Shutdown of boston-radio-interest list

[Donna Halper]

On 11/30/2023 2:30 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote:
> Hi, all,
>
> This mailing-list was originally created in 1997, at a time when both
> radio and the Internet were in a very different situation than they
> are now.

I was a late adopter, and got online in late 1995. One of the earliest 
surviving emails I have in my files from you, Garrett, is from May 3, 
1996, in which you and Scott kindly made me a contributing editor of the 
Boston Radio Archives. In that email, you noted that from then on, there 
would be a notification that "The Boston Radio Archives are edited and 
maintained by Garrett Wollman and Scott Fybush.  Contributing editors: 
Peter George, N1GGP Donna Halper, and Dan Strassberg." As I look back on 
those 1996 files, I am struck by how many people we have lost, and how 
many are still alive but no longer involved with radio. I too had to 
reinvent myself, thanks to media consolidation, and I was forced to 
leave the industry I loved. I reinvented myself and became a professor 
and a media historian. But I will always love radio, and I am always 
grateful when I can be a guest on Morgan White Jr.'s show on WBZ or on 
some of the other live and local shows that still exist-- sad to say, 
they are becoming fewer and fewer. Radio changed my life for the better. 
I had a four-decade career, and met some amazing people because of it. 
Contributing to this list was something I've truly enjoyed doing for the 
past 26 years. But I too have noticed that participation was dropping 
off. I understand your decision to end the list, but I admit I'm a bit 
nostalgic about it. For so many years, we all united at certain times to 
talk about radio. I miss doing that. And I miss Bob Bitner. And I miss 
the days when radio stations ruled, and getting airplay could make or 
break a band. Times change, and I understand that. But I will miss this 
list, and the people on it. Thank you for all you did and continue to 
do, Garrett.


-- 
Donna L. Halper, PhD
Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies
Lesley University, Cambridge MA
2023 Inductee, Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame