Family Radio

Family Radio

Company type	Non-profit
Genre	Religious, Christian
Founded	February 4, 1959; 66 years ago (1959-02-04)
Founders	Richard H. Palmquist Harold Camping Lloyd Lindquist
Headquarters	Franklin, Tennessee
Products	Radio
Parent	Loam Media
Website	www.familyradio.org

Family Radio is a non-profit Christian radio network based in Franklin, Tennessee, United States.

Established in 1959, Family Radio drastically redefined its identity and programming in 2019, moving away from the controversial legacy of its founder, Harold Camping. It now airs soteriologically reformed Calvinist Christian teaching alongside traditional and modern Christian hymns. The network's scale diminished significantly from its peak as the 19th largest broadcaster in the United States, dropping from 216 stations following Camping's failed 2011 "end times" predictions.

One of Family Radio's oldest broadcasts was a telephone-talk program called Open Forum in which Harold Camping, the network's co-founder, president and general manager, responded to callers' questions and comments, as they relate to the Bible, and used the platform to promote his various end-time predictions. The program was finally cancelled not long after Camping's third failed "rapture-less" prediction and a stroke which he suffered in June 2011.^[1] Other programs that have aired on Family Radio over the years include the morning programs Rise and Rejoice and The Christian Home; Family Bible Reading Fellowship, a half-hour Bible reading program; Radio Reading Circle, featuring readings of Christian books; the overnight program Nightwatch; Echoes, which features recordings of sermons delivered by pastors from churches around the world); Music to Live By, an afternoon program; the nighttime program The Quiet Hours; Family Bible Study; and Beyond Intelligent Design. Outside programming broadcast over the Family Radio network was limited as Camping considered the organized church apostate, and therefore devoid of God's Spirit and under Satan's control.^{[citation needed]}

Originally founded by Richard H. Palmquist, with the assistance of Harold Camping^[2] and Lloyd Lindquist as fellow members of the initial Board of Directors, Family Radio began obtaining FM broadcasting licenses on commercial frequencies in 1959,^[2] and by 2006, was ranked 19th among top broadcast companies in number of radio stations owned.^[3] Its first radio station, KEAR in San Francisco, California, then at 97.3 MHz, came on the air on Wednesday, February 4, 1959.^[4]

In 1992, Family Radio began teaching that the Great Tribulation began in May 1988, and that the rapture would occur on September 6, 1994, later adjusting the predicted date to between September 15 and 27, 1994, and telling listeners not to make any long term plans.^[5][6][7] The network's promotion of these predictions caused some nations in Asia to prevent Family Radio from commencing operations in their countries.^[7]

Beginning in the late 1990s, Family Radio began gradually dropping outside ministries because of doctrinal changes in the network. As board members left the organization, they were not being replaced. Harold Camping's controversial teachings, as they were changing, became the focus of the entire network. Up until the late 1980s, Family Radio endorsed local church attendance but once Camping stated that the church age was over and that Satan had taken over the churches, he went on to say that people could no longer be saved within churches and that Christians should not be members or attend church services of any type.^[8] His actions led to mounting criticism from former supporters and led some Family Radio staff members to resign, as well as prompting some outside ministries to leave the network. The loss of these programs from the Family Radio schedule gave Camping more airtime to express his teachings. Around this time, former Family Radio employees, pastors, cult specialists, and others, began to publicly describe Family Radio as a cult.^[9]

Leading up to May 2011, Family Radio spent in the vicinity of $100 million to advertise the now-discredited 2011 end times prediction.^[10][11] In the lead up to the predicted day of the rapture, many followers of Family Radio's teachings spent their life savings to donate to Family Radio or personally advertise the predicted rapture date.^[12][13][14] Others quit their jobs, sold their homes, and went into debt, relying on Camping's predictions.^[12][13] Several suicides were attributed to the station's apocalyptic teachings, and a woman in California tried to kill her two daughters and herself, believing that she was sparing them the tribulation that would occur following the rapture predicted by the station.^{[15][16][17][14]}

The network's apocalyptic predictions, and its followers reactions to them, led to media descriptions of the network as a doomsday cult.^{[18][19][20][21][22]} Scholars of apocalyptic groups found the various responses among Family Radio's followers to be consistent with what they expected to see among members of a cult, with disillusioned followers concurring that Family Radio is a cult.^[23]

Two days after the forecast "Rapture" failed to happen, A Bible Answer, a Bible teaching ministry who had been tired of the "Rapture" predictions, offered to buy 66 full-powered radio stations from Family Radio founder Harold Camping in an effort to get him to resign from preaching this doctrine. The offer came with a catch – they were not to take possession of the stations until October 22, the day after Camping's revised set-date for the end of the world. A Bible Answer's website called for Camping to resign from the Family Radio board, citing "the self-proclaimed expert on the Bible has brought reproach upon Christ, the Bible, and the church," and added "After taking the money of his supporters, let Harold give up all he has, to show he believes what he is preaching. He does not or else he would sell. It is time to get new leadership at Family Radio."^[24][25]

In 1994, Family Radio owned forty radio stations nationwide.^[26] The listenership of Family Radio understandably declined after the failed 1994 rapture prediction,^[27] but before long the organization was again growing at a fast rate.^[28] By the time of his second campaign, the organization boasted 216 AM and FM radio stations, along with two television channels.^[28]

Financial strength hit a peak in 2007 when Family Radio reported $135 million in assets.^[27] As net assets declined from that point forward, listener contributions steadily increased. Upon the outset of the second campaign, the organizations assets dropped while contributions simultaneously rose indicating an increased level of spending by the organization, far surpassing the increase in income.^[28] In 2008, total contributions were well over $15 million.^[29] 2009 saw an annual budget of $36.7 million with $117 million in assets and $18.4 million in contributions.^[28] IRS records also indicate that Family Radio employed 348 persons in 2009.^[30] In 2010 assets were down to $110 million while contributions rose to $18.7 million while the station maintained 346 employees.^[31] In 2011 contributions fell to $17.2 million and assets dropped to $87.6 million, while the organization also lost 26 employees.^[32] By the end of 2011 the organizations assets had dropped to $29.2 million, and the next year was forced to take out a $30 million loan.^[33]

On August 3, 2011, the radio industry website Radio-Info.com reported that Family Radio was putting two of its full-powered FM stations up for sale. These stations were: WKDN in Camden, New Jersey (covering Philadelphia), and WFSI in Annapolis, Maryland (covering Baltimore and Washington, D.C.). The article indicated that the network may have sold the stations to pay off "operating deficits accumulated over the last several years".^[34] WFSI would be purchased in November 2011 by CBS Radio, which converted the station to a Spanish language dance music format under the WLZL call sign. Merlin Media, LLC struck a deal in December 2011 to acquire WKDN,^[35] which was relaunched with a talk format under the WWIQ call sign.^[36] WWIQ was later sold to Educational Media Foundation in late 2013, and became WKVP, a K-Love affiliate station.

In January 2012, Family Radio applied to the FCC to change the license of station WFME in Newark, New Jersey, near New York City, from non-commercial to commercial. The application quickly prompted conjecture from radio industry monitors that the station would soon be sold. The application was approved in February.^[37][38][39] Those rumors were confirmed on October 16, 2012, when it was announced that Family Stations would sell WFME to Atlanta-based Cumulus Media for an undisclosed price.^[40] A November message from Camping posted on the Family Radio website admitted, "Either we sell WFME or go off the air completely." The 94.7 signal would be relaunched as country-formatted station, WNSH. Concurrent with 94.7's sale to Cumulus, Family Radio purchased FM station WDVY in Mount Kisco, New York from Cumulus, which would soon after adopt Family Radio's programming and the WFME-FM callsign.

After 40 years on the air, WYFR, Family Radio's shortwave station located in Okeechobee, Florida, ceased operations on July 1, 2013. In December 2013, Radio Miami International, purchased the shortwave transmission complex and began broadcasting from there; the complex now operates under the WRMI call letters.^[41]

Harold Camping died from a fall on December 15, 2013, in his home in Alameda, California. His death was confirmed by an employee of the network. Following Camping's death, the network reaffirmed its commitment to his teachings, specifically the belief that all churches had become apostate, and that true Christians should not attend church.^[42]

On November 21, 2014, The Walt Disney Company announced it would sell WQEW in New York City to Family Radio for $12.95 million, part of Disney's decision to end terrestrial distribution of the Radio Disney format. The sale was approved on February 10, 2015, and the station returned on the air on February 27 as the new WFME (AM), thus giving Family Radio full coverage of the New York City metropolitan area for the first time in two years. Concurrent with the sale, the FCC converted WFME's broadcasting status from commercial to non-commercial. WFME has since been taken off the air, following Family Radio's sale of its transmitter site.

During 2016, Family Radio moved its corporate offices and main studios from Oakland, where it had been based since the network's inception, to the adjacent East Bay city of Alameda.

