Brenda Barnes
When I moved to Los Angeles to lead KUSC, I can't tell you how nervous I was to meet Ruth. Ruth was already a legend in public radio, and I knew I had one shot at making a good impression. Fortunately, we had a great dinner that led to a friendship I cherished. At that dinner, Ruth invited me to a KCRW event. Prior to my arrival, the two stations had been adversaries, so when I walked in, the jaws of all the KCRW staff members dropped to the floor. No one knew what to do, and I could tell people were considering ushering me out. Ruth came right over, gave me a hug, and that was that. Under our leadership, KCRW and KUSC had a great relationship and collaborated on programming.
Ruth and I had regular dinners during which we talked about life, public radio, books. and every other topic you can imagine. Getting to know Ruth was an honor and a joy.
Many in public radio didn't know what to make of her and questioned the wisdom of her programming decisions. They didn't understand she had an ear for talent that was unparalleled, and she knew exactly how to program for her target audience: West Los Angeles (aka smart, savvy, curious, adventurous listeners).
It's clear now those listeners exist all over the world, but it wasn't apparent when Ruth developed her programming philosophy. The music format Ruth developed is now a highly successful nationwide format.
Ruth was the first to challenge ideas she thought were wrong-headed and the first to support people and organizations that had lost their way (like NPR at the brink of bankruptcy). She had a keen sense of what was important, and she fought for what she believed.
It's very hard to believe a person who was such a force of nature is no longer here, but her legacy lives on in Celia (with whom I have had the privilege to work), KCRW, Sarah Spitz, Jennifer Ferro, and a very long list of people who influenced Ruth and were influenced by her. The future generations of public media professionals will always owe Ruth a huge debt of gratitude, just as I do.
