Salem Communications Corporation is no more. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Salem Media Group!
The change is in honor of the company’s success in monetizing its new media properties. Or as Salem put it, the change is designed “…to reflect the dynamic growth of Salem’s multi-media business.”
Here’s how Salem described its thought process: “From its start as a single radio station, Salem has grown into an industry leader across multiple media platforms, including radio, digital, print and mobile. Salem is still a powerhouse in radio; Salem owns 106 radio stations across the country, and produces several of the largest nationally-syndicated radio shows on-air today. In addition, Salem owns several of the most influential brands in the Christian and conservative media space, including Crosswalk.com, GodVine.com, Christianity.com, BibleStudyTools.com, TownHall.com, HotAir.com, RedState.com, Human Events.com, the Conservative Book Club, and Regnery Publishing.”
“Salem’s mission has always been to serve our two core audiences – Christian and conservative – with engaging and meaningful content” explained Edward Atsinger, Salem’s Chief Executive Officer. “That mission brought us into radio, and it has guided our growth ever since. As more and more of our audience seeks new ways to get information and inspiration, we have added new media platforms to our traditional radio offerings. Now nearly one-third of our total revenue comes from non-broadcast sources. This rebranding of Salem acknowledges our evolution and confirms our commitment to serve our market.”
RBR-TVBR observation: We have always been impressed by Salem’s leadership role within the industry when it comes to seeking out and building new revenue streams.
Is the openness a natural outgrowth of its unique dual-income radio history, which featured traditional advertising cash supplemented by rental income from religious partners who used Salem’s vast radio platform to broadcast their own local religious messages?
We have no idea – all we know is that this is one company that has branched out into a number of platforms all while remaining true to its core programming philosophy.
The trails Salem has helped to blaze figure to be a positive for the radio business as a whole, and the group is to be commended for it.
