I want my CCM!!!!!

I've wanted to be in radio since I was three. So, now approaching my 20th anniversary of starting in the biz, I come across a very frustrating thought....

...after spending nine hard, yet wonderful years, proclaiming and (hopefully) progressing Christian radio in Richmond, this market is woefully underserved today.

This diatribe is not to focus on "blame" or "fault". It's simply a lonely wolf crying for help that, I suspect, is the same muted cry of thousands of others in the metro area.

From 1988 to 1997 I was Operations Manager (and many other hats) at WDYL-FM. We were the Contemporary Christian Music station for Richmond (hence the term "CCM", as in "CCM Magazine".

In those years, we played the best in adult contemporary Christian music about 18 hours a day and was the conduit, the meeting place of much of the Christian community. When an artist would come to town, we'd get behind the effort. Many artists would come in concert to Richmond then. Why? Because the CCM industry, based in Nashville, knew Richmond was, though a tough concert town, a CCM radio town. I got spoiled because, in those years, and through all my contacts in Nashville (some wonderful people I shall never forget), I would see stations be sold, undergo format changes, and entire markets lose their CCM outlet, not thinking that could happen in Richmond.

Well, it did. First, my old station was sold two years after my departure and is now owned by Cox. Then the other major CCM player in this half of Virginia sold its two FM's and various translators to a group whose stations play lots of teaching programs, and mostly praise and worship music. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not CCM.

So, I flip around the dial, and when Rebecca St. James' CD is a month away from being released, there's no CCM station playing her first single. There's no chance to "win the CD before you can buy it", and, if there's no foundation in the market, you can bet your bottom dollar Rebecca St. James won't be coming to this town (and she hasn't been here in six or seven years, by the way....)

Richmond desperately needs a CCM outlet, preferably on FM. There are some residents upset that American Family Radio, already the owner of 89.7 FM east of town, now has been granted a CP to go on the air at 88.1 FM just west of town. Their current station, quite frankly, is not good. I don't listen. The morning show is national, and marginal in quality, plus it doesn't have a true focus, and the entire station suffers from that problem, too. There's no local flavor, but that's not the fault of the local people, well, person. AFR outlets are usually operated by as few people as possible (in many cases, by one person). Trust me, one person cannot run an entire radio operation.

"Dear, what did you do today?"

"Well, I pitched a six-month underwriting campaign to the Nissan dealer and First Presbyterian Church, then went to the transmitter site and performed maintenance, then got back to the station just in time to do two hours on the air, check the 27 messages on voice mail, reply to emails, open the mail, and post deposits."

Yeah. Right.

I'm sure AFR consists of some nice, God-fearing, good-meaning people. But they have alot to learn about radio.

Thus, even though they now have two FM sticks in town, it doesn't mean the CCM audience is served. They flip back from talk to music to talk; the music doesn't have a focused audience (which any radio station must have; no station can ever be all things to all people anymore, not in our niche society of 500 cable channels and satellite radio), and then there's Don Wildmon's talk fest at midday where he rails against one group or the other.

I posted about this at a radio site this evening when someone wished the new stick was for a jazz, classical, or NPR station. My reason for posting was to make sure they understood just because a "Christian" group won the CP, it doesn't mean they are serving all Christians. Many people don't realize there are multiple Christian radio formats. I closed the post with this:

"Salem, if you're listening, catch a "Fish" and bring it to Richmond. Please?"

I'm dying for a good Christian music concert. I came home from church tonight playing it "old school" with everything from Larnelle Harris and Wayne Watson, to DC Talk (Word 2 The Father!)

It was a great trip down memory lane. Unfortunately, it's also my only choice for CCM in Richmond right now (good thing I have a CD/cassette player in the van and a CD player in the Cougar!)


UPDATE:

Rachel had a WONDERFUL 8th birthday; she got a shag haircut the day before and she looks much older (Dad thinks it's pretty but isn't too fond of the "it makes her look older" aspect of it all...), we went bowling, went out to eat, then the cousins came over for cake.

Today is different. She's got a tummy virus, so no church today (and Rachel HATES to miss church!), and we'll probably keep her home tomorrow from school, just to make sure. I understand the virus is making the rounds at school and elsewhere. Now it WILL leave this house!!

Word!

And good night.