For us . . . radio is a cause. We’re Matthew Lasar, Paul Riismandel, and Jennifer Waits, and this is our news blog about radio’s present, past, and uncertain future.
Our mission
Radio Survivor attempts to shed light on the ongoing importance of radio: from the airwaves (FM, AM, Short-wave, HD, satellite) to online. We are proponents for the relevance of radio as a participatory communications medium. As both fans and producers, we write about the problems and prospects of radio.
We embrace college radio stations in crisis. We defend radio pirates. And we care about the on-going survival of our favorite radio stations.
We are obsessed with the future of radio and are charmed by radio historians, radio dramatists, radio bloggers, and anyone else who cares about radio as deeply as we do.
What we are:
Radio lovers, Critics, Fans, at times activists, underdogs, Optimistic, approachable, historians and futurists
What we are not:
Industry-insiders, Big business, Emotionally-distant, pessimistic, luddites.
What is a Radio Survivor?
Back in 2010 a reader asked us, “what is a Radio Survivor?” and we took the opportunity to expound upon our mission in a series of posts. Take a look back at:
-Matthew Lasar’s POV on “What is a Radio Survivor?”
-Paul Riismandel’s POV on “What is a Radio Survivor?”
-Jennifer Waits’ POV on “What is a Radio Survivor?”
If you like what you’re reading, please become a Patreon supporter. Contact the editors via email here or voice mail @ (415) 685-3082
or snail mail at:
Radiosurvivor
171 Andover Street
San Francisco, CA 94110.
About us . . .
Jennifer Waits, Co-founder, College Radio and Culture Editor and Social Media Director
Jennifer Waits is the Founder and Editor of SpinningIndie, a website devoted to the culture of college radio. She’s worked in college radio at 4 different stations (off and on) since 1986 and is currently a DJ at KFJC 89.7FM in Los Altos Hills, California. Jennifer has a Master’s degree in Popular Culture Studies and has written about radio, music, youth culture, and pop culture for a number of publications and websites, including Radio World, PopMatters, the scholarly Radio Journal, youth culture blog Ypulse, beloved teen mag Sassy, and music site Uplister.
Matthew Lasar, Co-founder, Business Manager
Matthew Lasar teaches United States history and broadcasting/telecommunications policy at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is the author of two books, Pacifica Radio: The Rise of An Alternative Network and Uneasy Listening: Pacifica Radio’s Civil War.
Paul Riismandel, Co-founder, Operations Director
A noncommercial radio broadcaster for twenty years, Paul Riismandel founded the mediageek blog in 2001 to cover independent media and the policies that affect our ability to communicate. A year later he created the mediageek radioshow to bring these issues to the airwaves. The program is now heard on fourteen noncommercial stations in the US and Canada. Paul’s professional focus is educational media and technology, and he was formerly the advisor to student-run WNUR-FM at Northwestern University. He is also a contributing editor to Streaming Media Magazine where he writes the Class Act column on educational online media.
Eric Klein joined Radio Survivor when he co-founded the Radio Survivor Podcast with Paul in 2015. Before that, he worked at Pacifica Radio station KPFA in Berkeley, California as a tech-producer and reporter. His first job at the station was working as a part of the small team that put together the daily, 29 minute international newscast, Free Speech Radio News (where he occasionally filed stories on FCC policy). His most interesting job at the station was broadcasting the City Council and School Board meetings live on KPFB and then filing stories on the goings on for the evening news (and eventually the local Alt-Weekly paper). Eric Klein lives in Portland, Oregon where he makes sound art and produces zero-budget public access television.
Contributors
Brian Fauteux, Bob Mason, Gavin Dahl, Judith Gips, Meg Eppel, Brendan O’Neill, Jacob Margolis, Yasmin Sahibzadah, Chris Stroffolino, Kevin Vance, Kye Weasner, Helen Yamamoto.
Radio Survivor’s Sustaining Patrons:
Sherry Gendelman
David Long
Dan Franks
Napa Radio Project
Rita Lasar
Stephen McKenney Steck
Linda and John Riismandel
Miranda Morris
Mary Francis
News Doctor Inc.
WPVM 103.7 in Asheville, NC
Bill Kirkpatrick
Faith Ventrello
Jim Atkinson
Fernando Sanchez
Join these readers in supporting Radio Survivor on Patreon. Patrons who contribute $10 or more a month are listed as sustaining patrons.
Other stuff:
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