CAMARILLO, CALIF. — Salem Media Group, the publicly traded company focused on conservative and Christian-themed spoken word programming, has two new members of its Board of Directors.
One is likely a familiar name to those Inside the Beltway.
As of January 7, Jim Renacci has joined Rick von Gnechten on the Salem board.
Renacci is a former Member of Congress who served on the Ways and Means Committee, Financial Services Committee and Budget Committee. Renacci, a Republican serving the 16th Congressional District of Ohio, was in the House of Representatives from 2011 through 2019. In 2018, he ran for U.S. Senate, losing to incumbent Sherrod Brown. In 2022, Renacci was unsuccessful in replacing Mike DeWine in a bid to shake up Republican Party leadership in the Buckeye State.
Mr. von Gnechten serves as COO and Chief Gift Strategist of WaterStone.
That’s a key investor in Salem, allowing it to extinguish some of its debt at an earlier date, reducing interest expense.
As first reported by RBR+TVBR and Radio Ink, Salem on December 23, 2024, issued $40 million of newly issued Series B Convertible Preferred Stock to Waterstone, which is formally registered under the name The Christian Community Foundation Inc. Led by CEO Ken Harrison, Waterstone has made its mark with Christian-themed charity groups through grants and fundraising.
And, Waterstone’s investment in Salem Media Group will be overseen by von Gnechten himself. For 13 years until October 2004, von Gnechten was associated with Hawaiian Electric Company, exiting as Financial VP/CFO.
Mr. von Gnechten and Renacci will stand for election to serve a full term on the Board of Directors at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
