B.R. radio group buying N.O. sports station, plans format change

Pending Federal Communications Commission approval, Baton Rouge-based nonprofit Catholic Community Radio will purchase New Orleans sports- and news-talk outlet WIST-AM 690/FM 104.9. The Times-Picayune reports a format change to all-religious programming is expected in four to five months. “I would love to be on the air by the end of the year,” says David Dawson, executive director of Catholic Community Radio, owner and operator of Baton Rouge’s WPYR-AM 1380, which carries a combination of locally produced programming and network fare from EWTN, Ave Maria Radio and St. Joseph Radio. The Baton Rouge station also carries live broadcasts of Mass from Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church at noon weekdays and 10:30 a.m. Sunday. WIST’s new lineup is expected to mirror WPYR’s, including local programming and broadcasts of Mass, though a church has not been selected. According to a purchase-agreement attachment to the deal’s FCC filing, the sale price is $200,000, which Dawson confirms. The new station will operate on donations from listeners and the support of underwriters, Dawson says, but will receive no financial support from the Archdiocese of New Orleans. “A lot of folks asked us when we got started here in Baton Rouge, ‘How much are you getting from the diocese?’ ” We had to explain we’re not getting anything from the diocese. This is strictly donor-driven, but we serve the diocese. That’s the relationship we want in New Orleans,” he says. The full story is here.