Pittsburgh Christian Radio Owner Remembered

Stu Epperson

The Chairman of the Board for Pittsburgh’s heritage Christian radio stations has died.

Stuart W. Epperson, Sr., along with his brother-in-law, Edward G. Atsinger III, formed Salem Communications Corporation in 1986, after years of owning general market stations separately. Pittsburgh was one of Salem’s charter markets, having purchased 104.7 WYDD (now WPGB) and New Kensington-licensed 1150 WKPA (now WMNY) from Gateway Broadcasting Enterprises in 1987, with the sale becoming final in early 1990.

Upon purchasing the stations, Salem switched 104.7’s call letters to WEZE-FM (mirroring its co-owned AM property in Boston) and its format to beautiful music, after WSHH had changed its format to soft adult contemporary. One year later, WEZE-FM changed to its heritage format of Christian Talk and its call letters to WORD-FM.

In early 1993, Salem successfully acquired longtime Christian-formatted competitor WPIT-AM/FM. WPIT-FM acquired the WORD-FM call letters, and 104.7 was spun off to Entercom and sistered with WDSY-FM and WEEP-AM (now WWNL).

Epperson and Atsinger continued to grow Salem into a major media powerhouse throughout the 1990s as the FCC relaxed station ownership limits. Salem would further diversify its interests by dovetailing into Christian publishing and network news into the 21st Century, and eventually taking their longtime privately-held company public.

Epperson was also named in 2005 to Time magazine’s list of 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.

Epperson, a Virginia native, earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he met Atsinger, leading to a friendship between the pair that led to Epperson’s marriage to Atsinger’s sister Nancy. They went on to have four children, including a son, Stuart Epperson, Jr., who serves on Salem’s Board of Directors.

No details were given on Epperson’s passing, which was announced through a company news release Monday.

“I will miss him,” said Atsinger in the statement. “But I take comfort in realizing that he is already receiving his reward for a life well-lived.”

Stuart Epperson was 86. He is survived by his wife, four children, 21 grandchildren, one great-grandchild with two more on the way, and a sister.