Main Menu:
Submenu:
The U.S. government “should not stand in the way” if satellite radio rivals XM and Sirius need to combine, writes Mark Fowler, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, in an editorial in the New York Sun. The survival of satellite radio should be “decided by the people.” [More…]
I have been thinking about the state of Catholic media in our country. In speaking of Catholic media I cast the net broadly and include TV, terrestrial radio, internet radio, podcasts, magazines, newspapers, websites, satellite, blogs, and umm, well that’s about all I can think of. The question I am asking myself is what is the quality of this media. If I were to aggregate it and rank it as a whole, what grade would I give to it?
Catholic TV is practically non-existant as a broadcast medium and what is available is pretty bad. But, you say, what about EWTN? I am stepping into a quagmire here but I would say it is definately fine. I do not dispute that Mother brought the network about through blood sweat and tears and that God’s intervention allowed EWTN to be established and grow. I also admit that God has used the channel to bring about countless conversions. That is not my point. I assert the vast majority of the programming on EWTN is made up of talking heads. Sometimes the content is compelling and other times not. Hence the grade of a ‘C’ meaning it is average, or fine.
Print publications. What to do with these? The magazines range the spectrum of excellent to ‘line the bird cage’. I will not name names, not because I fear retribution, but simply I have not read enough of them to comment on them individually. I definately have read my share of both ‘liberal’ heresy and ‘conservative’ wack-jobiness to last me quite some time. I must say the visual quality of some of the magazines and newspapers has increased tremendously. Also, the content of some has increased significanly. However the presence of blatant heresy in some and hatred in others is alarming. Due to the increase of the quality of some I would give the whole catagory a ‘C-’.
Terrestrial radio. On the whole, Catholic terrestrial radio is pretty bad. First of all, much of the programing is repurposed EWTN television. Hearing statements such as “as you can see…” on the radio is just terrible. Also, the broadcast of the Holy Mass on radio is just bad radio. I would suggest that what most people want is to hear the readings and the homily. In that case, give us that. So if EWTN on television is a ‘C’ then EWTN on radio is a ‘C-’. Beyond that, when local stations do original programming, it is again a duplication of the talking heads. Sometimes it is engaging, often boring. The rise of some interesting programming is heartening, but the fact that no terrestrial station would pick it up speaks of a bigger problem. I suggest that the majority of terrestrial stations are afraid to take a chance on truly interesting shows. The fear seems to be not only the fear of making a bad programming choice, but a fear of saying or doing something wrong that is perceived to be ‘out of line with the Church’. These fears seem to drive all decisions in terrestrial radio. There is prudence and then there is fear. I see more fear than prudence. As a result we are left with pretty dull programming (with occasional notable exceptions). Terrestrial radio then, rates a solid ‘C-’. (I realize I have left out Relevant Radio. I have not consumed enough of their content to comment on it).
Podcasts. I am a bit biased here. I think this is where the most exciting and innovative stuff is going on. A few shows have gathered audiences in the tens of thousands and others in the tens. The quality of the shows is all over the place. From what I have experienced the programs ranges in quality (content and production value) from a B+ to an F. Some shows improve over time and others faded into the ether after just a few shows. What most podcasts do, however, is fall into the talking head catagory. Even the podcast I am currently producing Playing with Fire falls into this catagory. It does it well, but it is still mostly one person talking alone or with another person. Dr. Bill is a fascinating personality and had great stories and I think this helps it rise to the top in terms of production and content. Still, at our best I would rate it a ‘B’. Some of you who listen, may disagree, but hey, this is my posting. How do I rank all of the Catholic podcasts together? I’m going to give the catagory a C+. That’s a tough one though.
Satellite radio. There are currently two flavors of programming on Satellite radio: EWTN and the Catholic Channel (both on Sirius). As I have said, EWTN on radio is a ‘C-’ and I have not heard much of the Catholic Channel to rate it. I have heard everything from “It is so good, I listen to it every day” to “It spouts heresy and I have written Rome about it” as well as comments in between. For the time being, I am going to leave Satellite radio out of the mix. We shall see.
I have left out some catagories. I know that, but I have already gone long. Let’s see what I have:
Television C
Print C-
Radio C-
Podcasts C+
That seems to leave my report card on the state of Catholic media as a solid ‘C’. Am I being too harsh? I don’t think so. I am saying Catholic media is average, good, fine. Nothing necessarily wrong with it, but nothing that allows it to rise above the mediocre media that is in abundance in our world. The question we must answer is how will Catholic media move from ‘good’ to ‘GREAT’?
That discussion must wait for another day.
I received a note from Maureen McMurray (the producer of the Catholic Guy program on The Catholic Channel - Sirius channel 159). She had promised to send me a copy of the show (or at least my interview) so I could post it. It turns out that day’s show was chosen to be rebroadcast as a part of “The Best of…”
So, if you missed the interview, the show will be rebroadcast Saturday at 5pm ET.
