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Media Ownership in the Charleston Area
In the early 21st century we are witnessing a massive consolidation among all forms of media, as corporations seek economy of scale by outsourcing their newsroom functions and developing one-size-fits-all programming for broadcast stations. The result is fewer journalists covering the news, fewer outlets for alternative opinions and alternative forms of entertainment, less communication between citizens and their public institutions. The loss of voices, information and cultural variety undermines democracy and community.
How did all this non-local media ownership come about?
Following passage of the Telecommunications Act in 1996, extensive consolidation among media companies occurred. Prior to that time, federal law had strictly limited the number of news sources a single company or corporation could own. The older law sought to preserve “localism” in media, on the assumption that citizens need locally-based news and information in order to keep politicians, government officials, and other local sources of power in check. But the new law permitted a single business entity to own many more news and information sources than had previously been allowed. Mergers and acquisitions occurred at dizzying speed and are still continuing. Large, distant corporations started to control a disturbing amount of information coming to us through local media. The principle of localism began to fall victim to the huge potential for corporate profits created by enactment of the 1996 law.
MediaReformSC has investigated the ownership of local media outlets in the Charleston area, both print and broadcast, on the premise that understanding media begins with understanding who owns them. Here is our report.
(We note that ownership, format, and even identifying letters of broadcasters can change at any time. Please let us know if you know of any information that has changed by clicking on the “Contact” link on the left side of this page. Thank you!)
Print media Television broadcasting Radio broadcasting
Charleston print media
Unlike Charleston-area television and radio broadcasters, our print media companies are all locally owned.
The largest print media owner in the area is the Evening Post Publishing Co., publisher of the daily Post and Courier (circulation 89,224) and a number of local weeklies. These include the Charleston Mercury (circulation 16,000), the Moultrie News, the Summerville Journal-Scene , the Berkeley Independent, the Goose Creek Gazette, and The Journal (circulation 16,000), serving James Island and Folly Beach. The Evening Post Publishing Co. also owns papers in Georgetown, Kingstree and Aiken, South Carolina, and three papers in North Carolina.
The Evening Post Publishing Co. is also a major owner of television stations through its Cordillera Communications group. These include 17 stations: one in Kentucky, one in Louisiana and the rest in the Western states, including seven in Montana.
Owner: Evening Post Publishing Co.
134 Columbus St.
Charleston, SC 29403
(843)577-7111
Garden and Gun is a lifestyle magazine, a vanity publication of Evening Post board chairman Pierre Manigault. It publishes quarterly.
Owner: Garden & Gun, LLC
409 King St., Ste. 200
Charleston, SC 29403
843-795-1195
Charleston City Paper is published by Jones Street Publishing Company, which is owned by Noel Mermer, publisher; Stephanie Barna, editor; and Blair Barna, advertising director. It is an alternative news weekly, publishing each Wednesday, with editorial positions considerably to the left of the Post and Courier. It is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. Circulation: 40,000.
Owner: Jones Street Press
1049 Morrison Drive
Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 577-5304
Lucky Dog Publishing is owned by Lynn Pierotti and produces weekly community newspapers serving Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms, Folly Beach, Seabrook, and Kiawah. It is based in Sullivan's Island.
Owner: Lynn Pierotti
2205 Middle Street
Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482
843-883-0907
West of … and the James Island Messenger are free distribution community weeklies serving the West Ashley section of Charleston and James Island, respectively. They are produced by Wiser Time Publishing, Inc., which is owned by editor and publisher Lorne Chambers.
Owner: Lorne Chambers
829-C Savannah Hwy.
Charleston, SC 29407
(843) 766-89378
The Hanahan, Goose Creek & North Charleston News has been publishing for 53 years, as its masthead proudly announces. It is a free-distribution, weekly community newspaper serving the three towns in its title. It is owned by Coastal Community Newspapers and published by former former state Senator Sherry Shealy Martschink.