In September 2018, Family Radio enacted a decisive break with its past and formally ceased airing all programs featuring the voice of Harold Camping and discontinued the distribution of his literature. The station also unveiled a new logo and identity to make the break more evident. This decision was a two-fold effort to move definitively away from Camping's unorthodox theology and to reintroduce programming from outside Bible teaching ministries into the network's schedule. The shift included new reformed programming from noted conservative Bible teachers such as John MacArthur, John Piper, and R.C. Sproul. The station also began airing music from modern hymnwriters Keith & Kristyn Getty and other traditional and modern conservative hymns and worship music. The changes went into effect on October 8, 2018.^[43]

In 2019, Family Radio announced that it would be moving its headquarters from Alameda, California, to Franklin, Tennessee.^[44] Following the move, in 2024, parent entity Family Stations was reorganized; its assets were transferred to a new Tennessee-based entity, Loam Media, with no change in ownership or management.^[45]

From the late 1980s until his death, the station's founder, Harold Camping's, unique, non-traditional doctrines formed the ideological core of Family Radio. Central to his teaching was the belief that the Bible conveyed multiple levels of cryptic meaning, which he summarized as, "the Bible is an earthly story with a Heavenly meaning." In his publication, "We are Almost There!",^[46] Camping famously asserted that certain Biblical passages pointed unquestionably to May 21, 2011, as the date of the "Rapture", and October 21, 2011, as the end of the world. These predicted events did not occur on either date.^[47]

The promotion of these predictions, which involved spending millions of dollars on billboards and campaigns, led many followers to sell their assets and donate significant sums to Family Radio. This financial aspect prompted the Freedom from Religion Foundation to request the California Attorney General's office to investigate Camping and Family Stations, Inc. for "Fraud and Deceit."^[14] Throughout this period, Camping taught that all organized churches had become apostate and were under Satan's control, and that salvation was a pure, unmerited act of God's grace independent of human actions or prayer.^[8][48]

Following Camping's death in 2013, Family Radio initially continued to air his programs and uphold some of his core doctrines, including the rejection of organized churches.^[42] This official endorsement eventually ceased entirely in October 2018. Family Radio formally discontinued the use of all of Camping's recorded commentary and literature, publicly stating that the content was "not scriptural" and that the teachings were creating difficulties with other ministries on the network.^[43]

Since the 2018 break from the specific doctrines, numerology, or end-times predictions associated with Harold Camping’s final era of ministry, Family Radio has reindentified itself as a conservative reformed Christian radio outlet for reformed preaching and hymns of the Christian faith, airing programs such as Grace to You with John MacArthur, Ask Pastor John with John Piper, Renewing Your Mind with R.C. Sproul, and other noted church teachers and authors in similar circles. Separate still from the Contemporary Christian radio and mainstream Christian teaching networks, Family Radio focuses more on Scriptural teachings, theological programming, and intentionally Biblical worship through song.

The flagship station for the network of both full-power and low-power translator stations is KEAR in San Francisco. With the sale of KEAR-FM to CBS Radio in 2005, broadcasts from San Francisco moved to an AM radio frequency.^[49] Due to FCC rules regarding translator stations, the legal primary station for the translators was changed to KEAR-FM in Sacramento, after the former primary FM station in San Francisco was sold to CBS Radio.^[50]