Maureen promised to get me the audio Monday. I’ll post it once I get it.
Tomorrow (February 27th) I will be interviewed by Lino Rulli on the Catholic Guy show on The Catholic Channel (Sirius Satellite Radio channel 159). It is slotted to be a 20 minute interview where we will expose and explore the seedy underbelly of Catholic podcasting. Actually, we are going to talk about Disciples with Microphones, Catholic media, and possibly the effects of Trilateralism on the balance of world power (you really never know). The interview is set to begin at 5:20 pm.
It is likely I will have access to the audio from the show and as long as I don’t embarass myself too much, I will post it as soon as possible.
Can you feel the love? The rumors are true, Sirius and XM have been a’ courtin’. PC Magazine reports:
“Both U.S. satellite radio providers, XM and Sirius Satellite Radio, said Monday that they will merge in a stock swap worth $13 billion, including net debt of $1.6 billion.
Because the deal combines the only two providers of U.S. satellite radio services, executives took pains at a Tuesday teleconference to portray the merger as a bid to compete against the existing free market of AM/FM radio, as well as new services such as DAB and even Internet radio stations and iPods.” [More…]
If the merger is approved, it could speed the adoption of Satellite radio. Expect a major hissy fit from terrestrial radio, however, as they will cry ‘monopoly’. It will be interesting to watch.
powered by performancing firefox
A friend of mine wrote me just after Christmas that he had just gotten Sirius Radio for Christmas. A couple of weeks later, I asked him what he thought of the Catholic Channel. He had this to say:
I’m not impressed at all. The DJ’s could be on any top 40 pop station, and just happen to mention they are Catholic. They talk about silly, useless things. The first time I got to listen, they were doing the Website of the Day, which turned out to be a Protestant site. It was a nice site, but isn’t it the Catholic Channel? Then they did an hour on saving dogs from the Bahamas. Not enough dogs in shelters here?
Not exactly a ringing endorsement. What are your thoughts?
I am sorry for not posting more this last week, but a lot has been happening. I’ve been working on a series of proposals for some organizations wanting to look at both terrestrial radio and podcasting. Both are Catholic organizations and they have been asking some very interesting questions.
I will be flying out to do a presentation later this week with a group who wants to look for ways to integrate podcasting into their current structures. It is exciting, but a bit daunting since there are so many possibilities. Just getting an agenda together has been fun.
I have been having a great time putting together, what could be, a significant proposal for a group looking to venture into Catholic radio. It will be interesting to see what direction they decide to take.
This week has also been the start of the griping about The Catholic Channel on Sirius satellite radio. Some pretty harsh sentiments have found their way to me about how “liberal” some of the programming is. Since I do not yet have access to the programming, I am flying a bit blind here. That has never stopped me from speaking definitively on a topic before.
My first take on the grumblings is to take a deep breadth and remember that the Catholic community will always criticize Catholic media. Some will say any programming is too conservative, too liberal, too protestant, too ‘old school’, too ‘new school’, to ’spirit of Vatican twoey’ (I just made that last one up, but I like it). I am not sure what any of these labels mean, but you can be sure that folks feel very passionately about them. We are not far away from loud vocal criticism as more people begin to digest the programming. Catholicism is not a homogenous reality. We have always argued. We will always argue. It is ‘our way’.
My second take on the grumblings is to say ‘good’! If some folks are not bothered by the programming, it can’t be any good. I am not advocating heresy, but all of us religious types (whatever that means) have a tendency to get complacent. We begin to assume that our take on life, the universe, and everything is THE take. A good challenge, while never pleasant, is always necessary. I welcome a lively discussion on the merits of The Catholic Channel’s efforts.
My third take is to wonder what discussions the good folks at the Catholic Channel had about their target audience. I wonder who the programming is targeted at. The two main approaches that exist right now are the EWTN and the Relevant Radio approaches. Both are valid, but very different.
Relevant Radio, I suggest, is looking to catechize an uncatechized group of Cultural Catholics. They seem to be seeking to ‘bring them back into the fold’. They are seeking to engage people where they are and help them move forward to a decision for Christ and His Church. I have spoken to many people who have come to a deeper knowledge of the faith, returned to the Sacraments, and are living a more faithful life due to their exposure to Relevant.
It seems EWTN has long appealed to the ‘Concerned Catholics in America’. They see the problems that exist within our Church and within the culture and want to find a way to bring healing. They have family and friends who have left the Church and the hurt they feel daily is palpable. EWTN seeks to ‘give you the faith’. They teach, expose, and pray. I have spoken to many who have been strengthened in their faith, come to an understanding of the Truth of the Church and have had their family and friends brought back into a vibrant relationship with our Lord thanks to the work of EWTN.
I feel it necessary to admit that there are those who are in the Relevant Radio camp and think EWTN ‘does it wrong’. There are those in the EWTN camp who think Relevant equally ‘gets it wrong’. I am convinced that both are true to the Magisterium of the Church and both are being used by the Holy Spirit to bring about the Kingdom. The fact that people can even get bothered by Catholic media is a good thing. It means that on some level Catholic media is penetrating the consciousness and lives of people. It has been a long time since there has been any evidence of that.
Now, back to The Catholic Channel. What is the target market for their programming? Who do they imagine will be their listeners? If they manage to alienate the ‘Concerned Catholics’ and not reach the Cultural Catholics in need of a change, then they are up the creek without a proverbial paddle.
I was disappointed to learn that when my business partner and I took a look at our year-end finances, we couldn’t justify two subscriptions to Sirius for 2007. I would love to roll up my sleeves and try to figure out the Catholic Channel’s target market. There are so many possibilities, I pray they can find their authentic Catholic voice.
If you have been listening, let me know your take on what they are doing. Their work could be a significant vehicle in spreading the Good News. It could also do a lot of damage or fall flat and be the paste that is often religious media. Time will tell.
Please keep Catholic media in your prayer. If I can be so bold as to ask for your prayers, there is a lot going on with meetings, proposals, stations purchases, programming decisions, and more. I pray only that God’s will be done and that I can be an instrument in bringing that about. Historically, I often get in the way and attempt to impose my will. I keep going back to the image Mother Theresa often used of being a pencil in the hand of God. If you think of me this next week, please send up a prayer. I would appreciate it.
Thanks Barbara for the article from Busted Halo.
From that article: “Beginning on Monday December 4, Paulist Father Dave Dwyer will join Sirius satellite radio’s growing roster of on-air talent when he launches “The Busted Halo Show” on the satellite radio network’s new Catholic Channel”. [More…]
There is no date on the article from Busted Halo, so I am not sure if the December 4 date is still on target. I must stay, however, that the Catholic Channel (a la the Archdiocese of New York) has managed to assemble quite a bit of talent. One of the issues in Catholic media at this time is that the pool of talent is quite shallow. The fact that they have managed to attract talent that, for the most part, has not previously been involved with Catholic radio yet have strong credentials is impressive.
It is now a matter of how that talent is utilized.
Anyone want to call over and try to get an interview? It could be quite interesting.
powered by performancing firefox
I found myself wondering what’s been going on with the Catholic Channel over there at Sirius. There’s a lot of info on the talent they have signed but nothing on when they are going to launch.
Take a look and let me know what you think.
Susan forwarded a short announcement she received from the host of Cross Signals, Michael McNamara. The show is produced out of KBVM in Portland, OR.
The show came to my attention over a year ago. Michael sent me a few shows on CD and I thought they were great. He has interesting guests, has an easy and fun interview style, and the show is just well produced. The target audience is young adults (ie. unmarrieds). There is nothing else like it on Catholic radio. In case you cannot tell, I think the show is great. I pitched the show to our local Catholic Station but they were not interested in even listening to it. It may have been since it was not produced by EWTN, but that is pure conjecture.
The fact that The Catholic Channel has picked up this show is very good news. First, it appears they have abandoned the notion of an all live call-in talk format where “the callers are the stars”. Cross Signals, while a bit difficult to catagorize, has more of a magazine format. Interviews, news, music, and even some sketch comedy.
Second, it may be that as the deadline for broadcast approaches (it must be in the next couple of days, the Sirius website does not yet list them on their channel guide) the folks at the Catholic Channel have realized that building a brand new 12 or 24 hours of programming is a daunting task and probably was impossible given the time contraints. (I don’t know if they are going to use a 2×12hr format where the 12 hrs of programming is repeated or not). The press release announcing the Catholic Channel was issued by the Archdiocese of New York on May 10, 2006 and the announcement about Cross Signals being added to the line-up reached me on September 21st. This means that there has been a total of about four and a half months between announcing and launching. This pressure has resulted in at least this one good call. Pressure can accomplish a lot.
The last reason this is good news, whoever is doing the programming has good taste (simply because their taste coincides with mine 
I do not have access to Sirius Satellite Radio to know how it is being promoted, though I did hear from blog reader and Sirius listener that they were disappointed that in a promo running on Sirius at the time Catholicism was spoken of as a “lifestyle”.
If there are any Sirius Satellite Radio listeners out there, please drop us a line when the Channel goes live. I’m hoping the Catholic Channel is offered on Sirius’ new internet streaming service. If it is, I’ll plop down the $12.95 for a month and give the Channel a good listen. Donations, of course, will be gladly accepted!
Subscribe to feed