Rainier Radio (rainierradio.org) is a nonprofit Internet radio station that went live Jan. 23 and now features more than 400 hours of jingles, classic radio shows and other programming from Washington. The program started as the brainchild of Ross Davis, former general manager of Seattle Community Colleges Television (SCCTV) and Rainier Radio. According to John Sharify, Davis' successor as general manager for SCCTV, Davis' idea was to provide a public archive of radio history from Seattle and around Washington.A WIDE SELECTION, AUDIENCERainier Radio features a wide selection of programs from the 1930s up to the present, including hit music, recordings from the Seattle music scene, advertisements, jingles and classical radio programs like "The Lone Ranger" and "Superman." After searching through the archives of Rainier Radio, users can enjoy a selection from "The Jack Benny Program" or listen to an advertisement for IBM Printers from the 1980s.The programs, Sharify said, have been sitting in boxes in the basements of local citizens and have never been archived. Every second of the 400-plus hours currently available on Rainier Radio has been donated by users and such radio personalities as John Maynard and Pat O'Day, who have donated a great deal of their own material to the project, Sharify said.According to Sharify, in the first hours after the website's launch at rainierradio.org, the site had users in 40 states, and the Rainier Radio staff heard from hundreds of listeners who said the project was something they had been waiting to see. Rainier Radio's user base is continuing to expand, now claiming users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Honduras, China, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as well as the United States.According to Sharify, the largest group of users have been people who grew up with the programming from the '50s, '60s and '70s, but anyone who is interested in Washington-state radio history can find whatever they want on Rainier Radio.NSCC RESOURCEAccording to Ross Davis, the station will also be used as a resource in North Seattle Community College's Communication Business and Media degree program. "As it develops," Davis said, "Rainier Radio will feature programs produced by Seattle Community College students on the Seattle and Northwest music scene."Sharify said that North Seattle Community College now has a Rainier Radio studio to allow students the chance to use Rainier Radio in their research. Sharify said that he hopes the radio will be incorporated into the curriculum of classes as it matures.Rainier Radio has partnered with the Washington State Heritage Center and will be part of the center's on-line resources. Rainier Radio is also sponsored by Adobe Systems Inc., Clear Channel Radio, ENCO Systems Inc. and Intune Media Group.While hosted at North Seattle Community College and directed by SCCTV, Rainier Radio receives no funding from the state or Seattle Community Colleges budgets; SCCTV is a self-sustaining project.CONTINUED SUPPORT NEEDEDRainier Radio is available to users 24 hours a day, seven days a week at no charge, and the staff is always looking for more volunteers to help the station to expand."This is possible only with the continued passion, contributions and donations from the listeners out there. We welcome anyone who wants to participate and help us out," Sharify said. "The archive is growing as we speak; we need people to help us do that."To volunteer, call Rob Rosamond, at 985-3963.[[In-content Ad]]