United States

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	State	Power (W)	ERP (W)	Height (m (ft))	FCC info
WBFR	89.5 FM	Birmingham	Alabama	—	100	205 m (673 ft)	FCC (WBFR)
KFRB	91.3 FM	Bakersfield	California	—	2,800	417 m (1,368 ft)	FCC (KFRB)
KHAP	89.1 FM	Chico	California	—	12,000	87 m (285 ft)	FCC (KHAP)
KECR	910 AM	El Cajon	California	5,000	—	—	FCC (KECR)
KFNO	90.3 FM	Fresno	California	—	2,200	594 m (1,949 ft)	FCC (KFNO)
KEFR	89.9 FM	Le Grand	California	—	1,800	653 m (2,142 ft)	FCC (KEFR)
KFRN	1280 AM	Long Beach	California	430 day 237 night	—	—	FCC (KFRN)
KEBR	88.1 FM	Sacramento	California	—	8,400	303 m (994 ft)	FCC (KEBR)
KEAR[a]	610 AM	San Francisco	California	5,000	—	—	FCC (KEAR)
KFRY	89.9 FM	Pueblo	Colorado	—	870	647 m (2,123 ft)	FCC (KFRY)
WJFR	88.7 FM	Jacksonville	Florida	—	8,000	107 m (351 ft)	FCC (WJFR)
WAMT	1190 AM	Pine Castle/Sky Lake	Florida	4,700 day 230 night	—	—	FCC (WAMT)
WWFR	91.7 FM	Stuart	Florida	—	2,650	152 m (499 ft)	FCC (WWFR)
WJCH	91.9 FM	Joliet	Illinois	—	50,000	151 m (495 ft)	FCC (WJCH)
KDFR	91.3 FM	Des Moines	Iowa	—	32,000	136 m (446 ft)	FCC (KDFR)
KYFR	920 AM	Shenandoah	Iowa	5,000 day 2,500 night	—	—	FCC (KYFR)
WFSI	860 AM	Baltimore	Maryland	2,500 day 66 night	—	—	FCC (WFSI)
WOFR	89.5 FM	Schoolcraft	Michigan	—	10,000	42 m (138 ft)	FCC (WOFR)
KFRD	88.9 FM	Butte	Montana	—	2,800	527 m (1,729 ft)	FCC (KFRD)
KXFR	91.9 FM	Socorro	New Mexico	—	12,000	74 m (243 ft)	FCC (KXFR)
WFME-FM	92.7 FM	Garden City	New York	—	2,000	159 m (522 ft)	FCC (WFME-FM)
WFRS	88.9 FM	Smithtown	New York	—	1,500	132 m (433 ft)	FCC (WFRS)
WCUE	1150 AM	Cuyahoga Falls	Ohio	5,000 day 500 night	—	—	FCC (WCUE)
WOTL	90.3 FM	Toledo	Ohio	—	700	115 m (377 ft)	FCC (WOTL)
WYTN	91.7 FM	Youngstown	Ohio	—	900	181 m (594 ft)	FCC (WYTN)
KYOR	88.9 FM	Newport	Oregon	—	35	274 m (899 ft)	FCC (KYOR)
KPFR	89.5 FM	Pine Grove	Oregon	—	2,900	513 m (1,683 ft)	FCC (KPFR)
KQFE	88.9 FM	Springfield	Oregon	—	1,250	290 m (950 ft)	FCC (KQFE)
WEFR	88.1 FM	Erie	Pennsylvania	—	630	131 m (430 ft)	FCC (WEFR)
WKDN	950 AM	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	43,000 day 21,000 night	—	—	FCC (WKDN)
WFCH	88.5 FM	Charleston	South Carolina	—	29,500	93 m (305 ft)	FCC (WFCH)
WFRW	93.7 FM	Nashville	Tennessee	—	—	—	FCC (WFRW)
KTXB	89.7 FM	Beaumont	Texas	—	9,000	173 m (568 ft)	FCC (KTXB)
KUFR	91.7 FM	Salt Lake City	Utah	—	130	−63 m (−207 ft)	FCC (KUFR)
KJVH	89.5 FM	Longview	Washington	—	100	238 m (781 ft)	FCC (KJVH)
WMWK	88.1 FM	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	—	1,100	276 m (906 ft)	FCC (WMWK)

Notes:

In addition to its full-powered stations, Family Radio is relayed by an additional 18 FM translators:

United States (translators)

Call sign	Frequency (MHz)	City of license	State	FCC info
K220EY	91.9	Porterville	California	FCC (K220EY)
K268AJ	101.5	Redding	California	FCC (K268AJ)
K214CA	90.7	Grand Junction	Colorado	FCC (K214CA)
W218CW	91.5	West Palm Beach	Florida	FCC (W218CW)
K206DU	89.1	Lafayette	Louisiana	FCC (K206DU)
W252AQ	98.3	Lake Charles	Louisiana	FCC (W252AQ)
K216GT	91.1	Great Falls	Montana	FCC (K216GT)
K220GM	91.9	Placitas	New Mexico	FCC (K220GM)
W213AC	90.5	Hyde Park, etc.	New York	FCC (W213AC)
K214BO	90.7	Ashland	Oregon	FCC (K214BO)
K223AO	92.5	Florence	Oregon	FCC (K223AO)
K203BE	88.5	Roseburg	Oregon	FCC (K203BE)
W208AF	89.5	Nanticoke	Pennsylvania	FCC (W208AF)
W207AE	89.3	Reading	Pennsylvania	FCC (W207AE)
K219BX	91.7	El Paso	Texas	FCC (K219BX)
K220EI	91.9	Ogden	Utah	FCC (K220EI)
W220BD	91.9	Roanoke	Virginia	FCC (W220BD)
K219CA	91.7	Casper	Wyoming	FCC (K219CA)

• WNYJ-TV, West Milford – Newark, New Jersey – New York (Now defunct, previously broadcast religious programming as WFME-TV)

• Official website
• Family Radio's channel on YouTube