Rob Wagman Joins SonicTrek Media To Launch New Contemporary Christian Format, “Manna”
SonicTrek Media has named veteran programmer and consultant Rob Wagman to lead “Manna”, the company’s new localized Contemporary Christian format, featuring the on-air talents of Sparkle and designed to give stations a compelling, market-specific alternative to traditional syndicated programming and generic voice tracking.
Manna combines SonicTrek’s localization technology with experienced radio personalities, locally customized content and music programming tailored specifically to each affiliate and its audience. The goal is simple: a Contemporary Christian station that sounds and feels like it comes from the community it serves.
Wagman brings an unusual combination of mainstream and Christian radio experience to the format including time in Alternative, Top 40, Urban and Classic Rock as an on-air personality, programmer and VP of Marketing in markets including Tampa, New Orleans, Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
Christian radio came calling in 2013, Wagman joined KFSH/Los Angeles, where the station achieved some of its strongest audience results in both Los Angeles and Orange County. He later became Network Program Director for WAY-FM, helping the network achieve significant ratings and fundraising growth.
Wagman is also known for developing localized, customized music charts and research used by programmers in Christian, Country and Pop radio. That same market-by-market philosophy will be central to Manna.
“Joel Denver has been a visionary in new technology for decades,” Wagman said. “I had the opportunity to work with him at AllAccess.com from 1999 to 2005, when he was already talking about Wi-Fi in cars, streaming, and how technology would fundamentally change radio. What excites me about Manna is that we’re using today’s technology to create something deeply human and authentic. Our personalities are real people of faith. The stories and testimonies are genuine. The content is localized for each community, and the music strategy is designed for each individual market rather than simply duplicating a national playlist.
For me, it was essential that Manna be authentic and God-honoring. SonicTrek shares that commitment, and I’m humbled and excited to be working with Joel again.”
SonicTrek Media Managing Partner, CEO/Formats Division Joel Denver said Wagman was the company’s first choice when it decided to expand into Contemporary Christian radio.
“Rob understands both sides of this equation – great radio and the mission behind Christian radio,” Denver said. “He immediately understood what we’re building with Manna: using real radio personalities and their AI personas to create timely, localized content for each individual market while maintaining the personality, warmth and connection that great radio requires. Combine that with Rob’s market-specific approach to music, and Manna gives broadcasters an end-to-end Contemporary Christian format that can sound genuinely local without the expense of building an entire programming and talent operation from scratch.” Denver added, “For broadcasters with an underperforming signal, a station in need of a new direction, or operators looking for a more localized alternative to generic national Christian programming, Manna presents a powerful new option.”
Sparkle, a longtime veteran personality of Top 40 WSSX & Country WIWF/Charleston, SC, also brings her devotion to Jesus and experience in Christian radio to Manna having worked at WLFJ (His Radio)/Charleston, SC.
She commented to SonicTrek about this new opportunity as the anchor host of Manna: “I’m excited to collaborate with Rob and SonicTrek in bringing localized content to Manna affiliates and see how we can move radio into the next phase! I like the thought of helping radio stations with my talent and creativity, but also with the power of AI technology.”
