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Board weighs paid religious programming via nonprofit partner; legal office raised no objection
Summary
The board considered selling recurring program blocks to local churches via North Beach Independent Media, who would donate proceeds back to the station; Ocean Shores legal counsel reportedly said the funding path would be permissible, but several members raised separation concerns and the board agreed to gather more information before any vote.
Board members debated whether to offer paid weekly religious programming slots on the station, concluding the idea may be legally permissible if structured through the nonprofit partner but that the board should solicit more public feedback and firm cost estimates before approving anything.
The proposal described at the meeting would have churches purchase a block of airtime through North Beach Independent Media (NIM); NIM would then donate proceeds back to KOSW. The board said its city legal department reviewed the concept and indicated there was no prohibition on the arrangement so long as the funding flowed through the nonprofit rather than directly through the city’s budget. A board member said the legal office’s view was that the city could accept content aired via a nonprofit intermediary without violating separation rules.
Supporters at the meeting said prerecorded church services would be simplest for station operations — churches would provide edited, ready-to-play audio rather than require station staff to record on location. Board members suggested rotating slots (for example, a different church each week) to broaden access and noted the station could limit content to sermons or edited segments to fit an hour slot (one board member proposed a 58-minute target for a one-hour slot to accommodate breaks). Equipment options discussed included a portable codec unit (a Comrex-type device priced in the meeting at about $2,000) that churches could use for live feeds, or a model where churches deliver prerecorded files.
Dissenting members and some public comment raised separation-of-church-and-state concerns and cautioned about public reaction. One public speaker said prerecorded church programming posed no operational difficulty and urged the board to pursue revenue opportunities; other members warned that the station might face backlash if the public perceived favoritism. The board agreed to solicit more input from local churches and the public, have staff get cost estimates for required equipment and carriage, and schedule a formal vote at a future meeting once pricing and guardrails are drafted.
No vote was taken and no church has submitted a formal request; the board asked staff to return with draft pricing, suggested guardrails for inclusion and a public-feedback plan at the next meeting.
