Public Radio Expert and Innovator Speaks on Campus
Principia College welcomes Bill Siemering, one of the most significant innovators in American radio, as this semester’s Annenberg Scholar. Siemering will present “Where Do Ideas Come From?" tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall. Having arrived early in the week to engage with students in mass communication, global studies, history, sociology, sustainability, and theatre classes, Siemering remains on campus through next week to continue discussions with students. In connection with his visit to Principia, Mr. Siemering was featured on St. Louis Public Radio yesterday.
In 1970, Siemering wrote the original mission for National Public Radio (NPR) and was its first Director of Programming. In collaboration with the staff, he developed All Things Considered, and while Vice President at WHYY-FM, Philadelphia, he helped bring Terry Gross and Fresh Air from a local to a national audience.
In the 1960s, Siemering was Manager of WBFO-FM at SUNY-Buffalo, where he established a storefront studio in the heart of the African American community, an early example of public media. Siemering was also an adviser to and a member of the staff of the Open Society Foundation for 10 years, working in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Mongolia. He has received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, a Lifetime Achievement Award from National Public Radio, and an honorary doctorate from SUNY-Buffalo.
Siemering now focuses his professional expertise on bringing radio to rural areas of developing countries. In 2004, he founded Developing Radio Partners with programming to help solve community problems, mitigate climate change, promote open elections, and increase farmer income.
“It’s a truly special opportunity for students of this generation to hear directly from such a major influencer as Bill Siemering, who has played a critical role in forming part of our current media landscape—public radio—as well as in using radio globally,” says Mass Communication Professor Joan Wesman.
Listen to Siemering’s talk on Principia Internet Radio at 7:30 p.m. CT.