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Phil's
Career Capsule
I began my career in Christian radio in 1987 at WPIT
AM-FM, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I worked as the WPIT News
Director from 1987 until 1992, when I took a position with the
StandardNews radio network in Washington, DC. StandardNews was begun
by Pat Robertson, but it was eventually bought by Salem
Communications and became SRN News in 1997. For a short period of
time before Salem bought the network, I worked as a correspondent
for Focus On The Family’s Family News In Focus program. Shortly
after my return to what was now SRN News I was promoted to Bureau
Chief and Managing Editor. My time with SRN News was very rewarding,
but for a number of reasons my wife and I decided to move from the
Washington, DC Metro Area to North Carolina. I took a short leave
from the news business while I served as Vice President of Media for
the Christian Research Institute in Charlotte. In 2007, I left that
position to get back into journalism and start the
Rip-N-Read news & information
(RNR News) news service. As president and managing editor of
Rip-N-Read news
I
have the tremendous privilege of being able to provide dozens of
Christian radio stations with an affordable and easy-to-use news
service. I also enjoy the added privilege of doing in-depth feature
reporting several times a week for the Moody Broadcasting Network’s
Prime Time America program.
1. Tell us about
Rip-N-Read news & information
(RNR News)… How the idea came about,
history etc.
Rip-N-Read news & information
is truly a one-of-a-kind news service: It covers all the major
general news stories of the day, as well as CCM, and
faith-and-values news at a tiny fraction of the cost of traditional
news wire services. Every story is written in an easy-to-read,
easy-to-understand, and family-friendly style. That’s why I named
the service Rip-N-Read.
The
name comes from the old broadcast journalism term “rip-and-read”. To
“rip-and-read” meant a news anchor had ripped copy from the old wire
service printer and read it on air without first proof-reading or
editing it. It was dangerous to do, because the anchor obviously
wouldn’t know what was in the copy until they read it on the air.
But the point of Rip-N-Read
news & information is that the user can “rip-and-read” the
copy, because it’s safe to read in every way. Of course, there’s no
actual ripping involved, because it’s a web-based service.
Just
as important as content is cost, though. What good is a news service
if a station can’t afford it? I believe strongly that radio stations
– especially Christian radio stations – should serve their audience
by keeping them well informed. I also know from 20 years in the
business just how tight Christian radio station budgets are. For
that reason, I’ve worked to make the cost of the service such that
virtually any station can afford it.
One of the ways we keep the cost down is by limiting the number of
hours during which we provide news updates throughout the day. As I
talked with stations in the development stage of
RNR news,
I realized that the greatest need for the service would be during
morning drive. So, we move stories continuously between 5:00AM and
12:00PM, Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. This covers morning
drive for all the time zones of the Continental United States – but
it also serves our friend and affiliate KICY in Nome, Alaska! We
also post major breaking news stories whenever they happen, 24/7.
2. How do you determine what stories are important to Christian
radio listeners?
In one sense, they’re the stories that are important to all
Americans: the economy, national security, health and well-being,
etc. So, we cover all of those types of stories. But there are
issues and events beyond the realm of general news that are uniquely
important to the Christian radio audience: the persecuted Church,
religious liberty legal cases both here in the U.S. and elsewhere,
the many facets of the life issue, well known people, places, and
events within Evangelicalism, etc.
Broadcast journalists have a responsibility to discern what their
audience wants to hear about while also determining what their
audience should hear about. I’ve been doing that for nearly 20 years
and I continue to take that responsibility very seriously every day
I sit down to do my work.
3. Has the economic situation affected your service? Any changes?
I believe the current economic situation has affected
Rip-N-Read news & information
in both a positive and negative way. A couple of our stations have
let us know that as much as they would like to keep the service,
either donations or ad revenue are down and they have to make some
cuts. However, because of the incredibly budget-friendly price of
RNR news all of our
other stations are able to utilize a robust news service even though
they’re feeling the pinch of the tightening economy.
4. How does your service help stations on the local level?
RNR News
does this in several ways. First, the RNR website provides a
mechanism that directs the user to local news sources in their area.
Additionally, because RNR
News is a text service and not an audio service, it empowers
and showcases the local station and its personalities: It’s the
local voice – the on-air friends that the listeners already know –
who is delivering the news; it’s the local station that decides what
stories will and won’t go over the air (have you ever cringed to
hear a certain story in a network newscast on your air?); it’s the
continuously updated feed of individual stories that allows every
air personality to use the RNR service in the way that best suits
the needs of their show – a top-of-the hour newscast, information
updates between songs, discussion topics for listener call-ins, etc.
Beyond that, RNR News’
thorough and efficient coverage of national, international,
faith-and-values, and music news frees up the station’s staff to
gather the important local news.
5. What is the advantage of using a service such as yours?
There are actually a number of important and meaningful advantages
for the radio station that uses the RNR News
service. Among them are: relevance, cost, flexibility, connection,
and shared values.
Any station is more relevant to its listeners when it demonstrates
that it’s aware of and cares about what’s going in the world.
When it comes to news services,
Rip-N-Read news & information
is simply an unbeatable value.
Because it’s a text service and not a network audio service, RNR
gives each station the flexibility of deciding what stories to use,
as well as where, when, and how best to use them.
By having all the major general news, music news, and
faith-and-values news instantly available at their finger tips,
stations can use that information to connect with their listeners.
RNR news
gets it; we’re not a broad-based media service that’s attempting to
super serve a particular demographic. We’re part of that
demographic. RNR News, its affiliates, and those affiliates’
listeners all share the same values and care about the same issues.
That’s evident in RNR News copy; it’s nuanced, respectful, and
intelligent in its coverage of the events of the day.
6. What place does news have on a CCM station?
Listeners of CCM radio are a loyal bunch, but when a station fails
to provide them with something as important as news is in the 21st
century it gives them a very good reason to tune away.
That’s one of the major reasons behind my decision to start
Rip-N-Read news & information.
There was no service that allowed Christian radio stations to
adequately, affordably, and ethically keep their listeners up to
date on the latest news and information. But
Rip-N-Read does.
The
news of the day is just another tool that we as Christians can use
to reach a lost world. Jesus did this. The first five verses of Luke
chapter 13 tell the story of Jesus referring to two “news stories”
of the day as a means of helping the people around Him gain an
eternal perspective.
There
exists a special relationship between CCM radio stations and their
listeners. The stations have a tremendous opportunity to insure that
those listeners are getting their news from a source that respects
them and shares their values.
7. Do
you use any other sources/services… tell why or why not?
Rip-N-Read news & information
does not subscribe to any services such as The Associated Press or
the Reuters news service. We go directly to the source of stories
whenever possible and attribute other news sources whenever they’re
used to help cover a story.
By
doing this we maintain complete independence, can offer the service
at a very low price, and are free to allow our affiliates to post
our content on their station website.
Understanding all that is involved with sourcing stories, violating
and respecting copyrights, confirming stories, and so on are all
issues which we take very seriously at RNR News. We are
painstakingly careful about the sources we use and how we use them.
Not only does
Rip-N-Read
adhere to journalism ethical standards, we also strive to abide by
Biblical standards in all that we do.
8. What do you think are the biggest obstacles facing Christian
radio today?
Money.
The non-commercial station is encouraging its listeners to include
them on the list of ministries to which they’ll give; the commercial
station is working to generate revenue from a limited pool of
advertisers. Both face the major challenge of bringing in enough
money every month to keep the lights on and do the very best
ministry they can.
I’ve watched it up close and personal for 22 years and I can’t begin
to adequately commend the owners, managers, and staff that make it
happen. The dedication, commitment, passion, hard work, and love
they demonstrate are nothing short of remarkable!.
9. Do you think there will be more or less morning syndication in
the future of Christian radio?
You know, I’m not going to venture a guess on that one. But I will
say this: I don’t think local Christian radio is going anywhere.
There is a unique connection to the local community that can only be
achieved between those who live and work in that community.
On the other hand, syndication can be a great thing. It allows a lot
of stations to have quality programming that they otherwise may not
have been able to have. And in a lot of ways good syndicated
programming can transcend many of the aspects of local programming.
I thought WAY-FM’s Brant Hansen made an excellent observation in his
January 2009 interview with HisAir.Net. He said, “The best ‘local’,
for me, isn’t about being in the same town. It’s about sounding like
you’re in the seat next to them. Or even part of the family. Local
is *a* way to be personal. But ‘personal’ is still the issue.”
I love local radio and always have. It was local radio that lit a
fire within me to choose the career I did. But it wasn’t long after
I was in local radio that I couldn’t wait to work in network and
syndicated radio. Each has a special place in my heart.
10. Where do you see Christian morning radio in 5 years?
Even
more interactive with its listeners than it is today. If we look
back at the last five years, we can see the dramatic impact the
Internet has had on the way in which the morning show and its
listeners interact with each other. As we look at current and
emerging technologies, the prospect for the next five years is
amazing.
Just
the growing use and availability of mobile connectivity alone could
lead to a profound increase in the level of interaction between
Christian radio morning teams and their listeners.
In
order to benefit from and not be diminished by those advances, each
Christian morning radio team must be aware of and utilize the
advances in the best way they possibly can.
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