You've reached our premium or archival content
To access this page, and more great content just like it, you need to become a paid subscriber.
If you already have an account, please login.
Otherwise, registration is quick and you'll have access instantly after payment.
I support Christian Radio. Sonshine FM is an excellent example of what a Christian community radio station in a capital city should sound like as far as on-air professionalism and presence is concerned. However, there is certainly room for improvement. ACMA's investigation into corporate governance issues should ring alarms bells for all Christian format stations, since in my experience, they are all weak in encouraging community participation in management and programming aspects of station operation. Very few Christian radio stations operate as 'access' radio for Christians in general. They tend to be run by professional and often highly paid elites, who gather ideological fellow travellers around them. This results in a bias toward a certain brand of evangelicalism, especially when it comes to spoken programming, and Christians with a slightly different view on matters of social engagement and theology are seldom given a voice. If ACMA's verdict on 6SON has a ripple effect across Christian stations in Australia, then we might see more variety in programming, especially spoken programs, as well as increased participation by members of the wider Christian community, which would be a good thing in my view.We could see a better selection of different expressions of Christian music as well, and a move away from a top-40 Adult contemporary format style, leading to MORE Christian songs being played. It will be a less 'safe' programming direction to take, but it may prove better in the long run.