Faith
and the Media
Ironically, the new movement comes as the Canadian Radio-Television Commission
is cracking down on Talk Radio 1290 [a Winnipeg radio station] in what
may be a message to the entire business to clean up its act. The CRTC has
given a mandatory order to the station to stop offensive on-air comments
such as anti-gay remarks made by two hosts last fall.
The new brand of spiritual radio doesn’t consist of church sounds or
a traditional sermon from a studio. GodTalk, a program airing Sunday evenings
on CJOB-680, is a fast-paced three hours of open lines, debate and humour
that co-host Dave Balzer says does everything but preach.
“It’s not a religious show; it’s a show done by three religious guys,”
says Balzer, a Mennonite radio producer who works the microphones with
Greg Musselman, an evangelical Vineyard pastor and Baptist pastor Chris
Wells. The diversity of the co-hosts’ beliefs is the foundation from which
GodTalk tries to build an open dialogue on religious issues, Balzer says.
“We invite people from all backgrounds to explore their notions of God.”
Since its debut last September, the show has opened the phone to issues
ranging from God’s place in the bedroom to the supposed arrogance of evangelical
Christians. A Valentine’s Day program dealt with God and sex.
The feedback the hosts get from most ministers is positive, but reactions
to the show vary. “We’ve been called too irreverent,” says Balzer. “People
say you can talk about God, but not joke about God. We say isn’t God big
enough to laugh?”
The concept seems to be working as both a vehicle for spiritual discussion
and a ratings winner. The hosts say GodTalk has sparked a strong reaction
from people under 25. Many of them, when calling, admit their not religious.
The just-released Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ratings peg GodTalk
at fourth place in the Winnipeg market in its time slot, attracting 12
percent of listeners.
“That’s pretty good for a new show,” says CJOB news and program director
Vic Grant. “There’s a growing increase in interest. You can tell by the
number of people asking about the program.”
The religious radio movement has also attracted Charles Adler, host
of ‘OB’s flagship talk program, Adler On Line. For the past two months,
the sometimes controversial host as allotted an hour of each Friday’s show
to a ‘religious roundtable.’
“Many of the issues that really matter are looked at differently (by
people with a background in religion) than by the rest of us,” says Adler.
“It’s just one of the things that I think secular radio is missing.”
Talk Radio 1290 is another local mainstream station that offers such
programming. Woman to Woman, a U.S.-based call-in show, offers female listeners
insight into how to live a better life spiritually.
“It does well for us, and when we get the response we had a few weeks
ago (just after the Littleton, Colo. Shootings), it shows its popularity,
says program director Chris Brooke, adding 1290 has had requests for a
Sunday night faith-based program.
CBC Radio One, Christian-oriented CKJS-810 and the six rural Manitoba
stations owned by Altona-based Golden West Broadcasting are longtime mainstays
of church-based and spiritual content. Though these outlets have succeeded
in maintaining their audience niches among listeners, observers say it’s
the new directions taken by commercial giants such as CJOB that are raising
eyebrows.
“Some people are amazed this is going on,” says Pastor Wells during
a commercial break in the studio. “This is a secular radio station that
usually bashes religious points of view.”
The addition of the religious component to Adler’s prime-time gabfest
represents a significant shift in the way mainstream radio programmers
view religious issues, says Rev. Bruce Martin, senior pastor at Winnipeg’s
Calvary Temple. But on a deeper note, it shows that greater numbers of
people are turning to spirituality to find meaning in their lives.
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Last modified: 29 October 1999
