The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 3, 2017 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015
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mbarking on his 35th year in broadcasting, Nachum Segal has been the voice of the Jewish community through thick and thin. On the radio at WMFU since 1983, as the host of the iconic JM in the AM (Jewish Moments in the Morning) program, Segal also launched his popular online Nachum Segal Network five years ago. This past year, he made the monumental move of leaving his beloved terrestrial station to move his iconic morning show over to the all-digital NSN platform. I caught up with Nachum and NSN General Manager Miriam Wallach between songs on their weekly Thursday “Live Lunch” program at the New York City studio as he recalls some of the most moving and memorable moments along the way. Nachum begins by talking about the new digital platform. “After 34 years of being part of a radio station, I felt there was one mission left in my career, and that was to become an independent 24 houra-day network,” he says. “I wanted the freedom and independence to do my own show the way I want to, and I wanted to use that show, JM in the AM, to be the flagship of the 24 hour entity that would become even more popular than it was because JM in the AM is its exclusive flagship program. In addition to that, it was no secret to any keen observer that our Nachum Segal Network brand had gotten very large and continued to expand into areas we never even
dreamt of years ago, like international projects and concerts and broadcasts from so many different areas, and frankly our mission started to
plenty of time to inform the audience what we were doing, we maintain a very good relationship but now we are a completely independent entity.”
“I know it takes time to jump – almost an hour – but as little sleep as I may have had, or as much traveling as we may have done, I just cannot wait to get back on the air.”
contradict a bit with the mission of the radio station. So we decided, along with the radio station, on an amicable ‘divorce.’ They gave us
The move is a big one and, according to Nachum, has been “received wonderfully from people who want to hear the radio show clearly.” Ac-
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cording to the celebrated host with the famous voice, “While they were still using the crutch of the radio to listen to us, in most communities it was difficult to hear so once they were forced to made the transition they’re hearing it more clearly.” Nachum adds that the move has made the NSN into a more recognized “global entity.” “Even though I had the 24 hour network while I was still on the radio, it never had the impression out there that we were a global entity.” He continues, “We’re in the 35th year but we’re in year one of this current mission – and so far so good!” Worldwide, the Nachum Segal Network has a large audience. Now, Nachum explains, the network is more focused on international listeners. “We’re speaking to them more than we used to; they are not just eavesdropping on a New York radio show but getting a real global perspective,” he says. “I would say the reaction [from the new platform] from around the U.S. has been massive. We keep meeting people from all over who are constantly telling us that they are listening all day long, and that’s the goal. Our goal is to keep growing, and our numbers reflect that we’re growing. Just over the last year there’s been a 13% increase in listenership. There’s a tremendous craving for live programming, if not live, then original programming. People want immediacy and nobody else is doing what we’re doing every single day.”