Owner: Coastal Community Newspapers
1216 Yeamans Hall Road P.O. Box 60580
Hanahan, SC 29410 North Charleston, SC 29419-0850
(843) 225-2341
Gulfstream Communications is a family-owned, Charleston-based company producing lifestyle magazines in Charleston, the Myrtle Beach area and western North Carolina. These include Charleston Magazine, Charleston Wedding, Charleston Homes, Grand Strand and WNC – Mountain Living in Western North Carolina. It also produces Housecalls, a free, quarterly health and wellness publication for Roper St. Francis Hospital.
Owner: Gulf Stream Communications
782 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
(843) 971-9811
The Chronicle is Charleston's only remaining African American newspaper. It is a weekly, founded in 1971 by J. John French, who remains president, editor and publisher.
Owner: J. John French
1111 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 577-6099
Charleston television broadcasters
There are seven television stations serving the Charleston area – five full-power commercial stations, one low-power translator, and one public television station. All six commercial stations (which include the low-power broadcaster) are owned out-of-state. Only the public TV station (really just a local transmitter) is owned in-state – by SC ETV, in Columbia, SC.
The NBC television affiliate in Charleston is Channel 2, WCBD, owned by Media General, is a leading provider of news, information and entertainment across broadcast television, digital media and mobile platforms, serving consumers and advertisers in strong local markets, primarily in the Southeastern United States. The company's broadcast operations include 18 network-affiliated television stations and their associated digital and mobile media services. Media General's network affiliations include eight NBC stations, eight CBS, one ABC and one CW.
Six of its stations operate in the Top 40 markets in the United States. Media General's stations reach more than one-third of TV households in the Southeast and more than 8 percent of U.S. TV households. Media General got its start in the television business in 1955 when it launched WFLA-TV in Tampa, Florida, as an NBC affiliate. Today, WFLA is the company's largest TV station, operating in the 14th largest DMA in the United States.
Media General continues to own The Tampa Tribune and its associated print properties and expects to enter into a transaction with one of several prospective buyers for the group.
2 WCBD
ID: "Count on 2"
City: Charleston, SC
Web Site: http://www.wcbd.com/
Station Info: Digital Full-Power
Owner: Media General
Corporate Headquarters
333 E. Franklin Street
Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 649-6000
Allbritton Communications Company owns and operates ABC affiliate WCIV, Channel 4, along with other ABC network-affiliated television stations. Those stations include WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.; WCFT-TV in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; WJSU-TV in Anniston, Alabama; WBMA-LP in Birmingham, Alabama; WHTM-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas; KTUL in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and WSET-TV in Lynchburg, Virginia. It also provides cable television programming, through NewsChannel 8, which primarily focuses on regional and local news to the Washington, D.C. market. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Allbritton Communications Co. operates as a subsidiary of Allbritton Group Inc.
4 WCIV
ID: "ABC News 4"
City: Charleston, SC
Web Site: http://www.wciv.com/
Station Info: Digital Full-Power
Owner: Allbritton Communications Company
1000 Wilson Blvd,
Suite 2700
Arlington, VA 22209
(703) 647-8700
Raycom Media, Inc. owns CBS affiliate WCSC, Channel 5. Raycom Media was created in 1996 with the purchase of 15 television stations, two radio stations, and a sports marketing, production, events management, and distribution company. Shortly after this first acquisition, Raycom Media quickly acquired two other companies and began an unprecedented growth in the media business.
Raycom, an employee-owned company, is one of the nation’s largest broadcasters and owns and/or operates 45 television stations in 36 markets and 18 states. Raycom stations cover 12.6% of U.S. television households and employ nearly 3,500 individuals in full and part-time positions. In addition to television stations, Raycom owns Raycom Sports (a marketing, production and events management and distribution company in Charlotte); Raycom Post (a post-production facility in Burbank, California), and Broadview Media (a post-production/telecommunications company based in Montgomery).
