Radio, Connection, & the Stories That Keep Us Going

Every so often, a gift arrives that reminds us exactly why this work matters.

Recently, a longtime listener sent KSVY a generous end-of-year donation, accompanied by a beautiful handwritten holiday card and a deeply personal note reflecting on a lifetime spent with radio as a companion. It was the kind of message that stops us in our tracks—not because of the dollar amount, but because of the love, memory, and meaning woven into it.

We hear stories like this more often than you might imagine. Notes tucked into envelopes. Emails sent late at night. Conversations at the station door. Each one reminds us that community radio isn’t just something people listen to—it’s something people live with. Through quiet mornings, long drives, hard years, joyful years, and everything in between.

With Ann’s permission, we’re honored to share her story here. It captures something essential about radio, about connection, and about why KSVY exists.

RADIO AND ME

by Ann Clark
(February 2022)

I started listening to AM radio as a preteen, falling asleep with my transistor radio. The 60s were an exciting time for radio in the Bay Area. I listened to some FM, but AM was all the rage for adolescents. That's where Top 40 songs were played, hosted by hopped-up, high energy deejays who spoke our language. KFRC, KYA, KABL, KNEW, KEWB, KSFO ... Emperor Gene Nelson, Russ "The Moose" Syracuse, "Big Daddy" Tom Donahue - they were the voices of our youth and we loved them. There were other names: Dr. Don Rose, Jim Lange, Al "Jazzbeau" Collins, Carter B. Smith, Bill Moen, and they all felt like friends.

I started listening to talk radio as a teenager because I loved words and information and the liberal sharing of both. Radio became my constant companion. In the early 70s, as a young housewife and mother, I painted my entire Richmond house while listening to the women-only "sex talk" show called California Girls every morning from 9 am to noon. (So popular was it that the late San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen once wrote that he walked the entire length of Market Street listening to California Girls, and he didn't miss a word — yet he didn't have a radio.)

In the 80s and 90s, I continued to listen to talk radio during long car trips, especially the five years I commuted between Santa Rosa and Berkeley. My car radio kept me entertained, awake, and alert. Plus, the interactive nature of radio meant that if we had a phone nearby and enough courage, we could be on the air, too. Once when comedian Greg Proops was a guest on a San Francisco radio talk show, I called in and told him a joke I'd made up. (Q: "What kind of sandals do trekkies wear? A: Kirkenspocks.") I became fond of KGO during those years and up through 2011. I listened to Ronn Owens, Gene Burns, Gil Gross, John Rothmann, Brian Copeland, lawyer Len Tillem, and Christine Craft. Sadly, in December 2011, almost the entire staff of KGO was laid off in one fell swoop and the station morphed from talk radio to an all-news format, later circling the drain via a 24/7 sports-betting format and, ultimately, disappearing altogether.

Radio signaled home and comfort even before I tucked my first transistor under my pillow. Back in the late 50s it was my Mom and me at home with the big floor-standing Philco (it was taller than I was, and it took long minutes to warm up its tubes), and she always had KABL tuned in — easy listening for a frazzled mother of three. The patter, rhythms and cozy familiarity of San Francisco Bay Area radio and its hosts and deejays formed the backdrop of my life as it unfolded over the decades. Every year that I went to summer camp my transistor radio got jammed into my suitcase along with the current issue of Seventeen magazine. And, now, every time I hear an oldie like "Save Your Heart For Me," I have vivid memories of being on my Camp Seabow cot, lying under the starry Mendocino mountain skies and listening to the music of home.

Radio wasn't what I merely listened to: radio shaped who I became. (My early love for the medium even led to an A.A. in Communications and my own stint as a newswriter/reporter for Santa Rosa's KSRO in the 1990s.)

When we moved to Sonoma, I was overjoyed to discover there was a community radio station. I became a regular listener during the 2017 firestorms, when it became clear that it was the best and most reliable provider of local news and updates. What has followed in the ensuing years is my nonstop love affair with its wide variety of programming and musical offerings. And whether I’m hearing a local artist for the first time or listening to one of the informative hosts, there is always a personal feel, and a relevance. KSVY has the down-home heart lacking in syndicated programming.

From a very early age, radio helped me to understand that we are really just one big weird family and that when we gather 'round our stations to tune in to our favorite shows and hosts or ballgames or music, it is with the same fervor and devotion as generations before us gathered in their living rooms to listen to radio's earliest broadcasts.

Radio is connection, and connection is what I love most. KSVY provides us that connection, and I plan to stay tuned.

Thank You, Ann—and Thank You, Community

Ann’s story is a gift to all of us. It captures what so many listeners feel but may not always put into words: that radio is companionship, continuity, curiosity, comfort—and community.

If you have a story about what KSVY, SonomaTV, or community media has meant to you, we would love to hear it. You can email your reflections to rjgrooms@ksvy.org, or mail them to:

KSVY
680 W. Napa Street
Sonoma, CA 95476

As we move through our end-of-year fundraising season, stories like Ann’s keep us going. They remind us that what we’re building together is worth sustaining—and worth strengthening.

If you’re able, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support KSVY and SonomaTV. Your gift helps keep local voices on the air, preserves the stories of our Valley, and ensures that connection remains at the heart of our community.

Thank you for listening.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for believing in local media.

— The Board, Staff, and Volunteers of KSVY & SonomaTV