{"id":44948,"date":"2020-09-09T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=44948"},"modified":"2020-09-14T13:43:01","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T17:43:01","slug":"digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to hear music this first half hour that you probably have not heard for at least 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s Chris Runion<\/strong> on the radio, introducing one of his weekly Retro Countdown programs at the WBTX southern gospel station<\/a> in Broadway. Runion, a digital media major at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), has worked and interned part-time at the station since 2018. He came up with the idea for the countdown show when he saw the station had stacks and stacks of decades-old charts from the southern gospel magazine Singing News<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in the late 1970s, Runion said, the genre was just called \u201cgospel,\u201d and Singing News<\/em> charts included all the Christian hits of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou had disco and pop mixed with traditional, because it wasn\u2019t distinguished. But then by about \u201880 or so, CCM [Contemporary Christian Music] magazine came out. That\u2019s when the split happened. By about the early \u201880s, the term Southern Gospel started,\u201d said Runion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how does a 20-year-old end up curating a radio program with music associated with the church services of yesteryear? Runion grew up in Broadway, and did sound and lighting work for events at his high school. He met Jim Snavely<\/strong>, the station\u2019s program director, there at a Future Farmers of America banquet. Runion asked him for a summer job. Two days after starting, he was on the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI grew up on \u201880s and \u201890s country,\u201d Runion said. \u201cSo the transition was kind of easy into southern gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
WBTX is a Southern Gospel formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Broadway-Timberville, Virginia, serving Northern Rockingham County and Southern Shenandoah County in Virginia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not to mention, Runion is a bit of a history buff, and loves the archivist aspect of collecting music that can sometimes only<\/em> be found on vinyl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe farther back you go, the more difficult it can be to find a piece of music,\u201d Runion said. When curating the Retro Countdown, sometimes he has to purchase a used album online, because a song on the chart just doesn\u2019t exist on a CD or online. Sometimes he plays records directly on the air, but more often he uses a turntable and software to import a song to WBTX\u2019s digital database. From there, he can clean up any skips or scratches in the audio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His vinyl collection is up to 700 albums, now, with a few recent additions from the former WEMC archives<\/a>. The station\u2019s digital database has around 10,000 songs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oldest record Runion has collected is \u201cSacred Songs,\u201d a 1956 LP by George Beverly Shea. But his favorites are by a group called The Hinsons, because \u201cthey kind of have that upbeat country sound to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides the Retro Countdown, Runion also helps with administrative tasks and fills in for the live hosts as needed. For the last few years, he\u2019s also represented the station at the National Quartet Convention, an annual southern gospel gathering in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSouthern gospel artists are like a lot of the older country artists, where they\u2019re very down home,\u201d Runion explained. \u201cSome celebrities you might meet, they\u2019re not going to be very accessible. But these artists are so accessible. You can go up and talk to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That \u201cdown home\u201d vibe is part of what Runion loves about working with southern gospel, and a quality he hopes to maintain in his future career. His dream job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo move to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and work at Dollywood doing sound and lighting in their theaters.\u201d
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYou\u2019re going to hear music this first half hour that you probably have not heard for at least 50 years.\u201d That\u2019s Chris Runion on the radio, introducing one of his ... read more about Digital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":44950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17562,14139,12507],"tags":[],"feature":[17427,17423,17426,17241],"class_list":["post-44948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digest","category-student-profiles","category-vaca","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-featured-undergrad","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nDigital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Digital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cYou\u2019re going to hear music this first half hour that you probably have not heard for at least 50 years.\u201d That\u2019s Chris Runion on the radio, introducing one of his\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-09T12:45:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-14T17:43:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/02\/DSC_0269-1000px.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Randi B. Hagi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Randi B. Hagi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/\",\"name\":\"Digital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel - EMU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/02\/DSC_0269-1000px.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-09T12:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-14T17:43:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b5c6b98b51028f4e0019d7edb17de4c2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/02\/DSC_0269-1000px.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/02\/DSC_0269-1000px.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"WBTX is a Southern Gospel formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Broadway-Timberville, Virginia, serving Northern Rockingham County and Southern Shenandoah County in Virginia.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Digital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\",\"name\":\"EMU News\",\"description\":\"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b5c6b98b51028f4e0019d7edb17de4c2\",\"name\":\"Randi B. Hagi\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Digital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel - EMU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Digital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel - EMU News","og_description":"\u201cYou\u2019re going to hear music this first half hour that you probably have not heard for at least 50 years.\u201d That\u2019s Chris Runion on the radio, introducing one of his","og_url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/","og_site_name":"EMU News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite","article_published_time":"2020-09-09T12:45:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-14T17:43:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/02\/DSC_0269-1000px.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Randi B. Hagi","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EMU_News","twitter_site":"@EMU_News","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Randi B. Hagi","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/","name":"Digital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel - EMU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/02\/DSC_0269-1000px.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-09T12:45:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-14T17:43:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b5c6b98b51028f4e0019d7edb17de4c2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/02\/DSC_0269-1000px.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/02\/DSC_0269-1000px.jpg","width":1000,"height":667,"caption":"WBTX is a Southern Gospel formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Broadway-Timberville, Virginia, serving Northern Rockingham County and Southern Shenandoah County in Virginia."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/digital-media-major-finds-down-home-niche-in-southern-gospel\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Digital media major finds \u2018down home\u2019 niche in southern gospel"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/","name":"EMU News","description":"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b5c6b98b51028f4e0019d7edb17de4c2","name":"Randi B. Hagi"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/258"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44948"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47013,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44948\/revisions\/47013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44948"},{"taxonomy":"feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature?post=44948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}