The Son Rise Morning Show, which is heard on more than 180 Catholic radio stations in the United States, is not being heard in South Bend, for the time being. Because of what might be called “technical difficulties” in leasing arrangements and relationships between various radio stakeholders, the EWTN radio signal is no longer being broadcast at 1580 on your AM dial — which as WHLY had the fortunate moniker of “Holy Radio.”

Efforts are under way to return and expand the Catholic radio presence in South Bend through the good work of Redeemer Radio, the Catholic radio station in Fort Wayne that has the strong support of Bishop Kevin Rhoades. I am involved in those efforts because I have been a lifelong fan of talk radio and a long-time friend of Catholic radio. My ACE and IEI communications experience affirms my fandom because the good folks at the Son Rise Morning Show have shown a consistent interest in the value that our ACE and IEI experts on Catholic schools can bring to their airwaves. We’ve had numerous ACE and IEI colleagues interviewed by host Brian Patrick. Indeed, Brian discovered that he and Father Joe Corpora were classmates in a Catholic grammar school in Ohio. Listen to one of the Father Joe interviews.

While we’re waiting for the return of Catholic radio to South Bend, there are a few things one can do. Of course, the EWTN feed (which is not the only Catholic broadcasting going on in the country … more on that in a future blog) can be heard live on the Internet at ewtn.com. An app called iHeartRadio has allowed me to pick up the broadcasts on my smart phone. And I must admit that I occasionally now listen to the surviving talk stations still broadcasting in South Bend — WSBT on the AM dial and the Michiana News Channel on the FM dial.

By the way, caught an interesting interview on MNC this weekend with Dennis Rushkoff, a media theorist whose new book, Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now, contains a lot of good food for thought. Catch him on his blog being interviewed on the Colbert Report!