Salem Radio Network

Network information[edit]

Salem Radio Network was launched in 2009, and operates on mostly four radio formats: Christian talk and teaching (transmitted on AM in some areas and on FM in others), Contemporary Christian music (transmitted mostly on FM stations), conservative News/Talk format (transmitted on AM stations), and Christian Teaching (transmitted on AM stations).


Contemporary Christian Music is transmitted full-time on most stations, but in areas where Salem has a limited number of stations it is transmitted only part-time in morning and afternoon drive times on weekdays and weekend afternoons. Where Salem only has one FM station (WAVA-FM in Washington, D.C., and WORD-FM in Pittsburgh), CCM is transmitted on weekends, with talk and teaching on weekdays. Most CCM stations play music full-time and do not sell blocks of time to religious organizations except sometimes on Sunday mornings.


Christian Talk, comprising talk shows where listeners call in and participate in the show, is transmitted during weekdays in some areas, and only in drive times in others. The rest of the day is filled with blocks of time ranging from a few minutes to an hour sold to churches and Christian organizations.


Conservative Talk (branded in most markets as "The Answer" since 2014) transmits full-time on a commercial basis. These stations only sell advertisement time, not blocks of time like Christian Talk counterparts (though brokered programming may be offered on weekends as secular stations often do). Some of these stations have religious programs on Sunday mornings.


The teaching format relies on selling blocks of time to organizations full-time. These stations offer diverse religious features such as church services, political and religious interview features, Christian family life programs, and children's shows. Music (exclusively Christian) is only transmitted by a few of these stations at times during the weekend.^[1]