Bott Radio Network Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Bott Radio Network (BRN) — a pioneer in the development of Christian talk radio — marks its 50th anniversary this month as the nation’s leader in quality Bible teaching, Christian news and information.
BRN started with one radio station in Kansas City in 1962, KCCV AM 1510. Today, BRN serves Kansas City at AM 760, 92.3 FM, 88.9 FM and in December a new Kansas City signal will be added at 101.5 FM. Nationwide, BRN has 91 stations reaching into 15 states with a combined coverage of over 50 million people. BRN can also be heard worldwide on various new media including satellite, internet and mobile digital technology.
It all began in 1962, when founder Dick Bott and his wife Sherley purchased a radio station in Kansas City with the dream of establishing a full-time Christian radio voice to serve families with “quality Christian programming, all day…every day.”
Dick Bott’s broadcasting career has its origins in his ninth-grade class in Minneapolis, when his teacher assigned the class to give a report on a profession. Dick Bott picked radio broadcasting. His broadcast career began in San Francisco in 1952, where he became the youngest general manager of any major market radio station. From there Dick and Sherley Bott went on to buy a radio station in Monterey, California in 1957. They began to think about starting a new station with a Christian format while working in Monterey. Both had grown up in Christian homes and wanted to establish an all-Christian radio station in a major metropolitan area. With their new purpose in mind, the Botts sold the Monterey station and began a search for a new station in a city with a population of one million or more people where they could realize their dream.
The Botts found what they wanted in Kansas City, and in 1962 they packed their belongings and moved to Kansas City with four children and a dog. Utilizing many key radio format concepts honed on the west coast, Bott Radio Network was born as “Kansas City’s Christian Voice” on November 12, 1962.
Bott Radio Network grew with the acquisition of a radio station in Oklahoma City in 1975. Stations serving Fort Wayne, Indiana; St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; and Fresno/Modesto, California followed.
Today, BRN broadcasts its format of Christian talk radio on 91 radio stations reaching into 15 states with a combined coverage of 50 million people. BRN also is heard nationwide on SkyAngel Channel 403, worldwide online at bottradionetwork.com and on mobile devices with free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android users. Bott Radio Network also connects with listeners on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.
Bott Radio Network features award-winning Christian talk radio. Time magazine listed several of BRN’s talk show hosts among the nation’s 25 most influential evangelicals. The listing included Dr. James Dobson, a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame and host of Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk; Dr. Richard Land of For Faith & Family — President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; and attorney and judicial advocate Jay Sekulow, who hosts Jay Sekulow Live from Washington D.C. BRN also features Back to the Bible with Dr. Woodrow Kroll from Lincoln, Nebraska, as well as broadcasts by Billy Graham, Phyllis Schalfly, Chuck Swindoll, Tony Evans, June Hunt, Charles Stanley and many other national Christian leaders. National program topics range from family and faith issues to live call-in shows about current events.
In 2008, Bott Radio Network’s founder, Dr. Dick Bott, was inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) Hall of Fame. The NRB is the world’s largest association of Christian communicators, with over 1,400 member organizations, and the Hall of Fame award is the highest honor the organization confers.
Also in 2008, Dick Bott was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Carver Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. Carver, named after renowned African-American scientist George Washington Carver, was founded in 1942 to educate and prepare African American men and women to enter the ministry. Dr. Bott was only the eighth person in the 68-year history of Carver to receive an honorary doctorate.
Dr. Dick Bott continues to serve as BRN’s Chairman of the Board. He is also one of the longest serving members of the Board of Directors of the National Religious Broadcasters association with headquarters near Washington, D.C.
Rich Bott grew up in Christian Radio. While working at BRN as a teenager, he learned to appreciate the programming concepts and the importance of ‘Quality’ Christian Talk Radio that has made BRN unique in its service to a growing audience.
After graduating college and earning his MBA degree from Harvard Business School in 1981, Rich joined Bott Radio Network full-time. As Executive Vice President, he guided the development of BRN’s format and oversaw much of the network’s growth from 3 stations in 1981 to its present size of 91 stations, plus satellite, internet and new media. In 2010, Rich Bott took on the new role of President/CEO.
In addition to his service as President/CEO of BRN, Rich Bott also serves as Chairman of National Religious Broadcasters. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of Life Issues Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Back to the Bible, Lincoln, Nebraska. And he serves on the Board of Governors and Executive Committee for the Council for National Policy, Washington, D.C.
Looking to the future, Rich Bott expressed his vision, “God has blessed the proclamation of His Word to the hearts of millions of people through Bott Radio Network over the past 50 years and we are excited about the future. It is thrilling to harness the power of radio together with new digital technologies to touch even more hearts and lives with the power of the Gospel message and the timeless Truth of God’s Word which is the same yesterday, today and forever!”
(Source: Christian Newswire)
