Bounty offered:

Low-power FM (LPFM) was established to give non-profit, educational organizations an outlet for local programming and community news. Religious organizations, many of them evangelical Christian churches, comprise approximately half of the applicants for low-power FM licenses approved by the FCC. Evangelical broadcasting corporations have also been effective in leveraging the low-power translator service, which allows a primary FM station to be simultaneously rebroadcast on a different frequency, to start hundreds of low-cost translator stations across the country.   We would like to see a research project that explores the business models of the major Christian broadcasting companies—their organizational structure, sources of revenue, financial make-up, and affiliate churches. The research should also determine what links these organizations have to larger social movements and in what way and to what extent the stations serve their local communities. Analysis of the local/non-local nature of the programming on these stations, and their local public service would also be very illuminating and useful.

To improve understanding of the economics, organization and content of  major Evangelical radio networks, which are key players in the low-power radio terrain.

Low-power FM (LPFM) was established to give non-profit, educational organizations an outlet for local programming and community news. Religious organizations, many of them evangelical Christian churches, comprise approximately half of the applicants for LPFM licenses approved by the FCC. Evangelical broadcasting corporations have also effectively leveraged the low-power translator service, which allows a primary FM station to be simultaneously rebroadcast on a different frequency, to start hundreds of low-cost translator stations across the country. Many of these licensees even made profitable business transactions by reselling licenses to smaller religious organizations. Evangelical radio networks are huge, highly lucrative, and the subject of very little systematic investigation.

The Evangelical broadcasting sector is important to Prometheus because local groups that seek to start community radio stations frequently find that all possible frequencies available have already been applied for by duplicative applications by these national evangelical networks. The FCC has strong precedent that prevents the agency from regulating based on content as a result of first amendment concerns.  However, there is ample precedent which allows the FCC to favor local producers over national networks, in certain circumstances.

Several questions become relevant in this context:

An evaluation of the patterns of repetition of nationally syndicated programming would also be of value for low power stations attempting to differentiate their distinct local service from mass repeated satellite re-broadcast content. Study could include content analysis, assessment of volunteer opportunities at stations, donations received and demographic study, or other tools to assess local public service by radio stations.

An examination of the business models of the major right-wing Christian broadcasting companies—their organizational structure, sources of revenue, financial make-up, and affiliate churches—would be very useful for Prometheus and the LPFM movement more generally.  Ideally, this research would also determine what links these organizations have to larger social movements and in what way and to what extent the stations serve their local communities.

The appropriate result of this research would be a publishable paper, plus one or more shorter versions that can be used in other contexts.