Our experience in this area includes playing disc jockey at three different radio stations over the years: KDEF-FM, Albuquerque, New Mexico, KSRC-AM, Socorro, New Mexico, and V6AV-FM, Pohnpei Island, Federated States of Micronesia.
I also was a field reporter working freelance for MonitoRadio, Boston for a period, and worked on a wide variety of subject matter - from the Palestinian/Jewish debate in America, to the mermaids of Weeki-Wachee, Florida.
A 22-day cross-country train trip, called "An Outline of America," resulted in a series of stories that focused on national issues (childcare, the homeless,the environmental movement, etc.) from local perspectives across the country - from San Antonio to Boston, from Washington, DC to Browning, Montana - (14 cities, 22 days, 10,000+ miles).
MONITOR was broadcast on over 270 stations around the country, as well as internationally on Radio Luxembourg and Monitor's International Shortwave Service.
Some years back we were contracted by an Indian Tribe to do an "overview" of the community: their past, who they are today, the important issues facing them, etc. Since the program was going to be seen by a relatively large number of people in a metropolitan area, I wanted the narrator, if possible, to have a "public profile" that would stand out. Will Sampson's career was "rolling" after One Flew Over The Cookoo's Nest. His portrayal of "Chief Bromden" (seen below) was unforgettable, and earned him an Oscar nomination for "Best Supporting Actor." I wrote a letter to this most amazing guy, who REALLY changed the way Hollywood saw "Indians." He was no BS. He soon replied and told me that he would narrate the program, gratis, and then while he was with us, agreed as well to do a series of PSA's (public service announcements - freebies on radio & TV) for various Indian causes and concerns, along with some narration of educational material that involved tribal legends and oral history. Here's one of the radio PSA's - for American Indian Centers, on the left, and the intro for a slide/tape documentary he did for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, on the right.
He was a generous man, and it was a great experience and a lot of fun to work with him.
He was a FOUNDER like no other - the Sierra Club Foundation, the John Muir Institute of Environmental Studies, Friends of the Earth, the League of Conservation Voters, the Earth Island Institute, and more. We sat and talked one morning (well, he talked and I listened) about the planet, and the future. The interview is from the late 80's; David Brower died in 2000. Here's a couple of brief excerpts.
