Stuart Epperson obit

Stuart Epperson, Salem Media co-founder, dies at 86

 

 He was not on the list.

Stuart Epperson, an evangelical Christian who co-founded one of the largest conservative and commercial religious radio broadcast outlets, died this week at the age of 86.

Epperson’s passing was announced by Salem Media Group in a press release on Monday. No cause of death was given.

Epperson co-founded Salem Media in the mid-1908s with his brother-in-law, Edward Atsinger. The two built Salem Media into a powerhouse broadcast outlet that paved the way for influential conservative talk shows hosts to dominate the airwaves in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

“Stuart will be greatly missed by many,” Atsinger said in a statement. “I will miss him, but I take comfort in realizing that he is already receiving his reward for a life well-lived.”

While Salem continues to be one of the more-dominant, right-of-center broadcasters, its influence has waned over the last two decades as cable news and digital media operations have supplanted AM radio as the outlet of choice for the politically conservative.

Like other broadcasters, Salem Media has struggled over the last few years due to a weakening in the traditional radio advertising market, with dollars and messaging increasingly flowing toward connected services like podcasts and social media. The company’s stock price has fallen nearly 15 percent since the start of the year, and was trading around 89 cents per share as of Monday.

In June, officials at NASDAQ warned Salem Media would be suspended from trading on their exchange if they did not bring their price back to at least $1 per share.

In 1984 and 1986, Epperson was the Republican nominee for the fifth Congressional district of North Carolina. In both races, Epperson was defeated by the incumbent Democrat, Stephen L. Neal.

Epperson attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he received a bachelor's degree in radio/television broadcasting and a master's degree in communications.

Epperson co-founded Salem Communications in 1972 with his brother-in-law, Edward G. Atsinger III, and oversaw its major expansion in hundreds of radio markets nationwide. He later oversaw its inclusion of conservative political opinion programming starting in 1990. Through his involvement in that entity, he was a member of the board of directors of the National Religious Broadcasters Association. Time Magazine has named him one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America.