VISIONARY KCRW PUBLIC RADIO LEADER, RUTH SEYMOUR

Ruth Seymour, who transformed KCRW-FM, a tiny college radio station operating out of a middle school classroom in 1977, into a local, regional, national, international public radio and Internet powerhouse by the time she retired in 2010, died at her home in Santa Monica after a long illness at the age of 88 on December 22, 2023.

Her mission at KCRW, as she told journalists and friends was, “To matter.”

Described as charismatic and controversial, the Bronx-born visionary was a politically astute intellectual who created a winning eclectic format of news, talk, music, current affairs and cultural programming. She broke the accepted rules of broadcasting by not focusing on a single demographic but intuitively tapping into and responding to the zeitgeist of a changing cultural landscape. Under her aegis, KCRW, licensed to Santa Monica College, became the West Coast flagship station for NPR (National Public Radio). She was one of the earliest adopters of online programming, streaming and podcasting, which helped the station achieve global renown.

KCRW’s President Jennifer Ferro offered her thoughts: "Ruth was singular in every way. She had a powerful vision that never wavered. There was a spirit in Ruth that no one else has. She didn’t just save NPR or create a new format—Ruth took chances and made decisions because she knew they were right. She trusted her gut. She broke rules and pursued excellence in ways that can't easily be explained. She was a force of nature. Ruth’s legacy lives on at KCRW. She inspires us to be original, to host the smartest people, the most creative artists and to talk to our audience with the utmost respect for their intellect.”

Actor/comedian/voiceover artist Harry Shearer, whose “Le Show” aired for decades on KCRW, sums up the consensus opinion about her: “Ruth was a towering figure in public radio, embracing a breadth of subject matter and styles that, frankly, does not seem possible any more. She imagined a listener who was endlessly curious, open to a wide range of opinions and musics, and worked tirelessly to satisfy that listener. There will not be one like her again.”

NPR Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg, one of the “Founding Mothers” of NPR recollects: “Ruth was one of the great pioneers of public radio—at her station as well as in the