Public | |
Traded as | NASDAQ: SALM |
Industry |
Mass media Commercial radio broadcasting |
Genre | Radio broadcasting, publishing, internet content provider |
Founders |
Stuart Epperson Edward Atsinger III |
Headquarters |
4880 Santa Rosa Road Camarillo, California, United States |
Key people
|
Stuart W. Epperson; Chairman of the Board Edward G. Atsinger III; Chief Executive Officer Dave Santrella; President – Broadcast Media David Evans; President – New Media Evan D. Masyr; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Chris Henderson; Senior Vice President, Legal and Human Resources, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary |
Website | salemmedia |
Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Camarillo, California, targeting audiences interested in Christian and what it describes as "family-themed content and conservative values." In addition to its radio properties, the company owns Salem Radio Network, which syndicates talk, news and music programing to approximately 2,400 affiliates; Salem Media Representatives, a radio advertising company; Salem Web Network, an Internet provider of Christian content and online streaming with over 100 Christian content and conservative opinion websites; and Salem Publishing, a publisher of Christian themed magazines. Salem owns 117 radio stations in 38 markets, including 60 stations in the top 25 markets and 29 in the top 10.FamilyTalk is a Christian-themed talk format on Sirius XM Radio Channel 131. Additionally, Salem owns conservative websites Townhall.com, RedState, and Hot Air, as well as Twitter aggregator Twitchy.
The company was founded by Stuart Epperson and Edward G. Atsinger III and, unlike many Christian broadcasters, is a for-profit corporation. Also unlike their non-profit counterparts, Salem stations transmit high-powered signals in commercial radio bands.
Ed Atsinger (Chief Executive Officer) and Stu Epperson (Chairman of the Board) combined their radio assets to create Salem Communications. Beginning with stations in North Carolina and California, Atsinger and Epperson purchased station properties in Boston, San Antonio, New York, San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles and other markets, converting them to Christian talk stations. In the 1990s, they expanded formats to include contemporary Christian music (with most stations under this format branded as "The Fish"), news talk (branded as "The Answer"), Spanish-language Christian content and most recently, business programming.