What does this mean?
From keeptheword.com:
Friends,
For five years, The Word Network has provided positive, Christian family programming to more than 36 million homes in America, the U.S. Armed Forces, and people throughout the world. Our mission was simple — to spread the Word and to stand up for Christian faith and family values.
Today, The Word Network is asking you to stand up for us. We need more than prayers — we need your voice.
Sirius Satellite Radio has canceled The Word Network's contract — for good. It will be replaced with the notorious Howard Stern and other programs that are an affront to the values of The Word Network and our millions of listeners.
It’s time for people of faith — people of values — to raise our voices and be heard. If Sirius can make room for the values that Howard Stern represents, can’t they make room for the values we represent?
Raise your voice in support of The Word Network by sending this letter to Sirius today. Tell them there should be a place on the public airwaves for the values we share and the faith we cherish.
So, if you take this at face value, Sirius deliberately pulled the Word from Channel n and will replace it with Stern, also on Channel n. Is this true?
Well, as of November 2004, The Word Network was broadcasting on Channel 161. I can't tell what's broadcasting on that channel now, but Howard Stern is slated to broadcast on channels 100 and 101.
So, what other smut is SIRIUS adding to its programming?
Another major addition to the SIRIUS lineup is Martha Stewart Living Radio, which will be assigned channel 112 on Sept. 29th. The channel will add more programming throughout the fall, including advice from Martha's team of experts, simulcast of the new syndicated television show Martha, and call-ins from listeners. Ultimately, the channel will carry a full schedule of shows covering cooking, home keeping, pet keeping, gardening, collecting, crafts, weddings, and much more....
In addition to the Howard Stern and Martha Stewart Living Radio talk/entertainment channels, SIRIUS announces a number of new, compelling music channels, including BBC Radio 1, Super Shuffle and The Coffeehouse, among others. Some of the new channels have been created in response to SIRIUS subscribers' requests, and some channels have been re-named to better reflect their content.
As part of the new channel lineup, SIRIUS has enhanced its 1st Traffic & Weather service for New York and Los Angeles by devoting individual 24-hour channels to those major US metropolitan areas....
SIRIUS' new music channels:
BBC RADIO 1, ch. 11: SIRIUS launched BBC Radio 1 in July, featuring the best new music from the U.K. direct from London.
SUPER SHUFFLE, ch. 12: A continuous mix of the most popular songs played across all of the music genres represented on SIRIUS 65 commercial-free music channels.
THE COFFEEHOUSE, ch. 30: Singer-songwriters and acoustic coffeehouse
music.
REVOLUTION, ch. 67: Today's most popular, faith-based rock music with a message.
SPA 73, ch. 73: The best new age instrumental music from around the world.
SIRIUS' re-named music channels:
AREA 33, ch. 33: (formerly Area 63, channel 63) Trance and progressive house music.
SOUL TOWN, ch. 53: (formerly Soul Revue) Classic soul music.
RUMBON, ch. 92: (formerly Tropical) Reggaeton, tropical, salsa and merengue music.
THE GLOBE, ch. 98 (formerly Horizons) World music.
SIRIUS' new talk channels:
HOWARD STERN, ch. 100 and ch. 101: Keep abreast of all things Howard as the "King of All Media" approaches his debut on these channels in January 2006, exclusively on SIRIUS.
SIRIUS STARS, ch. 103: A showcase of fascinating SIRIUS personalities, from Sen. Bill Bradley to Jay Thomas, and from Judith Regan to Robert Evans, doing the radio shows they've always dreamed of, exclusively on SIRIUS (formerly found on SIRIUS Talk Central, ch. 148).
MARTHA STEWART LIVING, ch. 112: Martha Stewart's "how-to for living" channel will add programming through the fall, exclusively on SIRIUS.
LIME, ch. 113: Formerly known as WISDOM RADIO (ch. 132), Lime presents programs for women focusing on "healthy living with a twist."
SIRIUS ADVICE, ch. 117: Popular syndicated radio programs such as The Dave Ramsey Show (financial advice), ChickChat (everyday life situations) and Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline (consumer electronics and technology), among others.
SIRIUS' new religion channels:
CHRISTIAN TALK, ch. 159: Interdenominational, faith-based Christian programming that features family-friendly talk and the most respected national ministry programs.
SIRIUS' new foreign-language channels:
RADIO KOREA, ch. 183: A variety of news, entertainment and music in Korean.
SIRIUS' news and information channels:
SIRIUS 1st TRAFFIC & WEATHER, ch. 148-158: 20 channels of up-to-the- minute traffic and weather reports for 20 top metropolitan U.S. areas.
SIRIUS WEATHER & EMERGENCY, ch. 184: Ongoing national weather updates from The Weather Channel, and vital information in case of civil or national emergencies from the SIRIUS Emergency System.
Sounds like smut to me. Heh. But some people are angry:
Congressional Black Caucus Members Speak Out Against Sirius Satellite Radio's Decision to Cancel Religious, Family Channel The Word Network The Word One of Three Minority Networks Recently Terminated Washington, DC - August 11, 2005 - Three members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), the immediate past chair, Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) and Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), have asked Sirius Satellite Radio (Sirius) executives not to cancel The Word Network, a five-year-old mainstream media broadcaster for African-American ministries and gospel music. On behalf of their constituents, the members of Congress urged Mel Karmazin, Sirius' CEO, to continue broadcasting The Word Network's family values programming. The letters from the CBC members cited the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) original intent for satellite radio: to serve the public interest. "We view the availability of family-oriented programming such as The Word Network as consistent with the promotion of the FCC's public policy objectives," Cummings and Wynn wrote in one letter. "The Word Network is truly unique in this respect, as it is the only network profiding family value programming spedifically orented toward urban ministries and the African-American community." The letters followed a meeting yesterday with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, host of The Word Network's program Rainbow PUSH, and Lewis Gibbs and John Mattiello, respectively The Word Network's vice president of operations and director of marketing, and Sirius' Vice President of Programming Jay Clark in which they discussed the network's decision to cancel The Word Network on Sept. 2. During the private meeting, Clark told Jackson and Gibbs that Sirius had also cancelled two other minority channels. "We're certainly going to explor why they are silencing minority voices," Gibbs said. Gibbs went on to say, "Our request is simple: if Sirius can make room for the values Howard Stern represents, we'd also like them to make room for the values we represent." The Word Network provides religious programming for 36 million American households, for America's Armed Forces around the workd, and tens of millions of other listeners in 137 countries. The letters by Cummings went on to say, "Both the FCC and Congress want to ensure that our laws and policies preserve and promote the kind of programming that makes radio - whether satellite or terrestrial - a source of diversity and enrichment." "Sirius should want to ensure those same values." Gibbs stated.
And some people aren't so angry:
The fact of the matter is that satellite radio is losing money. If the Word Network isn't making Sirius money, why should they be obligated to continue broadcasting it? I'm getting really sick of this entitlement crap and its attendant victims and martyrs. There are Christians in this world facing real persecution. This kind of whining reflects poorly on on Christians and does nothing to help people who really have no voice....
I wonder how many of those 15,000 people [who wrote protest letters to Sirius] ponied up the $150 per year for the service (plus the cost of the radio)....
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