It all started out so well.
Gospel singer/pastor Marvin Sapp and his wife, MaLinda, were trying to help a community radio station stay alive. When WJNZ Radio personality Robert S. Womack asked for help to save the only urban station in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, Sapp and his wife answered the call, investing $150,000 of their own money last month.
Now, their money has been returned, and Womack and other investors will try to move forward to buy the station without them.
WJNZ, an AM station, has served as the heart of the black community in Grand Rapids for the past 31 years. The station went into receivership earlier this year, and Womack has valiantly tried to keep it from being sold to a Catholic radio group, Holy Family Radio.
According to Mlive.com, the online home of the Grand Rapids Press, Womack made a deal this summer with the station’s former owner to purchase the station in a lease management deal. However, the owner, Michael St. Cyr, defaulted on a bank loan that was secured with the station as collateral.
Now, in another setback, the Sapps’ investment has been returned, and Womack and other investors are planning to go on without them. At issue was apparently the Sapps’ intention to move the station to the grounds of the Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Grand Rapids, where they are pastors, and potentially make changes in the programming.
“It is our intent to continue the radio station on behalf of our current listening audience; they are loyal and valued by the current partnership. We do intend to make some changes and deliver responsible radio programming that represents the needs and interest of our diverse community,” Marvin Sapp told Mlive.com.
Womack countered by saying the talks about the format were premature. He and his investors thought it may hurt their case against Holy Family Radio in court. Womack contends that despite his group’s higher bid, Holy Family Radio was allowed to win the station and that’s what they will argue in court.
“We don’t believe that we should be talking about the format unless we win in court,” said Womack.
Also at issue was that Womack says the Sapps wanted 75 percent ownership on their 50 percent investment, and that his lawyers advised against the deal. Womack says despite their issues, he and the Sapps remain on good terms.
“This is a bigger picture,” said MaLinda Sapp said earlier this month. “It’s not financially-driven, it’s community-driven. (The radio station) serves a purpose and exposes issues that are important to our community. We are here because we want to maintain this as part of the African-American community. We are not exclusive (but) if you eradicate this station, we won’t have a voice.
