Religious radio pioneer battles FCC’s submit-or-shame scheme

Some people find their calling. Perry Atkinson sold his house to pursue his, building an extraordinary faith-based media ministry that touches millions of lives.

Four decades later, federal regulators threaten to shame his life’s work into financial ruin—and silence—unless he abandons the very principles that built it.

“My first radio job was flying the traffic plane for KCRA radio and TV in Sacramento, where I was born and raised,” Perry recalls. “I saw the uniqueness of broadcasting and fell in love with it. But also, as a person of faith, I saw the potential of a Christian radio station as a tool for impact and that really drew me in.”

That vision led Perry and his wife Peggy to sell their home in 1983 to buy a small, low-power AM radio station in Medford, Oregon. Their initial investment—a microphone and 1,000 watts of power—blossomed into theDove, a nonprofit network of 39 radio and television stations, as well as cable channels throughout Oregon, Northern California, and Idaho. Along with worldwide streaming on platforms like Roku and Apple TV, theDove’s news and religious programming reaches upwards of six million people a day.

Perry admits that while theDove’s on-air presence is remarkable, its true impact extends far beyond the airwaves, providing service for faith-based nonprofit organizations.

“We work with the Salvation Army and a lot of drug recovery centers, and we give them a voice in the community,” he says. “Even during the pandemic, Christian media probably saved the faith community because so many churches had to shut down.”

Now, a new crisis looms that could shut down theDove and broadcast companies across the country. In February 2024, the Federal Communications Commission resurrected a decades-old rule requiring broadcasters with five or more employees to publicly report information about their employees’ race and sex.

The FCC frames its rule as necessary record-keeping, but the bureaucratic language serves no communications-related purpose and should fool no one. Indeed, another agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, already collects this data, and by law, keeps it confidential.

The FCC’s real agenda is clear: expose broadcasters to potentially devastating lawsuits unless they comply with what are effectively race and gender quotas.

“We’re already a target because of our Christian message and mission,” Perry says. “As a nonprofit dependent on donations, getting sued and being forced to defend ourselves would shut us down. We couldn’t afford to do it. And it’s not just me. No other small radio station operators could survive the quotas that would be required.”

Pressuring broadcasters to collect and publicize employee demographics isn’t about improving communications. It’s about shaming broadcasters who don’t fully embrace a government agency’s discriminatory, identity-driven agenda. This is immoral and assaults not only the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee, but also the separation of powers.

“The FCC has strayed far beyond its original purpose and the rule of law,” explains PLF senior attorney Oliver Dunford. “Congress created the agency in 1934 to regulate broadcasting, not dictate hiring practices. Congress unfortunately left some vague ‘public interest’ language in the original statute which bureaucrats are now twisting into backdoor rulemaking to sneak around the Constitution and push radio stations to discriminate.”

Having welcomed PLF attorneys as regular guests on theDove, neither Perry nor his board of directors hesitated when they learned PLF was willing to challenge the FCC’s illegal rule. “My producer came across PLF because of the cases they were bringing before the Supreme Court—and winning,” Perry recalls with a grin. “Knowing the risk involved, our board said, ‘It’s time for more than just talk. It’s time for action. Let’s go for it. Let’s fight back.’”

Represented at no charge by PLF, Perry is fighting back with a federal lawsuit to protect not just theDove, but every broadcaster’s right to hire based on principles and merit rather than race and gender. And as Perry notes, the timing of theDove’s battle couldn’t be more critical, especially for the people they serve.

“Post-COVID anxiety levels have skyrocketed,” he says. “The number of people calling our office looking for help could fill 20 counselors’ calendars for a lifetime. They’re fearful. They ask, ‘Why is all this craziness going on? Is the world coming to an end?’ We have never come into our purpose more than we are right now.”

Yet even as theDove’s mission becomes more vital than ever, government forces are aligning to silence religious broadcasters. Forty years after trading his house for a microphone and a dream, Perry faces another pivotal moment—and his response rings with the same conviction: faith and liberty over fear and submission.

“It’s a defining moment for the industry. We’re targets for people who don’t like what we do,” he adds. “We just can’t roll over and take this.”