About
Mediageek is a weekly half-hour syndicated public affairs radio show covering grassroots and independent media, as well as the policy, laws and economics that affect our ability to communicate freely and accurately. The program is hosted and produced by Paul Riismandel at WNUR 89.3 FM on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, which is heard throughout Chicago and the northern suburbs. Mediageek is heard on over a dozen other community radio stations across North America. The program is free for broadcast by any noncommercial station — please just send an email to let us know if your station is airing it.
We’re always looking for interesting guests who are making interesting and vital independent media or making critical contributions to the effort to create a better, more just and democratic media system.
Email guest and topic suggestions to paul(at)mediageek(dot)org or mediageek(at)gmail(dot)com.
The program started in 2002 on community radio WEFT 90.1 FM in Champaign-Urbana, IL, where it was produced until March 2008. It grew out of a biweekly program called “Radio Free Conscience” which covered similar issues, but with a stronger emphasis on community and micropower radio.
On Mediageek we attempt to both highlight the efforts of people making and creating interesting and vital independent media while also critically examining the legal, regulatory and economic environment of our media. The purpose is to celebrate the independent spirit as we also stand on guard to protect and enhance our ability to use media–broadcast, internet, print–to accurately communicate everyday life, experience, news and culture. Understanding the forces that affect our ability to use media for these purposes is therefore important to protect our rights to continue using it, and perhaps be able to expand that ability into the future.
Therefore we regularly report on and examine issues like internet freedom and network neutrality, low-power FM and unlicensed broadcasting, media ownership and consolidation, public access TV, community radio, copyright and fair use. Too often these issues receive minimal coverage in the mainstream press, and when they are covered they’re treated like business stories, on the business pages, rather than what they are: political stories of direct import to our ability to take informed action in our daily lives.
| Paul | 
January 25, 2009 8:41 pm | 
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By Roger C. Bigler, February 2, 2010 @ 1:39 am
As I was crusing through my links page I cought your show on 12-31-2009 and was surprised to hear that you were stoping your show. I think you are missing the new media, which is your website. I strongly sudgest you morph media geek into another show that can cover the topics. Please send me a link to what your next gig is. Btw, we have meet before several times in person in champaign urbana. I will definatly miss your show.
By James, February 18, 2010 @ 3:30 pm
Paul- it broke my heart when you pulled the plug on MediaGeek as we had run it on radiodriftless for 4years and I met John Anderson once and he was a friend of our tekkie David Klann. Alas, after a DIY heart transplant our live fm station-WDRT is going live in Viroqua, Wi later this summer at a powerful 480 watts. I need five one hour syndicated music programs to put into the schedule grid- what are your suggestions? they have to be good and free. Thanks, J4d (glad you still have your website!)