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I am a new program creator, a program doctor and a talent scout. I know what it takes for programs to succeed -- what kind and size audience they need, how loyal that audience must be, and what programs should cost.
I invent new programs, such as Marketplace, Weekend America, The World, and many others.
I am a program doctor, someone who helps stations and other producers to diagnose problems with existing programs and redesign them to make them more successful. And, since outstanding talent is the heart of good programs, I help find, recruit and even train talented staff.
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"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not
from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular."
-- Edward R. Murrow, See It Now, CBS Broadcast, March 9, 1954
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Jim is one of public broadcasting’s premiere talent scouts, responsible for bringing some of the best-known public radio talent to the industry. Among those he recruited and/or hired are: Susan Stamberg, Robert Siegel, Scott Simon, Robert Krulwich, Carl Kasell, David Brancaccio, David Brown, Noah Adams, and B.J. Leiderman. (Jim’s judgment is not infallible: he resisted hiring at least one individual who went on to make a big name for herself: Cokie Roberts!)
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"And the person most responsible for that is Russell, a large, jovial man with mischievous eyes and a quick wit. When
Marketplace Productions was formed a decade ago, he was the obvious choice to head it, for two reasons. For starters, he
certainly understood radio—as a correspondent and later as an executive producer at National Public |
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Radio, he helped found the network's signature newscast "All Things Considered" and its morning counterpart, "Morning Edition." But more important
was the fact that he had absolutely no idea how the business world worked. And that combination of uncompromising professional standards and a wary approach to its subject matter immediately stamped the show with a fresh, unpretentious style unique in the button-down world of public radio."
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He's been a local news director, an NPR reporter and producer, a war correspondent in Vietnam. He was a member of the team that invented All Things Considered, and he conceived PBS's Newton's Apple and the national public radio hits Marketplace,
Weekend America and The World. Jim has worked for all three public radio networks and for public television and has won every major award in broadcasting.
“Jim Russell is the most talented radio producer I’ve ever worked with. Conceptually, he’s about 20 years ahead of public radio as we know it. He’s creative, experienced, and unafraid to try something new-- a fearless explorer of new territory
Best selling author & composer
James McBride |
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"I consider this Program Doctor-ing one of the finest investments Hearing Voices has ever made.
Program producers simply cannot discover on their own the kind of invaluable industry insights and
station perspectives the ProgDoc provides."
-- Barrett Golding,
Exec. Producer,
Hearing Voices |
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My associates
Jim's Clients & Projects
Jim’s Newsletter – January 08
Jim's Newsletter - July 07
My business plan
Download my flyer
What people say about me
Contact me
My Resume
Articles About Me
Articles By Me
Interesting things About Jim
Jim's Awards
JRP Waiver Letter
When all else fails
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Jim and revered NPR Newscaster Carl Kasell. Jim hired Carl at National Public Radio many decades ago. They actually met each other at a commercial radio station in Alexandria, Virginia in the days before NPR was born! |
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Iowa Public Radio
WUWM, Milwaukee
WUNC, Chapel Hill
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All the best from a fan and an advocate for people like you who dare to take chances and make a difference.
-- Dennis Hamilton, Senior Consultant, Public Radio Capital |
"It isn't enough for a program to solve a problem or create an audience opportunity – it must have a reason for being, a higher purpose -- and, it must be excellent, a magnet for public radio’s demanding audiences.”
Risk taking is where you indulge the best motivation
you have to be creative, to be superlative, to be excellent.
Congratulations! I predict you're going to be busier than you've ever been. Not to mention happier. You never
seemed to me like the "employee" type. I'll start sending you every producer who calls and has a great idea for
the next "Car Talk" of lawn care.
-- Doug Berman, Executive Producer, Car Talk and Wait, Wait |
You never seemed to me like the "employee" type.
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“Jim Russell is in that small circle of people who make a mark in an industry. With Marketplace,
he created a signature show that for years has been one of the centerpieces of public radio."
-- Bruce Drake,
Former Vice President News, NPR |
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