PBRTV at 22 (almost!)

As I sit here and write this, I realize that we are now under one week until PBRTV completes its 22nd year on the web. In a way it seems a lot like yesterday, but it also seems like eons since October 21, 1998. At the time I was just 8 weeks or so away from turning 22, now I’m just 8 weeks or so away from 44. How has half of my life been spent with this website as part of it?!

Back then (I feel like I’m 88 when I say that), the Internet was kinda new and I was eager to be a part of it. There was nothing called “social media” – i.e.) Facebook and Twitter – and we still had “message boards” – i.e.) I can’t remember the names of any! We had other sites which were similar to PBRTV a few of which were local but under the umbrella of a national site. I remember writers like Lynne Margolis, Dennard Summers, and others who frequently checked in. We weren’t competitors and we all shared in a love of the business and even gave each other story scoops. And of course, in the summer of 2000 I met the Tribune-Review reporter named Jason Togyer down the street at Applebees and he wrote a marvelous piece on a website that was fledgling along on one of those “free” webpage spaces which came with a myriad of pop-up ads. That friendship remains in place today and we’ve worked together on so many radio projects since. But without Jason, I may never have considered making this site a “dot com”!

Come to think of it, this site has allowed me to meet so many wonderful folks over the years. Eventually it helped me find my way over to Broadcast Communications, Inc. where I spent 12 1/2 years manning the studios and occasionally opened the microphone until 2019 when Parkinson’s Disease became more insistent that I needed to stay closer to home. It’s a privilege to continue to produce public affairs programming for the 8 stations (it was only 2 stations when I started there!) remotely from the comforts of my home not far away from home.

Oh sure, Facebook has many groups where people go to discuss the history of media and share the pictures I used to beg readers to share with us here. And yes, there are days when I feel like I am telling people about this site for the first time. Oh and I have considered just scrapping it altogether, but as you can see, putting this site up 22 years ago led me to a lot of opportunities that I may not have had otherwise and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I don’t think it would be fair to scrap a site that has done so much good for me and give up to the social opinion, insult, argument and misinformation sites like Facebook.

For the record, you are still welcome to send your historic broadcasting photos and stories here. They’ll have a permanent home and will be easy to find on this site. And we will still share news about local media here as when it happens. Send it to info@pbrtv.com!

Meanwhile, as we adjust to living during a pandemic, I do have plans to continue the PBRTV Podcast – interviews with local well-known and not so well-known personalities in the biz. It has become one of my favorite parts of doing this website. But like all things, a little hard to do in person in a small space like the bunker. I will be working on it again soon – so broadcasting retirees, watch out!

So let’s have a “party”! Date and time to be officially announced and subject to change at the last minute, but hopefully on the evening of the site’s official anniversary – Wednesday 10/21* – with a live stream video podcast. Maybe you can join us with your questions and comments – no politics of course! Stay tuned for the official announcement coming soon!

And thank you for being along for the ride for 22 years, let’s do it another 22 or so!

*October 21, 1998 was also a Wednesday now that I think about it. That just makes the anniversary worth celebrating even more!