Sonoma County radio hosts prove to be heroes who are anything but silent

I know I’m a youth correspondent, but when I saw that October’s prompt was “Community Heroes” I knew I had to break the mold for a story that’s near and dear to my heart.

I grew up listening to Brent Farris on KZST in the morning every day on my way to elementary school, and my first job was as a PSA writer for KRCB, our Sonoma County NPR station. The programming of our local radio stations first told me when school was canceled for flooding, then they kept me informed during the fires. Today they keep me sane during my online classes and daily drives better than any Spotify playlist or podcast could. Our local radio hosts have become community staples and heroes.

For as long as I can remember, KZST has had a segment in their programming for listeners to nominate the community heroes in their lives. So, today, I’m nominating our local radio show hosts as our community heroes.

I spoke with a radio host I used to see often working in the booth, Doug Jayne, who does a Midday Music programming block for KRCB and was one of the founders of The Last Record Store. His passion for music brought him into the business in the mid ‘90s despite having been a fan for over twenty years prior, being drawn in by “left of the dial” smaller stations with local hosts who had diverse tastes in music that exposed him to a lot of the music which he sought out on road trips across the country. From 1995, until 2014, Doug hosted “Connections,” a variety music program, as a volunteer position. The show still runs today with current host Michelle Stewart.

I asked Doug what he thought made his job impactful. He replied, “I have a special bond with my listeners. They are music lovers, and many also grew up with the free-form stations of the 1960s and 1970s.”

I personally did not grow up in that era. I’m a youth columnist, for crying out loud! But I have a feeling that I know exactly what that means. Why? Because we are lucky enough to have people like Doug Jayne and many other amazing hosts at our local radio stations who keep their hosting as an art form, playing a variety of music plucked from all sorts of different eras and genres to make a program that’s truly from the heart. All of that transcends any generational boundary and creates a very communal, aesthetic listening experience.

But that’s just how I feel, of course. In popular culture, there’s an idea that streaming will replace the radio soon, if it hasn’t already.

Take Live 105 KITS for example. Live 105 KITS was a beloved San Francisco-based alternative-rock station that had been broadcast through Sonoma County. In 2021, it suddenly changed to DAVE FM, a station that broadcast “totally random radio” without hosts. The idea behind the change was to mimic streaming platforms, with autmatic and algorithmic music.

It didn’t work. After a mere two years on air, DAVE FM changed back to Live 105 after a harsh public backlash. Although some of Live 105’s hosts are not local, but actually recorded for KROQ down in Los Angeles, the personalities were still a beloved part of the radio station and added to its appeal and charm among the base who still listens to the radio enough for them to demand it back.

Because we are social animals who enjoy listening to people talk, especially in a live manner, and to build familiarity and trust with the speakers, there will always be a need for radio hosts. It is through Doug Jayne, a trusted office-cubicle or midday commute companion, many listeners get their news that a favorite artist has passed. It was through Brent Farris I learned when school would be canceled as a child. It’s through Nico and Noah hosting Lost in the Laguna on KOWS that I now learn about up and coming local artists I want to support. It’s even through the far away folk like Dianne Niccolini I learn about the beauty of classical music from during my long study sessions.

So look at your local station guides, find a program that interests you, or maybe play with the little “Scan” button on your car radio until you find someone with a soothing voice or a song that you haven’t heard before. Look out into your community and tune into what’s going on because you may be shocked to find, it’s anything but silent.