5 WCSC
ID: "Live 5"
City: Charleston, SC
Web Site: http://www.live5news.com/
Station Info: Digital Full-Power
Owner: Raycom Media, Inc
RSA Tower, 20th Floor
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 206-1400
Channel 7, WITV, is owned by South Carolina ETV, the state's public educational broadcasting network. SC ETV owns and operates 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. There are eight members of the ETV Commission. Seven are appointed by the Governor for 6-year terms – one from each Congressional District and one from the State at-large, who serves as Chairman. The eighth member is the State Superintendent of Education, who is ex-officio.
7 WITV
ID: "SC ETV"
City: Charleston, SC
Web Site: http://www.scetv.org/
Station Info: Digital Educational Full-Power
Owner: South Carolina Educational Television
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
(803) 737-3200
Charleston DTV, LLC is a TV Translator or LPTV station.
Programming: Mega TV, this station broadcasts primarily in Spanish.
Lic Expir: 12/01/2012
12 WHDC-LP
City: Charleston, SC
Station Info: Low-Power - 3 kW
Owner: Charleston DTV, LLC
106 S. Tampania Ave., Suite 200
Tampa, FL 33609
Phone: 813-875-2701
Fox affiliate, Channel 4, is owned by Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation and operated by and through the Sinclair Broadcast group under a local marketing agreement (LMA).
The company currently owns six stations – four affiliated with Fox Broadcasting Company (one of which also carries MyNetworkTV on a digital subchannel), one affiliated with MyNetworkTV and one affiliated with The CW Television Network.
All six Cunningham stations are operated by Sinclair under local marketing agreements (LMAs).
24 WTAT
ID: "FOX 24"
City: Charleston, SC
Web Site: http://www.wtat24.com/
Station Info: Digital Full-Power - 1000 kW
Owner: Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation
2000 W. 41st St
Baltimore, MD 21211-1420
(410) 662-9688
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. WMMP, Channel 36. Sinclair is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. Sinclair owns, operates, programs, or provides sales services to 74 television stations in 45 markets. Sinclair's television group reaches approximately 26.3% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, MTN and Azteca affiliates. Sinclair, either directly or through its Ventures subsidiary, makes equity investments in strategic companies. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. was founded in 1986 and went public in 1995.
36 WMMP
ID: "My TV Charleston"
City: Charleston, SC
Web Site: http://www.wmmp36.com/
Station Info: Digital Full-Power - 1000 kW
Owner: Sinclair Broadcast group
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
410-568-1500
Charleston radio broadcasters
As of August, 2012 we count 40 licensed radio stations serving the Charleston area – 31 FM and 9 AM stations. Of the 40, 8 are “FM translators,” which do not originate programming but relay broadcasts from other stations to some part of the Charleston area.
Twenty-six of the 40 stations (65%) are classified as primarily music, news, talk, sports, or Spanish stations.
- 9 of these are owned by two out-of-state corporations (Clear Channel Media and Entertainment of San Antonio, TX and Cumulus Media of Atlanta, GA);
- 2 are owned in-state but out of the Charleston area (SC Educational TV Commission in Columbia); and
- 15 are locally owned.
Fourteen of the 40 stations (35%) are classified as Christian, religious, or gospel stations.
- 8 of these are owned by out-of-state enterprises (4 in Idaho, 1 in California, 2 in North Carolina, 1 in New York);
- 4 are owned in-state but out of the Charleston area (3 in Greenville, 1 in Greer); and
- 2 are locally owned.
Of the 8 FM translator stations (20% of all stations), 7 are Christian/religious and 1 is Spanish.
- 5 translate out-of-state stations;
- 1 translates an in-state-station that is out of the Charleston area; and
- 2 translate local stations (one of which itself originates in-state but out of the local area).
In sum, of the 40 licensed radio stations that broadcast on frequencies receivable in the Charleston area, 17 (42.5%) are owned out-of-state – in some cases by extremely large media corporations. (See a complete list of stations, formats, locations, and owners below under “Charleston area radio stations and their owners.”)
