About SonicSF

SonicSF is a new breed of radio show that takes its standards from NPR and its humor and narrative tendencies from pop-culture, to deliver an addictively entertaining series. SonicSF offers opportunities for participation to an extent not previously possible in public radio. We’ve coined that term, “reality news,” to describe our particular style, and it’s the way we’ll explore the underground stories and untold secrets of a dynamic, creative city.

We need funding for a few basics: editing workstations, simple recording gear, web development, and a few months’ rent for our newsroom.

WHY SUPPORT US

YOU NEED US. If you’re a fan of RadioLab, This American Life, or the Sound of Young America — our show is for you. You need more than just a few hours of unusual radio each month! We have a sound all our own, just as each of those shows do. SonicSF is set in San Francisco, but you don’t have to live here to listen and love it (you didn’t have to live in New York to love Seinfeld). We passionately believe there are undiscovered stories and fascinating people here, and that San Francisco — the city that inspired Hammett, Hitchcock, Kerouac, and even Jobs — should be the breeding ground for this new kind of programming.

WE NEED YOU. Almost all public radio innovation started independently. Ira, Jad and Jesse each had to go it alone at first, and now it’s our turn. Like a few innovators before us, we want to challenge the idea that radio journalism can’t be innovative, entertaining, and fun. Isn’t it more interesting to hear events as they unfold rather than listening to a reporter reading from a script? Wouldn’t you like to be where the action is taking place? Not every news story has to be investigative; small moments can also be revelatory. We want to deliver more than just information. We want to deliver an experience, and one that you are part of! But to do that we need your support.

HOW WE’RE DIFFERENT

WE TRUST YOU. We know we don’t have to tell you every little thing. Don’t know what silicon photonics are? That’s okay, you’ll look it up! Need more background? You’ll get it from a listener comment. We realize we’ll be just one of many sources you get information from, and we’re okay with that. It gives us more room to have fun and to be compelling with our material.

PARTICIPATORY. New ideas and technology developed in the Bay Area are continually shaping the way we connect with each other and learn about current events. SonicSF takes advantage of partnerships with creative new tech platforms, making it possible for listeners to become directly involved. There are at least eight ways to participate with the show, including simple online interaction, our mobile assignment desk, mixed-reality mapping, and others, which we aren’t revealing just yet.

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY. SonicSF incorporates audio, visual art, text, music and live events in a way that promotes a larger experience for fans and contributors.

INNOVATIVE. As RadioLab’s Jad Abumrad said: “[Public Radio] needs more joy. It needs more chaos. It needs more anarchy. And it needs more moods.” SonicSF is the program public radio needs: groundbreaking, amusing, informative, compelling, tech-savvy – and completely unlike anything else out there.

Want to hear a sample? Check out the audio promo on our website!

WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU. Public Radio’s current funding system discourages experimentation, and unfortunately, grants are still most often awarded to radio projects that are similar to projects that came before them. The result is a homogenous style of reporting that covers the same topics again and again, even if utilizing new technology to do so. We’re living in a renaissance for public media (all media, really), and this is the time to try new things! Once we publish eight episodes and illustrate there’s an audience for this program, we’ll be in a much better position to secure grant funding. We can’t do it without you! PLEASE help us make the show a reality.

FAQ’s

Where can I hear SonicSF?

SonicSF doesn’t yet have a permanent distributor, but we will eventually make the show available to public radio stations around the country via Content Depot, and of course, you’ll also be able to access all of our content online!
Last updated: Tuesday Dec 13, 11:28pm PST

How does my money get spent?

The money from your pledge will go toward financing our SonicSF website, and technology needs for our newsroom, which include computer workstations, audio recording equipment for correspondents, and basic office supplies.

Who’s involved with SonicSF?

SonicSF currently has a small staff of five producers and correspondents, and one illustrator, but will soon include other San Franciscans and anyone who supports the program! WE ARE:

Silvi Alcivar — Correspondent Silvi, owner and poet of The Poetry Store, uses her red royaltypewriter to write poems on demand for people at events of all kinds. She also makes art and jewelry. Her work has been featured in 7×7 Magazine,Daily Candy, The SF Chronicle, as well as exhibited at Secession Art and Design. She lives inthe mission and loves to take walks or runs around the neighborhood and upBernal Hill. Her favorite thing about San Francisco is a tie between thewind and the ocean and the wild parrots.

