CHURCH CONSOLIDATES SHORTWAVE OPERATIONS

* The First Church of Christ, Scientist, announced Aug. 9 a consolidation of its international news and religious radio broadcasting operations.

The church's Herald religious broadcasting arm will centralize US shortwave operations at station WSHB, in Cypress Creek, S.C. The church plans to acquire an additional transmitter and antenna for WSHB so that it can broadcast to Africa. The church's news and religious programs draw a strong response from listeners in many African nations, church officials said.

Herald Broadcasting, a church syndicate, plans to sell WCSN, its station in Scott's Corners, Maine. This station currently broadcasts to Europe and Africa. These broadcasts will be taken over by the South Carolina station.

The church will continue to broadcast to Asia, Australia, and New Zealand from KHBI, its shortwave station on Saipan in the Mariana Islands.

"Our station in South Carolina was designed with future expansion in mind," says Al Carnesciali, president of Herald Broadcasting.

"By consolidating all of our US shortwave operations in one location, we are able to serve our international listeners more efficiently. We expect that a new owner can be found for WCSN in the near future and that layoffs at the station thus can be avoided."The Christian Science Church also said it will reduce the number of hours its shortwave stations are on the air beginning Sept. 28. During those hours when its stations are not transmitting its own programming, the church will offer other broadcasters

an opportunity to lease time on its stations if they comply with the standards of The Christian Science Monitor.

The changes will not result in any layoffs at Herald Broadcasting's stations in South Carolina or Saipan, or on the radio broadcasting staff of The Christian Science Publishing Society.

Donald Bowersock, the church's managing treasurer, said that after the Maine station is sold and shortwave operations consolidated in South Carolina, annual operating savings will total $1.6 million.

The cost of adding a new transmitter and antenna in South Carolina will be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of WCSN, officials said.