The PRX Editorial Board
PRX lets you search or browse for radio work on your own, but no one can listen to everything. For that we have our editorial board: producers and program directors, a couple decades of radio experience among them.
Ok, they don't listen to everything either, but they listen to a lot, digging through what shows up on PRX to pull up the good stuff. Every month we ask them the same question: "What'll make good radio?"
Their answers, as you'll see, vary.
Check out the latest EB picks here.
Tanya is the News Director at Birmingham, Alabama's pubradio station. Prior to coming to Birmingham, she's worked in news at WUFT-FM (Gainesville, FL), WCBS-AM (NYC), and Colorado Public Radio (Denver, CO), and spent three years as an independent producer working for national news programs such as Marketplace Morning Report.
Tanya has won dozens of AP awards, regional Edward R. Murrows, and an American Legion Auxilliary ?Heart of America? award.
Tanya mentors for the Association of Independents in Radio and also works as a trainer for the Public Radio News Directors Inc?s NewsWorks program.
Read all of Tanya's reviews.
John has been the Program Director for WMUB Public Radio at Miami University, Oxford Ohio since 2000. His previous activites include: Director of Network Relations at WVXU and the X-Star Radio Network at Xavier University; Manager of Cable Communications for the City of Cincinnati; and Director of Communications for the Council of Christian Communions of Greater Cincinnati.
Read all of John's reviews.
John Voci's love affair with radio began as a child listening to broadcasts of his beloved Boston Red Sox. It was further nurtured in late 1960s by alternative FM rock radio. His own radio career began in 1977 in community radio in Worcester, MA where he worked in programming, production and development. He joined WGBH in 1981 working primarily in the Operations Department managing the broadcast and production facilities including many of WGBH's pioneering digital broadcasts and the station's development of new radio services. Since 1987, he has managed WGBH's stations serving Cape Cod and the islands (WCAI-WNAN-WZAI) through their start-up and development. He has produced specials for National Public Radio, Public Radio International and television projects for WGBH's Basic Black. He is currently WGBH's Director of Radio Stations.
Read all of John's reviews.
Taki Telonidis is the media producer for the Western Folklife Center in Salt Lake City. Since 1998, he and colleague Hal Cannon have produced more than 50 radio features about life in the American West. Their work airs regularly on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday, and they?ve been regular contributors to Marketplace and Savvy Traveler. Their video documentary, Why the Cowboy Sings, premiered in January 2002 as a signature event of the Salt Lake Olympic Games. In 2004 Taki was NPR?s field producer for the summer Olympics in Athens. Telonidis came to the West from National Public Radio in Washington DC, where between 1994 and 1998 he was Senior Producer of Weekend All Things Considered. In 1995 the show won the Overseas Press Club Award for Breaking News. Telonidis has also received the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Gold and Silver Awards, the Max Karant Award for Aviation Journalism, and a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award.
Read all of Taki's reviews
Bill Anderson is the Program Director for Kansas station KCUR.
"I like creations that are thought provoking and/or that deal with controversial topics in a fair and balanced manner. I like it when a production makes me say, 'Wow, I didn't know it was possible to look at that topic from this perspective'. I like work that is well written, cleanly edited, clearly narrated and rich in sound. I put an emphasis on work that speaks to all of us with respect and acknowledgement of diverse communities."
Read all of Bill's reviews.
Joseph Dougherty received Drama Desk and Critics Outer Circle nominations for his play "Digby" produced at the Manhattan Theatre Club. He wrote the libretto for the Tony winning musical "My Favorite Year" presented at Lincoln Center.
An Emmy and Humanitas Prize winner for his work on the groundbreaking series "thirtysomething," he has written several movies for HBO including "Cast a Deadly Spell," which was nominated for a Ray Bradbury Award by the Mystery Writers of America and was featured at the 2005 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.
He has contributed to several popular television series including "Once and Again," "Judging Amy" and "saved," and is the author of the book "Comfort and Joi."
He is the creator of "Handwritten Theatre," A Series of Brief Dramatic Pieces Originally Composed in a Small Black Notebook with a Fountain Pen.
Read all of Joseph's reviews.
Before joining THE WORLD Traci worked as a reporter, assistant news director and anchor at KERA, North Texas Public Broadcasting in Dallas where she covered politics on the state and national level. Her investigative reports on civil liberties issues, racism and discrimination in North Texas garnered her numerous awards.
Traci is a longstanding national representative of UNITY: Journalists of Color and a member of the Asian-American Journalists Association.
Read all of Traci's reviews.
Chris began his broadcasting career in 1991 as a "jack of all trades" at BBC Radio Devon in England. From there he returned to London working as a producer and reporter on the three-hour live breakfast program of LBC, which was then the largest commercial station in Britain. His longest period in British radio was spent at BBC Radio Four where he produced the longer features for Woman's Hour. "It was a great experience which allowed me the freedom to produce a wide range of pieces. Sofas, sea cucumbers, 'Fag hags' and castrati all came in for some scrutiny," he says.
In 1997 Chris moved to Radio Netherlands, and for the past six years he's been producing documentaries, mostly with a historical/cultural bent.
Read all of Chris' reviews.
Arvid is the assistant program director at KUOW in Seattle, in charge of scheduling two showcase shows, KUOW Presents and KUOW2 Presents, as well as holiday specials. In addition, he works with PD Jeff Hansen to evaluate new shows and series.
