Passages, a weekly radio show, produced and distributed by Presbyterian Media Mission (PMM) in cooperation with United Methodist Communications, features people who have experienced difficult and extraordinary situations in their lives and met them with hope and faith. This three-time Gabriel Award-winning program is presently being broadcast on approximately 700 stations nationwide and abroad. Passages comes in four radio feature lengths:

• 28 minutes/30 seconds
• 23 minutes/30 seconds
• 14 minutes/30 seconds
• 60 seconds

Passages also airs on the Soldiers Satellite Network (Military bases stateside) and the Armed Forces Radio/TV Systems and the DX shortwave Network around the world.

Steps to take to get Passages on the air:

We encourage you to move into this process with the belief that mass media should reflect the values and aspirations of the communities they serve. The Presbyterians and Methodists have provided funding to produce these shows, and the guests come from a number of different Christian traditions. The goal is to provide a testimony of hope and courage in the midst of despair.

• The first step in this process of approaching radio stations is building your support community. It would be best if you could be accompanied by several others - lay and/or clergy. We hope that you have a local group of folks from other traditions who can go with you. The sense of ecumenical interest will be helpful to the broadcaster in making his or her decision to air the show. Perhaps you may agree to use a shared "tag" at the end of the show. For instance, the program might close with, "Passages is a gift from your Presbyterian friends and is distributed in cooperation with the Council of Churches..."

 

• The second step is in knowing your station. What kind of programming does it do? What times would be good for your audience? Do you know the General Manager or Program Director? When you have a sense of the station, go to see the people in charge. Play part of a demo CD for them. You can use the first minute or so. A professional will immediately understand the quality of the show from even a short segment. CD's can be obtained by contacting the PMM office.

 

• Some stations will suggest that you purchase time. They are used to churches buying time for church services. Almost all the current placements of Passages are being done at no cost under the heading of Public Affairs Programming. If you are purchasing time now, you may have an added argument for free time. Passages is different from a worship service. It is designed to catch folks who may not listen to religious shows.

If you decide to buy time, a couple of our stations have presented a very reasonable plan for local churches to get time at a fraction of the regular cost. One station gave the local church eight free spots during the week. Be encouraged to negotiate.

A few hours spent in this process may make a great difference to those who are not being touched by the Gospel!