CHARLESTON—Catholic radio is reaching more listeners than ever with the addition of Charleston-based station WLTQ 730 AM.
Michael Brennan, executive vice president of Catholic Radio South Carolina, said they moved into the Charleston market and are using space that Knights of Columbus Council 704 offered in their building on Calhoun Street, overlooking Marion Square.
Broadcasts can be heard from Folly Beach to Savannah during the day, but at night, they have to dial it back to just Charleston.
Right now, Brennan said, WLTQ is an unmanned broadcast station with caretaker technical personnel. The EWTN and local programming is controlled from Catholic radio’s facility in Greer. But renovations are currently under way to turn the new office space into a fully functioning recording studio. Once that happens, expected this fall, Brennan said Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone will bless the space and the station will be able to produce its own local programming.
They’ll be able to run 30-second public service announcements approved by pastors, record short clips highlighting ministries and organizations, and broadcast local programming, such as a recent piece on the Theology of the Body conference.
“When I spoke with our bishop, he was very excited about coming over to bless the new studio upon completion,” Brennan wrote in an email. “He also urged us to continue to develop ties with all the local parishes and to get them to take ownership of WLTQ 730 AM.” As a medium of communication, Catholic radio can also be used by parishes, schools, and apostolates to get the word out about upcoming events, he said.
“It’s a means by which you can reach beyond your own parish as well as a way to connect us together within the larger Catholic Community in the lowcountry,” Brennan said.
The ability to send out news from every parish and cover the many ministries is a key goal, he said. To help reach that goal, officials formed Charleston Catholic Radio Committee and are looking for volunteers from every parish to serve as liaisons between the church and the station.
One thing they’d like to do is broadcast Mass from each church, Brennan said. The station featured St. Gregory the Great earlier this summer, and has three others planned for the fall: St. Joseph in Charleston on Oct. 7; Blessed Sacrament in Charleston on Oct. 14; and St. Benedict in Mount Pleasant on Nov. 4. Coverage of local Masses will air at noon Sundays, replacing the EWTN encore presentation of Mass from Alabama.
Listen online at www.catholicradioinsc.com or get the app for your phone or other smart devices.