Nine popular radio stations in the Charleston area are currently owned by either Clear Channel Media and Entertainment (the largest radio station owner in the U.S.) or Cumulus Media (the second largest owner). Although audiences do fluctuate over time, our best estimate is that about 45% of the radio audience in the Charleston area listens to these stations. So a very substantial amount of local listeners’ radio programming actually has been produced by one of these two media giants. It has been beamed from afar to towns and cities all across the country, including our own. This means, of course, that it has a certain “generic” quality about it and that most certainly it does not focus on local issues, needs, artists, entertainers, or events.
In considering the competitive tension between large media corporations and small local broadcasters, it’s important to remember that both make their profits by attracting audiences that are then ‘sold’ to advertisers. The bigger the typical audience, the more an advertiser is willing to pay for air time and the more profitable the broadcaster will be.
Programming on the 9 stations owned by Clear Channel and Cumulus is skewed to the corporate imperatives of these two media giants. Programs that gather and hold the largest audiences – thus enabling the corporations to sell the most big-dollar advertising – rule. Programs geared to smaller, more specialized audiences fall by the wayside. In the process, programming of local concern in Charleston (or any other specific locality) is very unlikely to make the national cut. And as a result the people of our area are less informed about local matters that could truly enhance our lives and at times might even be of life-or-death importance.
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment
Founded as San Antonio Broadcasting with a single local radio station in 1972, Clear Channel has since grown exponentially into the country’s largest and most powerful radio station owner – through acquisitions of other companies, diversification of the types of businesses it acquires, and mergers with other business entities. It has become, really, a case study for how rampant media growth and consolidation could actually begin to threaten democracy.
Clear Channel began acquiring radio stations (and some television stations) throughout the 1970s and 1980s. During that time it also became a publicly-owned corporation. After the Federal Communications Commission relaxed ownership rules in the early 1990s and the Telecommunications Act became law in 1996, Clear Channel picked up its pace of acquiring radio and TV stations. At that time it also began growing its outdoor advertising division. By the early 2000s it also had gotten into the business of promoting and presenting live entertainment events.
In 2008 Clear Channel merged with two private equity groups – Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners, both of Boston, MA. The newly-formed company, CC Media Holdings, became the parent company of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. With the multi-billion dollar merger, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee became private owners of about 70% of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment’s worth. Only about 30% of the company’s worth is still publicly traded.
Today the Clear Channel Media and Entertainment division of CC Holdings owns 850 radio stations in 150 U.S. cities, including 4 in the Charleston area (WSCC 94.3 FM, WXLY 102.5 FM, WEZL 103.5 FM, and WRFQ 104.5 FM). It owns both AM and FM broadcasters as well as HD digital radio channels, and iHeartRadio, through which Clear Channel’s content can be heard on the Internet and mobile devices. It also owns a radio network (Premier) that syndicates radio programs to 5,000+ affiliated stations. It runs a traffic data service available via broadcast, Internet, and mobile devices. It also owns a number of related businesses that support the technological and advertising-related needs of radio broadcasters.
Why care?
As Clear Channel says on its web site, “With 237 million monthly listeners in the U.S., Clear Channel Media and Entertainment has the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in America.” This permits the company to justifiably claim that its radio properties provide “unparalleled experience for…advertisers.” From our perspective the danger of this scale of operation is that advertisers will indeed flock to Clear Channel, spending their advertising dollars where they can expect the largest assembled audience to hear their ads and can get the most economical prices. The unfortunate consequence is likely to be that broadcasters operating on a small, local scale simply won’t be able to compete with Clear Channel. They’ll have a hard time raising enough revenue to keep their stations viable if they charge the advertising rates that Clear Channel and other mega-companies are able to charge. And if they charge more, advertisers will abandon them.
