PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2023

PLAYING IN PEORIA

RELIGION RADIO

For more than 50 years, ‘God has provided’ to keep the Christian broadcasting format alive in central Illinois

Rick Smith and Joe Buchanan of WCIC

BY DENISE JACKSON PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

R eligious radio has long had a loyal following in central Illi nois. For three local Christian radio stations, technological advancements including streaming services have helped them reach an audience anywhere and at any time around the globe. WPEO Radio, the area’s oldest religion format station, got its start in 1970 under the Pennsylvania-based Pinebrook Foundation. That was 20 years after the station initially signed on in downtown Peoria under a different name. ‘MAYBE IT’S BECOME MORE OF A MISSION FIELD THAN IT EVEN WAS BACK WHEN WE STARTED’ — Joe Buchanan “If you were going to listen to Chris tian radio in Peoria, you had to listen to WPEO. There was no other option,” said WPEO Station Manager Paul Scott. During those early years the radio station provided secular, top 40 programming under the call letters WMMJ. Pinebrook sold the station to the current owner WPEO Foundation in 2014. WPEO now operates out of East Peoria — on nine acres perched

on Highview Road — and broadcasts on the AM frequency, catering to a talk radio audience by providing syndicated programming interspersed with local shows from 6 a.m until 8 p.m. daily. “The mission is to broadcast pro grams that will help people understand God, that will help people understand themselves and their world,” Scott said. Meanwhile, WPEO has three FM sis ter stations in 97.7, 98.3 and 103.9, on which it airs programs such as Focus on the Family, In Touch with Charles Stanley and Washington Watch. Earlier this spring, Scott debuted The Good Word in an effort to bring back more local programming. “I am the host and we talk to local ministers about what’s happening in the community,” he said. Contemporary radio must build rela tionships with the community in order to survive, said Scott. Ten years ago, management rebranded, becoming The Word WPEO. The station’s annual bud get is small, and WPEO employs a staff of five. The station’s revenue comes from three sources: programming, ad vertising and listener donations. Scott said the local community has been generous. When WPEO FM needed a new transmitter, the station got a matching grant opportunity and lis teners contributed $28,000, said Scott.

Paul Scott at The Word AM 1020 and FM 98.3

Jim Huber of Christian radio station WBNH

70 OCTOBER 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE