Back to Exponent Menu Printer Friendly Page   LOCAL FEATURES Friday, December 06, 2002 Local Catholic radio station targets Feb. 1 date WPAO-AM will be available in the northeast corner of the diocese By Lou Jacquet Catholic radio programming may be coming to a radio near you soon if you live in the northeastern portion of the Diocese of Youngstown. Just how soon depends on the number of diocesan Catholics and other donors who step forward to help raise the $350,000 necessary to make it happen. Bishop Thomas Tobin has given the green light for Holy Family Communications to establish the new, not-for-profit Catholic station on WPAO-AM 1470, a 2,500-watt former Black Gospel station, in the coming months. The offices and tower will be in Brookfield. Holy Family Communications currently operates a not-for-profit Catholic radio station in New York State, and is awaiting approval for another in Scranton, Pa. The company never begins operation in a diocese without the approval of the local bishop. No diocesan funds will be used for this project. David Vacheresse, a representative of Holy Family Communications, spoke recently with the Exponent about the new venture. Vacheresse works out of Green Bay, Wis., but has been living in the Youngstown area for a few weeks to get the project under way. He said the station is likely to be available for listening between Andover and Rogers and the Pennsylvania line west to Garrettsville, pending Federal Communication Commission approval, which is expected in January. The station, which was purchased by Holy Family Communications, could be on the air Feb. 1. Its signal will be strong in cars and buildings as far west as Newton Falls, as far north as Gustavus and as far south as Leetonia, but probably will not penetrate the walls of buildings beyond that, Vacheresse said. “Which is OK, because most people listen to radio in the car,” he noted. “Our signal will reach them.” Vacheresse said that, once on the air, Catholic not-for-profit stations are self-supportive. Each requires only a full-time station manager and a “half-time” staffer; the latter role could be shared by several unpaid volunteers. Added Vacheresse: “The station becomes a vehicle by which other Catholic organizations in the area and parishes have a way of raising money for themselves. This is a radio station that is meant for the edification and building up of the local Church. So we give it over to them and ask, ‘How do you want to use this?’ Each diocese has absolute say over what is put on the air as far as local programming goes.” Parishes can make public service announcements pertaining to fund-raisers or special events or speakers, he explained. Vacheresse estimates about 60 diocesan parishes are within the range of this particular station. Programming will come from a satellite-fed mix from various sources. There will be seven hours per day of live programming – live call in, news talk and the like. The programming will include a two-hour morning drive show by Jeff Cavins, who covers news and events out of Minneapolis. A two-hour afternoon drive show is offered, along with Catholic Answers Live from San Diego. Canton’s Dr. Ray Guarendi will be featured on a call-in show in the afternoon as well. Vacheresse stressed that the underlying purpose of the programming is evangelization and catechesis, with an emphasis on an “absolutely, authentically Catholic programming” articulating concepts found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Asked how this new venture could succeed, given the high-profile failure of Catholic radio stations in Cleveland and the entire Catholic Family Radio empire not long ago, Vacheresse said the key lies precisely in the non-profit status. “Catholic Family Radio was in some major marketplaces with $70-or-$80-million-dollar investments, using a for-profit model with investors.” While there have been no successful for-profit Catholic radio ventures, he said, not-for-profit Catholic radio is thriving. The latter are operated as a ministry and are run far more simply. “To come into a marketplace and believe that you can create 24 hours of [Catholic] radio programming a day, with live microphone and all that good stuff all day, and have the staff to do that, is ludicrous,” Vacheresse added. “It won’t work. There is not that kind of support [available]. But to run a Catholic radio station from a central location, taking satellite-fed programming and using what is out there, is plausible. It works. It has