Jim Newman Joins the PRP team!

Portland Radio Project welcomes new volunteer, Jim Newman, to our growing team. Jim will be helping Luke Neill with the development of on-air promotions and cross-promotions for upcoming shows, as well as assisting with streaming technology (Alexa, Google Home,) and podcast & website publishing. He will likely wear many hats, as all PRP volunteers do! Please read below for Jim’s eloquent and beautifully written responses to our Volunteer Feature questions. Welcome aboard, Jim!

Jen:
What experience and background do you have with radio? Why do you choose to volunteer for PRP?

Jim:
I would say radio gave me my first purpose in life outside the family. It opened up a world with a magical environment under my control.  It demanded showmanship, physical dexterity (cuing records, threading tapes, orchestrating all the elements) and knowledge of music and pacing.  I might have spent my career in radio though on release from the Army a former boss offered me a job in TV news and I discovered writing.  Instead of work in a broadcast booth I worked alongside a cameraman most of my career.  Collaboration, I learned, is a real pleasure.  I worked in hard news in Minneapolis, and for Oregon Public Broadcasting on Oregon Field Guide.  Collaboration, or cooperative creativity, defined the work both places.  That kind of human connection is what I seek in my volunteer work with PRP.  There is nothing better than the creative synergy of passionate minds blending to make a project great.

Jen:
What sorts of hobbies do you enjoy/What do you do for fun?

Jim:
I write fiction, and I paint, and I hike.  My favorite hikes include Olallie Butte, in the Oregon Cascades, and Mount Hood’s Cooper Spur.  I’ve had one novel published, so far.  “A Habit of Mind,” North Star Press, 2015.   I have a painting website too.