories:

As of 2023, Salem's radio stations and licensees (with stations arranged by state and market served) are: [15]

AM StationsFM Stations

Bison Media

MarketStationCurrent Format
Colorado Springs KZNT 1460 Conservative talk
KBIQ 102.7 Christian adult contemporary
KGFT 100.7 Christian talk and teaching
DallasFort Worth KSKY 660Conservative talk

Inspiration Media, Inc.

MarketStationCurrent Format
SeattleTacoma KGNW 820Christian talk and teaching
KKOL 1300Conservative talk

New Inspiration Broadcasting Co., Inc.

MarketStationCurrent Format
Los Angeles KRLA 870Conservative talk
KFSH-FM 95.9 Contemporary Christian Music
KKLA-FM 99.5Christian talk and teaching
OxnardVentura KDAR 98.3Christian talk and teaching
Sacramento KFIA 710Christian talk and teaching
KTKZ 1380Conservative talk
KKFS 103.9Contemporary Christian Music
San Diego KCBQ 1170Conservative talk
KPRZ 1210Christian talk and teaching
San Francisco – Oakland KTRB 860Conservative talk
KFAX 1100Christian talk and teaching
KDYA 1190Urban gospel
KDIA 1640Christian talk and teaching

Salem Communications Holding Corporation

MarketStationCurrent Format
Phoenix KKNT 960Conservative talk
KXXT 1010Christian talk and teaching
KPXQ 1360Christian talk and teaching
Little Rock KKSP 93.3Contemporary Christian Music
KDIS-FM 99.5Christian talk and teaching
KDXE 101.1Conservative talk
RiversideSan Bernardino KTIE 590Conservative talk
Washington, D.C. WWRC 570Conservative talk
WRCW 1250Conservative talk (simulcasts WWRC)
WAVA 780Christian talk and teaching
WAVA-FM 105.1Christian talk and teaching
OrlandoDaytona Beach WORL 950Conservative talk
WTLN 990Christian talk and teaching
SarasotaBradenton WLSS 930Conservative talk
TampaSt. Petersburg WTBN 570Christian talk and teaching
WLCC 760Christian talk and teaching
(simulcasts WTBN)
WGUL 860Conservative talk
WTWD 910Christian talk and teaching
(simulcasts WTBN)
Atlanta WDWD 590Christian talk and teaching
WGKA 920Conservative talk
WNIV/970Christian talk and teaching
WLTA 1400Christian talk and teaching
(simulcasts WNIV)
WFSH-FM 104.7Contemporary Christian Music
Boston WEZE 590Christian talk and teaching
Detroit WDTK 1400Conservative talk
WLQV 1500Christian talk and teaching
MinneapolisSaint Paul KKMS 980Christian talk and teaching
KYCR 1440Business talk
KDIZ 1570Conservative talk
Cleveland WHKW 1220Christian talk and teaching
WHK 1420Conservative talk
Portland, Oregon KFIS 104.1Contemporary Christian Music
Philadelphia WFIL 560Christian talk and teaching
WNTP 990Conservative talk
Pittsburgh WPIT 730Christian talk and teaching
WPGP 1250Conservative talk
WORD-FM 101.5Christian talk and teaching
Nashville WFFI 93.7Contemporary Christian Music
WFFH 94.1Contemporary Christian Music
HoustonGalveston KNTH 1070Conservative talk
San Antonio KLUP 930Conservative talk

Inspiration Media of Texas, LLC.

MarketStationCurrent Format
Dallas – Fort Worth KTNO 620Spanish Christian
KLTY 94.9Contemporary Christian Music
KWRD-FM 100.7Christian talk and teaching

Reach Satellite Network, Inc.

MarketStationCurrent Format
Nashville WBOZ 104.9Contemporary Christian Music

Salem Media of Massachusetts, LLC.

MarketStationCurrent Format
Chicago WYLL 1160Christian talk and teaching
Boston WROL 950Christian talk and teaching
Minneapolis – Saint Paul WWTC 1280Conservative talk
Cleveland WFHM-FM 95.5Contemporary Christian Music

Salem Media of Colorado, Inc.

MarketStationCurrent Format
Denver – Boulder KNUS 710Conservative talk
KRKS 990Christian talk and teaching
KBJD 1650Spanish Christian
KRKS-FM 100.7Christian talk and teaching

Salem Media of Hawaii, Inc.

MarketStationCurrent Format
Honolulu KHNR 690Conservative talk
KGU 760 Sports
KHCM 880Chinese
KAIM-FM 95.5Contemporary Christian Music
KHCM-FM 97.5 Country
KGU-FM 99.5Christian talk and teaching
KKOL-FM 107.9Classic Hits

Salem Media of Illinois, LLC.

MarketStationCurrent Format
Chicago WIND 560Conservative talk
Houston – Galveston KKHT-FM 100.7Christian talk and teaching

Salem Media of New York, LLC.

MarketStationCurrent Format
New York City WMCA 570Christian talk and teaching
WNYM 970Conservative talk

Salem Media of Ohio, Inc.

MarketStationCurrent Format
Columbus, Ohio WRFD 880Christian talk and teaching
WTOH 98.9Conservative talk

Salem Media of Oregon, Inc.

MarketStationCurrent Format
Portland, Oregon KPDQ 800Christian talk and teaching
KPAM 860Conservative talk
KDZR 1640Regional Mexican
KRYP 93.1 Regional Mexican
KPDQ-FM 93.9Christian talk and teaching

Salem Media of Texas, Inc.

MarketStationCurrent Format
San Antonio KSLR 630Christian talk and teaching


SCA-Palo Alto, LLC.

MarketStationCurrent Format
San Francisco – Oakland KDOW 1220Business talk

Salem Radio Network

Salem Radio Network is a satellite radio network serving general market News/Talk stations and Christian-formatted stations through affiliate partnerships serving more than 2,700 radio stations. The five major divisions are SRN Talk, SRN News, Salem Music Network, Salem Media Reps and Vista Media Reps and SRN Satellite Services.

The satellite feed for Salem's general market programming can be heard on the CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks, on CRN3. [17]

Salem Publishing

Salem's flagship publication, CCM Magazine , was in the Christian music industry for more than 25 years. Salem no longer prints CCM Magazine, but it still exists in an online-only format. Other magazine publications include Singing News Magazine, which discusses happenings involving the Southern gospel community. [18]

Salem Author Services

Under the umbrella of Salem Author Service are Xulon Press, Mill City Press, and the websites Bookprinting.com, Bookediting.com, Publishgreen.com, and Libertyhill.com.

Xulon Press is a self-publishing digital publisher of books targeting a Christian audience. [19] They use print on demand technologies that store books electronically and print them only as they are ordered. Xulon was founded by Christian author and publisher Tom Freiling and was acquired by Salem in 2006. [20]

Salem Español Online

Salem owns a collection of Spanish language sites that provide a variety of Christian and family-friendly resources online. A few of those sites are CristoTarjetas.com; ElsitioCristiano.com; BibliaVida.com and LuzMundial.com.[ citation needed ]

Political activities

The founders of Salem Communications support various religious causes, and are noted for their role in spreading politically conservative opinion to areas dependent on radio for current events information. In 2005, Epperson was reported in Time magazine as one of the "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America". [21] In 2004 he co-chaired "Americans of Faith", a religiously based Republican electoral campaign. Both founders have served on the Council for National Policy, a group of conservative influencers, intellectuals, donors, and former elected officials known to feature right-wing extremists as members, and Epperson has served as president of the Council. [22] [23] [24] [25] They gave $100,000 to the Bush presidential reelection campaign and $780,000 to the 2000 "California Defense of Marriage Act" (Proposition 22) ballot measure. [26]

Related Research Articles

Salem Radio Network is a United States-based radio network that specializes in syndicated Christian political talk, music, and conservative secular news/talk programming. It is a division of the Salem Media Group.

Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which was broken up in 2007; Cumulus owned the portion of the network that was purchased by Citadel Broadcasting that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCVX</span> Radio station in Florence, Kentucky

WCVX is a radio station licensed to Florence, Kentucky in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. WCVX is owned by the Christian Broadcasting System and it carries a Christian radio format. Its studios and offices are on West Seventh Street in Cincinnati and its transmitter is off Fowler Creek Road in Florence. WCVX broadcasts with a directional antenna with 5,000 watts in the daytime but at night it reduces power to 990 watts to protect KSL in Salt Lake City, the Class A Clear-channel station on 1160 kHz. WYLL in Chicago, Illinois is the only other full-time 50,000-watt station on 1160 AM, although it is a Class B station.

WORD-FM is a Christian talk radio station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Owned by the Salem Media Group, the station broadcasts with an ERP of 43 kW. Its transmitter is located in Reserve Township, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWRD-FM</span> Radio station in Highland Village–Dallas, Texas

KWRD-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Highland Village, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It is owned by the Salem Media Group and broadcasts a Christian talk and teaching radio format. The call sign represents the station's moniker, "The Word," as in The Word of God. KWRD-FM is not co-owned with KWRD (AM) in Henderson, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAVA-FM</span> Religious talk radio station in Arlington, Virginia

WAVA-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Arlington, Virginia, and serving the Washington metro area. The station is owned and operated by the Salem Media Group, and airs a Christian talk and teaching radio format. Religious leaders pay WAVA-FM for their time on the air and then seek donations to support their ministries. Hosts include Chuck Swindoll, Jim Daly, Charles Stanley, John MacArthur, Rick Warren, David Jeremiah, Tony Evans, and David Anderson.

KTNO is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Plano, Texas, and serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The station airs a Spanish Christian radio format known as "Radio Luz Dallas" and is owned by the Salem Media Group. Studios and offices are on North Belt Line Road in Irving. The transmitter is located on County Road 409 in McKinney.

Stuart (Stu) Watson Epperson was an American businessman, politician and evangelical who was the co-founder and chairman of Salem Media Group, and a member and the president of the conservative Council for National Policy ("CNP").

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KDZR</span> Radio station in Lake Oswego, Oregon

KDZR is a commercial radio station, licensed to Lake Oswego, Oregon, and serving the Portland metropolitan area. The station airs a regional Mexican radio format and is owned by the Salem Media Group. KDZR's studios and offices are on SE Lake Road in Portland.

WQOP is a radio station licensed to serve Jacksonville, Florida. The station is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc., and broadcasts a Catholic radio format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDWD</span> Radio station in Atlanta, Georgia

WDWD is a Christian talk station serving the metro Atlanta market. It airs "The Eric Metaxas Show", "Family Talk with Dr. James Dobson", "Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah" and "The Narrow Path" hosted by Steve Gregg. It is owned by Salem Media Group.

WTLN is a commercial AM radio station located in Orlando, Florida. It is owned by the Salem Media Group and it airs a Christian talk and teaching radio format. The offices and studios are on Lake View Drive in Altamonte Springs. Some of the national religious leaders heard on WTLN include David Jeremiah, Chuck Swindoll, Jim Daly, John MacArthur and Charles Stanley. Hosts pay for 30- to 60-minute segments on WTLN and can use the time to seek donations to their ministries. WTLN is known as "AM 990 and FM 101.5 The Word."

KRDY is an AM radio station in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the non-profit organization Relevant Radio, Inc., based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The station is an affiliate of its catholic–talk radio network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KDAR</span> Christian radio station in Oxnard, California, United States

KDAR is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Oxnard, California, and serving the Oxnard-Ventura and Santa Barbara radio markets. It is owned by the Salem Media Group and it broadcasts a Christian talk and teaching radio format. It uses brokered programming where hosts buy their time on the air and may seek donations to their ministries during their programs. National religious leaders heard on KDAR include John MacArthur, Jim Daly, Alistair Begg, Chuck Swindoll, Charles Stanley and David Jeremiah. Updates are provided by SRN News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGTK (AM)</span> Radio station in Louisville, Kentucky

WGTK is a commercial AM radio station in Louisville, Kentucky. It is owned by the Word Media Group with the license held by the Word Broadcasting Network, Inc. It airs a conservative talk radio format, calling itself "970 The Answer", similar to many talk stations carrying the Salem Radio Network. Its studios and offices are on Corporate Campus Drive in Louisville.

WKVG is a radio station in Greenville, South Carolina, serving Upstate South Carolina including the Greenville-Spartanburg radio market. WKVG is owned and operated by the Educational Media Foundation, and is an affiliate of K-Love.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKHT-FM</span> Radio station in Lumberton, Texas

KKHT-FM is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Lumberton, Texas, and serving Greater Houston as well as the Golden Triangle. It is owned by Salem Media of Illinois, LLC, a subsidiary of the Salem Media Group, and it airs a Christian talk and teaching radio format. Studios and offices are in the Sharpstown district in Southwest Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGUL</span> Radio station in Dunedin, Florida

WGUL is a radio station broadcasting a conservative talk radio format. Licensed to Dunedin, Florida, United States, it serves the Tampa Bay area. The station is owned by Salem Communications and features only syndicated conservative weekday programming from Salem Radio Network. 860 kHz is a Canadian clear-channel frequency.

WORL is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Orlando, Florida, United States. It serves Central Florida, including the Greater Orlando radio market. It airs a conservative talk radio format and is known as "AM 950 and FM 94.9 The Answer." WORL is owned by the Salem Media Group with studios and offices on Lake View Drive in Altamonte Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWRC</span> Radio station in Bethesda, Maryland

WWRC – branded AM 570 The Answer – is a commercial conservative talk radio station licensed to serve Bethesda, Maryland. Owned by the Salem Media Group, the station services the Washington metro area and is the market affiliate for the Salem Radio Network and The Sean Hannity Show. The WWRC studios are located in Arlington, while the station transmitter resides in nearby Germantown. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WWRC is available online.

References

  1. "Salem Media Group Company Profile". Craft. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "About Us – Salem Media Group". salem.cc.
  3. "Contemporary Christian Music – Station Formats – Salem Media Group". salem.cc. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012.
  4. "History – Salem Media Group". salem.cc. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012.
  5. "SALM acquisition of Twitchy.com". Archived from the original on March 25, 2014.
  6. "Salem rebrands to Salem Media Group". Radio Ink Magazine Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Salem Communications Corporation renamed to Salem Media Group". Radioandmusic.com. February 23, 2015.
  8. "Salem Media Group Announces Acquisition of DividendYieldHunter.com". Cision PR Newswire (Press release). November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  9. "StockInvestor.com". Stock Investor.
  10. "DividendInvestor.com". Dividend Investor.
  11. "Salem Media Group Announces Acquisition of Mike Turner's Line of Investment Products". Cision PR Newswire. October 27, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  12. "Retirement Watch". Retirement Watch.
  13. "Welcome Dividend Yield Hunter Readers". Dividend Investor. July 11, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  14. Wemple, Erik (March 1, 2019). "Breitbart alum to resuscitate Human Events". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  15. "Station Lists – Salem Media Group". salemmedia.com.
  16. "SRN – About Us". November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  17. "Salem Radio Network – Salem Media Group". salem.cc. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  18. "Salem Media Group | Reaching audiences through radio, web and print media".
  19. "Xulon Press – Salem Media Group". salemmedia.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  20. "Salem Communications Announces an 8.8% Increase in Second Quarter 2006 Total Revenue – Salem Media Investor Center". investor.salemmedia.com. June 7, 2023.
  21. "Stuart Epperson – The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America". Time. February 7, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  22. Katie Thornton (November 22, 2022). "The Divided Dial: Episode 2 – From Pulpit to Politics – On the Media". WNYC Studios (Podcast). Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  23. "The Council for National Policy: Behind the Curtain | Southern Poverty Law Center" . Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  24. Berlet, Chip (2018). Trumping democracy in the United States : from Ronald Reagan to alt-right. London: Routledge. ISBN   978-1-315-43839-9. OCLC   1129904664.
  25. Leonard, Kimberly; Relman, Eliza; Beckler, Hannah (September 24, 2021). "One of the most secretive and powerful groups in GOP politics just had its cellphone numbers leaked. Here's what its members said about Trump 2024 when we started calling". Business Insider.
  26. "A Higher Frequency". Mother Jones. Retrieved December 10, 2011.