Lindsey Baird – Assistant Producer & Correspondent Although Lindsey was born and raised in Minnesota, San Francisco has been her home for the last seven years. Attending the Academy of Art for film editing and producing; she is now the Asst. Producer for SonicSF. In addition to working in the news room, Lindsey also has her hands in the food and beverage industry. She’s opened several staple San Francisco restaurants including Flour and Water and Comstock Saloon. Lindsey lives in the Mission District but you can often find her in North Beach pouring delicious cocktails to sip on or shoot!

Stacy Bond – Executive Producer Until the age of ten, Stacy lived just outside of Dallas, where she spent her time rounding up the neighborhood kids and convincing them to be in conceptual productions modeled after variety shows such as “Donny and Marie on Ice” and “Pink Lady and Jeff.” Still obsessed with making shows, some of her time these days is spent planning all the writing and art projects she’ll be able to tackle once she gets SonicSF launched. When not toiling in the show’s micro-newsroom, she can be found cooking Weston A. Price style, thrifting, looking at art while wishing she were making it, and running her mouth. She lives on lower Nob Hill with her husband Rich Bartlebaugh. Her favorite thing about San Francisco is everything.

Hunter Oatman-Stanford – Online Manager & Correspondent Hunter was born and raised in Austin, TX and spent the last 5 years moving around (Poughkeepsie, Marfa, New Orleans, Berlin, etc.) and exploring the dynamic cultural scenes in each of these unique places before settling in the city by the bay. He has previously worked in interior/graphic design, managing visual arts organizations, and installing exhibitions. Hunter is a maker of all kinds of amazing things (clothing, furniture, jokes, vegetarian food) and lives in the Inner Sunset, the SF neighborhood he is currently most obsessed with. His favorite thing about San Francisco is the locavore food scene.

Dana Laman – Senior Producer & Story Editor Dana hails from southern California but currently resides in San Francisco. She loves storytelling in all forms, and works as a creator and editor across multiple mediums, including illustration, audio and film. In addition to her design and media work, Dana is a producer for SonicSF and continually looks for creative ways to assemble content. Some days you’ll find Dana doing post-production on her latest film endeavor, other days relaxing at home in the Excelsior, listening to the Papercuts. Her favorite thing about San Francisco is its complexity (and its karaoke).

Mark Lukach – SonicSF Correspondent A former history teacher at Woodside Priory School, Mark has left the schoolyard and is now focusing on journalism. Mark is the associate editor of the Ocean Beach Bulletin, and a founding correspondent for SonicSF. As a freelance writer, he has been published in 7×7 magazine, Shmoop, MYOO, Inhabitat.com, Scuttlefish and The Inertia, and he is currently working on a memoir with his wife Giulia. Mark currently lives in the Outer Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco with Giulia and their bulldog, Augustus. His favorite thing about San Francisco is Ocean Beach – a wonderful place to surf, walk your dog, and find some solitude in an otherwise busy urban environment.

Patrick Rossetti – Illustration & Design Patrick was born and raised in Southern California. He studied illustration in Long Beach and is currently pursuing a freelance career. Patrick is a music nerd and film-buff, and lives in the Lower Haight. His favorite thing about San Francisco is the incredible architectural diversity.

What is SonicSF’s connection to NPR?

SonicSF is the brainchild of Stacy Bond, an artist and veteran-NPR producer. While NPR was interested in an early partnership with SonicSF, we have decided to produce the show independently in order to maintain editorial control and further the level of innovation possible.

Stacy has been making sound-rich radio for the past twenty years, most recently as Producer of The California Report, an award-winning news-magazine heard by 825,000 listeners weekly. Stacy was also a part of the team that produced NPR’s Peabody Award-winning coverage of the September 11th attacks. Her work has been heard on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and other NPR programs. After leading a social media initiative to celebrate Ten Years of The California Report, Stacy was struck by the potential power of interactive radio. Moved and charmed by the behavior of the show’s fans, Stacy left KQED to found AudioLuxe, a production company that explores and implements new media in public broadcasting, aiming to reach and involve fresh, new audiences.