Before becoming a PD, Arvid spent five years producing Weekday, a daily call-in talk show at KUOW. He has also done some reporting and web work, and has been working in radio since he was 17 at his high school station.
Read all of Arvid's reviews.
John Biewen has been making radio since 1983. He's currently producing documentaries for American RadioWorks, the documentary unit of American Public Media, and teaching at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University where he's audio program director.
"I'm interested in all kinds of radio pieces, from the most informative to the most imaginative. Life being short, I want to hear pieces that take me someplace new, someplace I never knew I wanted to go--whether geographically, or into an important issue that concerns me (or should) as a citizen, or just into the surprising terrain of a great story."
Read all of John's reviews.
Originally from Bangladesh, Emon Hassan always knew he'd become a filmmaker. But an unexpected turn into radio drama production, in 2003, has taught him invaluable lessons about the visual medium. Beginning with two short radio dramas for a half hour program, 'Everything Goes?' at WNYE 91.5 FM he has gone on to produce over 40 short radio plays for 'The Big Apple Short Radio Drama Festival' in partnership with Writers Guild of America, east, Brooklyn College Radio, and Teachers & Writers Collaborative.
"As a reviewer, I wish to help the audience better understand the gist of a piece. I try to make sure my reviews are about productions and not producers, what their intentions were, or ought to be. In essence, what one will find in my reviews are my opinions of how the pieces have convincingly presented stories, taking into account originality, structure, information, clarity, and voice."
Read all of Emon's reviews.
Since 1990, David Swatling has been Producer for several Radio Netherlands series: Mirror Images, Aural Tapestry, and currently Vox Humana. He also co-presents weekly live local LGBT show Alien in Amsterdam.
Read all of David Swatling's reviews.
Yolette Garcia has been at KERA since 1983, working across mediums. She has served as Assistant Radio Station Manager, Radio News Director, Executive Producer for Television Programming, Producer and Researcher. Her awards include the 2002 Buck Marryat Award from the Press Club of Dallas for career achievement in journalism; The National Education Media Network's 1996 Gold Apple for Peacemaker; The National Educational Film and Video Festival's 1995 Silver Apple for For a Deaf Son; and The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' 1994 Emmy Award for After Goodbye: An Aids Story. She currently serves as Director of Community Engagement, charged with taking all of KERA's content and deepening it within the North Texas communities.
"You understand why poetry must be spoken. She sings and chants her lines in such a way, it is shamanistic."
Read all of Yolette Garica's reviews.
Michael's produced music shows for 13 years on KALW and KPFA in San Francisco. He's an associate producer for Lost and Found Sound, editor and digital mix engineer for "Spirits Of The Present: The Legacy From Native America" for Radio Smithsonian (PRI), and associate producer for the documentary series "Legacies: Tales from America".
He's been a freelance producer and reporter for the BBC and served on assignment in Managua, Nicaragua, during the Contra-Sandinista Civil War. He's a commentator for 1stPerson.org and a training consultant for NPR.
And he was previously general manager of KALW-FM, San Francisco.
Currently, Michael Johnson is digital training manager at KQED-FM and senior producer of the Hot Soup Program.
(By Geo Beach)
"I'm looking forward to hearing the many ways that stories are told. I'm
happily and continually surprised & delighted every time I hear a producer take a risk and challenge the ever-evolving norm."
Read all of Michael's reviews.
Phil Corriveau has more than 30 years of public broadcasting experience as an engineer, producer, programmer and general manager. He began his professional career at WHA Radio in Madison Wisconsin in 1974 as a production and remote engineer. He was also an award winning producer of cultural programs and manager of production and programming at WHA. He moved to Sacramento, CA in 1980 as the first general manager of the public radio station there, and over the next 16 years built it into a five-station dual channel network. In 1996 he was appointed general manager of KUT-FM and the Longhorn Radio Network in Austin, Texas. In 2004 he assumed the position of Director of Wisconsin Public Radio, a dual channel network of 27 radio stations in Wisconsin.
Read all of Phil's reviews.
Jonathan Groubert is a journalist and producer for Radio Netherlands. He has won both gold and bronze medals at the New York Festivals. His program, EuroQuest, has been chosen three times as one of the Ten Best International Programs by the Passport to World Band Radio. He hails from Brooklyn, but currently resides in Amsterdam with his wife and 1.5 children.
?When reviewing, I?m less interested in the flash of form than in the universality, the humanity of a subject.?
Read all of Jonathan Groubert's reviews.
Dheera has worked for Radio Netherlands for 15 years. For the first 10 years she produced and hosted a weekly feature programme before finally settling down to work exclusively in the format she loves the most - the long documentary. She has won two Silver Medals at the New York International Radio Festival.
She keeps trying to think of what she should do next, but her addiction to hearing about people's lives keeps her enslaved to radio. Along with her colleagues Michele Ernsting and David Swatling, Dheera currently produces Vox Humana for Radio Netherlands.
Read all of Dheera Sujan's reviews.
Sydney Lewis is the author of three oral histories, and transcribes for and otherwise assists oral history maestro Studs Terkel. She has edited award-winning radio essays for WBEZ radio in Chicago, and written for Chicago Tribune Magazine. She currently produces sonic IDs for Atlantic Public Media and WCAI/WNAN, and is the editor of the Transom Review.
"Reverend Billy likes 'em, and I sure do wish they wandered around my neighborhood. A marching band blasting through the summer's humid heat pumps the heartbeat a notch faster."
Read all of Sydney's reviews.
© 2007, The Public Radio Exchange