Clear Channel might produce a 1-hour program in San Antonio and beam it to up to 850 stations – realizing advertising revenues from each and every one. A similar hour of programming produced here and broadcast only here would be a very expensive undertaking by comparison. But for democracy to truly thrive here in Charleston we need local information – lots of it – about our own town, our own schools, our own road projects, our own musicians, our own artists, our own churches, our own community groups. Healthy democracy – at every level – depends on its citizens being well informed and involved in the democratic process!
Before the relaxation of government media ownership rules in the 1990s, the playing field was a lot more level. Radio ownership on the scale of Clear Channel was simply not permitted. All station owners had roughly similar limits as to what they could charge advertisers. The huge economies of scale now available to Clear Channel didn’t exist for anyone.
Perhaps you’re thinking that this is no different than the situations that arose when merchants like Walmart or Best Buy pushed mom and pop businesses off Main Street. We would argue, though, that this is really a different thing – because radio stations and other media provide information, which is the very life blood of a democracy. Information is different from a material object. Learning where the candidates for the School Board really stand on issues that matter to you and your kids is not the same as buying a toothbrush or a TV set.
Cumulus Media
In terms of radio station ownership, Cumulus Media is second only to Clear Channel. It owns 570 stations in 120 U.S. cities, including 5 in the Charleston area (WWWZ 93.3 FM, WSSX 91.5 FM, WIWF 96.9 FM, WMGL 107.3 FM, and WTMA 1250 AM). Cumulus also owns a radio network serving over 4,500 affiliated stations throughout the country and offers digital delivery of content through an agreement with Clear Channel. Cumulus Media has substantial control over the programming to which U.S. radio audiences are exposed. As it said in an April 2012 press release, Cumulus Media’s large audiences provide “targeted audiences with disposable income and buying preferences for its advertisers.”
Like Clear Channel, Cumulus started out small and has grown rapidly. Its current CEO owned two radio stations in Atlanta in the mid-1990s. After passage of the Telecommunications Act in 1996 he partnered with a venture capitalist and, in 1997, founded Cumulus Media. By 2000, Cumulus had acquired 300 radio stations. Then, in 2011, Citadel Broadcasting – a large radio station owner based in Las Vegas, NV – emerged from bankruptcy and was shortly thereafter purchased by Cumulus Media. The price tag? $2.4 billion.
The purchase of Citadel made Cumulus into a media behemoth overnight. With stations in nearly every major radio market in the U.S., Cumulus is in a position to rival Clear Channel. It seems likely to us that Cumulus will continue to grow aggressively. Its CEO noted in a television interview in 2011 that existing law still leaves ample room for consolidation in radio ownership, which means continuing potential for Cumulus’s growth. The availability of advertising revenues will almost certainly increase as the company acquires additional stations. It has also been reported that Cumulus seeks to diversify, with radio forming a stable platform on which multiple digital services can be built.
Why care?
We care about Cumulus’s owning 5 Charleston radio stations for the same reason that we care about Clear Channel’s owning 4 local radio stations: Because we believe in the principle of localism. We believe healthy, informative contacts between members of our own community are facilitated by the intimate medium of radio. Clear Channel and Cumulus – because they can charge very economical prices for advertising on their stations – put small, local station owners at an economic disadvantage. And when we lose local broadcasters, we lose the voices that remind us we’re in Charleston and not in San Antonio or Atlanta.
Charleston area radio stations and their owners
In the table below we have listed all of Charleston’s FM and AM radio stations. Any that are owned out of state appear in blue-tinted rows. Those owned by Clear Channel or Cumulus are tinted yellow or pink in the “Owner” column.
FM Stations:
|
ID |
Format |
Location |
Owner |
|
W201CH |
Christian contemporary |
Twin Falls, ID, with FM translator in Charleston |
Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls, Inc., Twin Falls, ID |
|
WFCH, 88.5 FM |
Christian, |
Charleston |
Family Stations Inc., Oakland, CA |
|
W205BJ |
Religious |
Twin Falls, ID, with FM translator in Charleston |
Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls, Inc., Twin Falls, ID |
|
WSCI, 89.3 FM |
ETV Classical station |
Charleston |
SC Educational TV Commission, Columbia, SC |
|
WJWJ, 89.9 FM |
ETV News |
Beaufort |
SC Educational TV Commission, Columbia, SC |
|
WYFH, 90.7 FM |
Christian |
N. Charleston |
Bible Broadcasting Network, Inc., Charlotte, NC |
|
W216BJ |
Christian contemporary |
Charleston, SC with FM translator in Wando |
Radio Training Network, Inc., Greenville, SC |
|
WKCL, 91.5 FM |
Christian |
Ladson |
Holy Spirit Bible College and Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Ladson, SC |
|
W220CN |
Christian contemporary |
Greenville, SC with FM translator in Charleston |
Radio Training Network, Inc., Greenville, SC |
|
WCKN, 92.5 FM |
Country |
Moncks Corner |
Apex Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
W225AJ |
Religious |
Twin Falls, ID, with FM translator at |
Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls, Inc., Twin Falls, ID |
|
WWWZ, |
R&B, |
Summerville |
Cumulus Media, Inc., Atlanta, GA |
|
WSCC, |
News, talk |
Goose Creek |
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, San Antonio, TX |
|
WSSX |
Top 40 |
Charleston |
Cumulus Media, Inc., Atlanta, GA |
|
WMXZ |
Adult |
Isle of Palms |
Apex Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WIWF |
Country |
Charleston |
Cumulus Media, Inc., Atlanta, GA |
|
WYBB |
Rock |
Folly Beach |
L.M. Commun-ications of South Carolina, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WWIK |
Classic hits |
McClellanville |
Kirkman Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
W257BQ |
Spanish |
Charleston |
Apex Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WXST |
Urban |
Hollywood |
Apex Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WALC |
Christian contemporary |
Charleston |
Radio Training Network, Inc., Greenville, SC |
|
WAYA |
Christian contemporary |
Ridgeville |
Caswell Capital Partners, LLC, New York, NY |
|
W266BO |
Religious |
Charlotte, NC with FM translator in Mount Pleasant |
Bible Broadcasting Network, Inc., Charlotte, NC |
|
WAVF |
Adult hits |
Hanahan |
Apex Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WXLY |
Adult |
N. Charleston |
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, San Antonio, TX |
|
WEZL |
Country |
Charleston |
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, San Antonio, TX |
|
WRFQ |
Classic rock |
Mount Pleasant |
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, San Antonio, TX |
|
W285DV |
Christian contemporary |
Cusseta, GA with FM translator in Charleston |
Edgewater Broad-casting, Inc., Twin Falls, ID |
|
WCOO |
Adult album alternative |
Charleston |
L.M. Commun-ications of South Carolina, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WJNI |
Gospel |
Ladson |
Jabar Commun-ications, Inc., N. Charleston, SC |
|
WMGL |
Urban |
Ravenel |
Cumulus Media, Inc., Atlanta, GA |
AM Stations:
|
ID |
Format |
Location |
Owner |
|
WLTQ |
Religious |
Charleston |
Mediatrix SC, Greer, SC |
|
WTMZ |
Sports |
N. Charleston |
Kirkman Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WJKB |
Sports |
Monks Corner |
Kirkman Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WAZS |
Regional |
Summerville |
Jabar Commun-ications, Inc., N. Charleston, SC |
|
WTMA |
News/talk |
Charleston |
Cumulus Media, Inc., Atlanta, GA |
|
WQSC |
News, talk, |
Charleston |
Kirkman Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WSPO |
Spanish |
Charleston |
Apex Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WQNT |
Sports |
N. Charleston |
Kirkman Broadcasting, Inc., Charleston, SC |
|
WZJY |
Regional |
Mount Pleasant |
Jabar Commun-ications, Inc., N. Charleston, SC |