worked in many marketplaces at this point.” The first non-for-profit Catholic radio station, KIHM in Nevada, was created in 1997; when WPAO goes on the air, it will be the 43rd such Catholic station in the United States. According to Vacheresse, this is a growth time for Catholic non-profit radio. Many different groups have begun to create Catholic radio programming. Yet Catholic radio remains in its infancy compared to the 1,500 Protestant radio stations broadcasting nationwide. There are approximately 15,000 AM and FM radio stations in the country. Protestant radio ministry operations have been instrumental in helping Catholic radio efforts get off the ground “without re-inventing the wheel,” Vacheresse added. Holy Family Communications is currently undertaking a capital campaign among diocesan Catholics here to raise the necessary $350,000 to launch the station. Major donors and business sponsorships are also sought. Pledge talks at the end of Mass at diocesan parishes are anticipated; in other dioceses, as many as 50 percent of the persons at Mass have pledged to support Catholic radio programming, Vacheresse pointed out. Prayer for the success of the new venture in each diocese is vital, he said. Holy Family Communication literature notes the eventual goal is to put a not-for-profit Catholic radio station into every community in the country. Vacheresse can be reached through January at P.O. Box 6191, Youngstown OH 44501-6191, or by calling 330-270-3329.   Back to Exponent Menu Printer Friendly Page   Other Articles of 2002   Christmas letter from El Salvador missions thanks diocesan Catholics   Bishop shares views, discussion with Central students   ETC slates Christmas specials throughout the season   My Favorite Christmas Memories   Guidelines on religious ed homeschooling are issued   Local Catholic radio station targets Feb. 1 date   HMs end 98-years of service to Salem St. Paul Parish   Learn ‘language’ of young, youth meet speaker urges   Bishop Tobin: Meeting in D.C. on norms was ‘anxious, tense, difficult’   Priests must ask one another the tough questions, speaker says   Catholic death and funeral rites   Deacons mark 25th with Mass, dinner, memories   Diocesan Ministry Convocation Speaker: Global solidarity, not globalization, should be aim   Jusseaume inaugurated as sixth Walsh president   Diaconate marks 25th anniversary with Oct. 27 fete   New norms sent to priests, deacons on Communion under both kinds   Ashtabula parishes are ‘one Catholic community’   Jusseaume to become Walsh’s sixth president   Charismatic speaker: ‘Church being tested in faithfulness’   Lutheran/Catholic covenant event draws 140 to Walsh   Canton St. Joseph Parish observes centennial celebration   HMHP CEO Michael Rowan   Stewardship speaker: It’s about gratitude and thanking God first   Imagination is key to resolving crisis, priests told   War with Iraq? Expo readers opposed by 81-19%   Newspaper columns didn’t give complete story, official says   Diocesan Ministry Convocation set Oct. 26 at YSU’s Kilcawley   New year brings new faculty, changes at diocesan high schools   Mont St. Michel, Avignon’s papal palace are treasures   Preparing for the priesthood   Entering well-earned retirement, Sr. Marcella’s not slowing down   Warren St. Mary observes 100th year for church building   Lay Ministry Formation program attracting new audience   The cathedrals of France: Monuments of faith in stone   Executive summary of the ad hoc commission on athletics in diocesan high schools   ‘No widespread abuse’ found   Milburn leaving pro-life post to pursue grad studies   Return to France yields history, memories, surprises   Two new members appointed for Diocesan Finance Council   Former SS. C&M school razed, but memories remain   Pastor, 80, keeps busy with ‘lots of interests’   Ravenna IC boasts 5 high school valedictorians for ‘02   Humility Sister Sandy Pedone to profess perpetual vows July 21   NRLC convention filled with good news   ‘Capture the Romance’ is theme for NFP Week   Question of moral evil discussed at Walsh symposium   Notre Dame Sisters will celebrate jubilees July 14   ‘A great lady’ retires   Statement of Bishop Tobin on the meeting of the U. S. Conference   Haladej, Celuch ordained to priesthood, diaconate in Slovakia   Bishop plans implementation of norms on sexual abuse   Kevin McCaffrey, Robert Miller are newest priests   Theologian: ‘Behave toward others as though God were there’   Fr. 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