WSMC-FM

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WSMC-FM, 90.5, is the Chattanooga, Tennessee area's only radio station featuring classical music programming. It is licensed to Southern Adventist University (SAU), a four-year institution located in nearby Collegedale, Tennessee. Its signal reaches parts of the states of Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.

Founded in 1961, the station programs classical music (including opera and similar genres) during most of the broadcast day Sundays through Thursdays. SAU students constitute the preponderance of the announcing staff.

Contents 1 Religious Programming Controversies 2 Demographic Analysis 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] Religious Programming Controversies

Because of the religious doctrine of the licensee's church body, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, WSMC is required to stop broadcasting news programs at sundown on Fridays. In the 1990s, this caused conflict with National Public Radio, which objected to its signature newscast, "All Things Considered" (ATC), being interrupted in progress. Coinciding with this dispute, several interest groups took exception to WSMC's continued affiliation with NPR, which is in turn funded largely by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, itself subsidized by Federal appropriations. The upshot of their arguments was that because WSMC broadcast religious programming on Saturdays, it therefore was ineligible to receive federal funding (or programming provided therefrom) due to concerns about separation of church and state. Some individuals also alleged that the religious programming, mandated by the university's administration, amounted to a disregard of the larger public in the Tennessee Valley, in favor of catering to a small religious minority.

Instead of modifying its Friday and Saturday programming practices in response to those complaints, however, college officials and station management decided to discontinue most NPR programming, news included. Replacing "ATC" were Public Radio International's "The World" and American Public Media's "Marketplace", which could air on a delayed basis, instead of live, as "ATC" does. "Performance Today" and "Talk of the Nation" are the only regularly-scheduled NPR-produced programs remaining on WSMC's schedule.

Although neither station nor university officials mentioned the subject during the dispute, NPR news programs often receive severe criticism from conservative quarters, particularly religious ones, that they present progressive and/or liberal political movements and the Democratic Party in an overly positive light. Further, the programs are often accused of denigrating individuals and organizations who espouse opposition to legalized abortion and homosexuality or support the Republican Party, the U.S. military, and an increased role for religion in public life. Even though it may be mere speculation, it is not implausible to suggest that NPR's political reputation may have played at least a secondary role in WSMC's decision, as the Seventh-day Adventists are known to oppose abortion and homosexuality, stances based on the church's distinctive doctrinal and moral strictness.

The purge turned out to be much ado about nothing; WUTC-FM had already been airing "ATC" anyway and picked up some of the other affected programs. NPR news programs can be heard elsewhere in the Tennessee Valley region on the following stations: Georgia Public Broadcasting, Knoxville's WUOT-FM, Nashville's WPLN-FM, and Huntsville, Alabama's WLRH-FM.

[edit] Demographic Analysis

The only program of note, other than that of classical music, religion, or public affairs, aired by WSMC is "Cowboy Jubilee," a nostalgic program of Western music. Generally speaking, the programming of WSMC is aimed at a more culturally conservative suburban audience, in fairly sharp contrast to public radio competitor WUTC, whose format attracts a somewhat younger and decidedly more socially liberal listener.

[edit] See also

• Media ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

[edit] External links

• WSMC-FM
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WSMC