Relevant Radio (corporate name Relevant Radio, Inc.) is a

radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass media, mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio (Duplex (teleco ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, mainly broadcasting

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

and religious programming involving the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Relevant Radio broadcasts "talk radio for Catholic life" over a network of 206 stations. Relevant Radio owns and operates 133 stations, and distributes programs to an additional 73 affiliates. Relevant Radio is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, with additional studios in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

. The network airs a variety of programming aimed at Catholics and others interested in the

History

The network was founded by a group of Catholic businessmen, including Bob Atwell and John Cavil (who purchased Kaukauna, Wisconsin-licensed station WJOK in 2000) and Mark Follett, the owner of Anchor Foods, an Appleton-based distributor of frozen appetizers known for its marketing of jalapeño poppers, which had been sold to

Heinz The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. ...

and its proceeds being used to launch the network under the non-profit Starboard Media Foundation. WJOK's calls, which formerly designated its

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

format, now instead stood for the phrase Jesus, Our King. The network soft-launched on November 26 of the same year, and considers December 12, 2000 its official launch to honor the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

s of both

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

and

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, whom Starboard considers its unofficial

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

s. "Morning Air", which the network describes as "a classic drive-time format that combines inspiration & entertainment" was the first program developed by Relevant Radio in 2003. On October 13, 2016, Relevant Radio announced that it would merge with Loomis, California-based Immaculate Heart Radio, which owned and operated 36 stations in the western United States at the time of the merger. The merger was completed on July 31, 2017, with all stations being licensed to Immaculate Heart Media, Inc., while Relevant Radio continued as the on-air branding. The corporate name was changed to Relevant Radio, Inc. in February 2020. In 2019, Immaculate Heart Media purchased 13 AM stations and seven translators from

Salem Media Group Salem Media Group, Inc. (formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Irving, Texas, targeting audiences interested in Christian values and wh ...

. In October 2019, Immaculate Heart purchased the 6 radio stations owned by Northern Michigan-based Baraga Broadcasting, as well as assuming the LMA of affiliate station WMQU, which is currently owned by Blarney Stone Broadcasting. On May 17, 2021, the five stations carrying Relevant Radio's Spanish-language service began carrying the English-language network.

Station list

English language stations

Former Spanish language stations

Sources

* "Catholic network calls Green Bay home", Green Bay News-Chronicle, date uncertain, 2004. (Newspaper now defunct)

References

External links

*
Catholic News Service reports on troubled times at Relevant Radio
{{American broadcast radio American radio networks Christian mass media companies Christian radio stations in the United States Catholic radio stations Companies based in Green Bay, Wisconsin 2000 establishments in Wisconsin Radio broadcasting companies of the United States Relevant Radio stations Anti-abortion organizations in the United States