BILL SIEMERING

Bill Siemering was a central figure in the creation of National Public Radio (NPR) serving as a member of the original board of directors in 1969 and the author of the network’s original mission statement, “Public Radio Purposes.” 

As NPR’s first programming director, Siemering experienced many successes including an outline for the vision of what would become NPR’s highly listened to afternoon drive program, All Things Considered, a program that later would be inducted into The Radio Hall of Fame. 

Between 1978 and 1987, Siemering served as the station manager at WHYY-FM, a highly ranked radio station in the Philadelphia area and helped to develop the radio program, Fresh Air. In 2003, Siemering founded the nonprofit Developing Radio Partners (DRP) an organization that works with local radio stations in developing countries, providing them with the skills they need to bring reliable information to those who need it most. His numerous honors and awards include the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1986), the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1993) and the Third Coast Festival Lifetime Achievement Award (2002). 

Bill Siemering’s radio career started in the early 1960’s as the first professional general manager of WBFO, at The State University of New York (SUNY) in Buffalo, New York.