'Towards Understanding' Offered Free to All Stations

Clare Bruce -

Melbourne’s 89.9 TheLight has announced that it is offering its new interview program, Towards Understanding, free of charge for any station in Australia to broadcast.

Christian radio stations are encouraged to take up the opportunity to add a faith-based, long-form interview show to their programming.

The two-hour program, which launched in September, has existed for a long time under the names of In Conversation and 1 on 1, with TheLight’s CEO Clayton Bjelan as host. Clayton has interviewed over 1,700 guests on previous incarnations of the show.

Towards Understanding will contain a mix of interviews based around the understanding and living out of Christian faith. It focuses on interviews with three key groups of people:

  • The 'Known' – with former guests including the likes of Prime Ministers, sports stars, musicians and more.
  • The 'Overcomer' – with guests having included genocide survivors, abuse survivors, those struggling with their identity & their faith, and people who have faced incredible journeys of forgiveness and resilience.
  • The 'Ordinary' – these are everyday people who are willing to be vulnerable about their life: how they overcame addiction, or how they are dedicating their lives to changing the world.

The program airs Sunday nights after 5pm, but is available from 2pm every Thursday - except over the Christmas period. Delivery is via a download link, and promo spots are included in the weekly download package.

The show is two hours long, broken into multiple segments, and while the program is free it utilises two minutes per hour of sponsorship spots to cover costs.

Regarding politics, the program promises to be apolitical, discussing topics that are being talked about in the community, providing a wide range of perspectives from different Christian voices.

"Towards Understanding will be story based," presenter Clayton said. "We all learn more when we hear other people's stories... we don't even have to agree with someone to learn something".

The first guest on Towards Understanding is highly acclaimed and international Christian author Philip Yancey.

For more information, or to suggest a future guest, contact producer Janelle Wilson at producer.tu@positivemedia.com.au.