Equipping Industry Leaders

During this year’s annual National Religious Broadcasters’ (NRB) convention in Nashville, several members of Moody Radio’s leadership had the opportunity to equip and collaborate with other industry leaders.

NRB is one of the largest associations dedicated to Christian media professionals. Their mission is “…to proclaim the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ; to transform culture through the application of sound biblical teaching; and to advance biblical truth, to promote media excellence, and to defend free speech.”

Representing Moody Radio at NRB were Collin Lambert, vice president of Moody Radio; Dr. Jennifer Epperson, director of research and learning; and Yvonne Carlson, director of digital strategy and user experience.

Lambert presented on Thursday, March, 1, on the importance of research in Christian radio. In particular, he discussed the influence of the Christian radio listener and how it increases as the need for engaging content, financial resources and real-life ministry escalates. Research, Lambert stressed to those in attendance, is vital in understanding what the listener needs.

^{Collin Lambert, Vice President of Moody Radio} 

“Moody Radio is working with leading teaching and talk-format ministries to imagine the future of this format through research, collaboration and official partnerships,” said Lambert. “We are utilizing more information about how listeners are using Christian radio and digital media, and how we can take useful data and implement the results into our daily work and ministry to reach more with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Helping others in Christian media reach their potential is a particular passion of Dr. Epperson. While touching on research, her focus during her session at NRB was on the application after it has taken place. Research, Dr. Epperson taught, is important in inspiring on-air talent, in terms of how they engage listeners and improve on air presence. 

In addition to theis sessions, Dr. Epperson hosted a separate Lunch and Learn where she was joined by Scott McConnell of LifeWay Research in discussing further the “second tier radio listener,” this listener would have Moody Radio as their second preference. Carlson also discussed current digital trends that are impacting media organizations.

^{Jennifer Epperson, Director of Research and Learning} 

“We received a wonderful reception to the Lunch and Learn event hosted in our Moody Radio hospitality suite at the NRB,” Dr. Epperson reflected. “Not only do we benefit from our own radio research, but our desire is to share it with our affiliates, many of whom have a similar format to ours.”

During her workshop sessions, Carlson was able to share about responding to digital trends in a practical way for media professionals on Tuesday, Feb. 27. Digital trends impact everyone in some way, so Carlson focused on the key to responding quickly and practically with hopes of providing a new perspective for those in media.

^{Yvonne Carlson, Director of Digital Strategy and User Experience}

“We are in a new digital era where physical experiences are being replaced with the virtual,” said Carlson. “More than ever before, people are consuming media through new distribution channels such as personal voice systems like Amazon Echo or Google Home. Moody Radio seeks to explore these new frontiers and offer programming that can be seen and heard anywhere.”

For more information about the National Religious Broadcasters Convention and their Proclaim 18 conference in Nashville, please visit their website.