Contacts

Radio magazine is written by radio industry professionals for radio industry professionals. Radio magazine delivers in-depth technical expertise with the most-respected editorial content.

The magazine's roots go back to 1959 when Broadcast Engineering magazine was first published. The publication covered radio and TV for many years, but by 1993, the two industries had diverged enough that separate publications were needed to cover both well. In 1994, the first issue of Radio magazine was published.

Radio magazine covers the technology of radio broadcasting for engineers and managers at radio stations, networks and recording studios.

Contact the magazine staff

Editorial

Zach Smoot (Bio)
Online Audience Development Manager
913-967-1990
E-mail: Zach.Smoot@penton.com

Business

Meet the Radio magazine staff

Chriss Scherer, CPBE CBNT - editor
Scherer has been the editor of Radio magazine since 1997. Before joining Radio magazine, he was the chief engineer at stations including WMMS-FM, WHK-AM, WZJM-FM, WJMO-AM and WZAK-FM in Cleveland, WYCL-FM in Boyertown/Reading, PA and WEBE-FM in Bridgeport, CT. He also worked as a contract engineer or staff engineer at stations in Miami including WVCG-AM, WHYI-FM, WTMI-FM, WQAM-AM and WKIS-FM. During this time, he was also a contributing author to Radio and Broadcast Engineering magazines.

He is a senior member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. He is certified as a Professional Broadcast Engineer and a Broadcast Networking Technologist by the Society of Broadcast Engineers. He is the immediate past president of the Society, and has also served two terms as a member of the board of directors and four years as the chairman of the SBE National Certification Committee.

He is active in the local SBE chapter for Kansas City and served as chapter chairman of chapter 59 for three years. He was previously chairman of Cleveland Chapter 70. He is also active with the Kansas City section of the Audio Engineering Society.

Scherer is a regular presenter or panelist at NAB, NAB Radio, AES and other conventions.

He has experience in many aspects of radio in addition to engineering, including on-air, announcing, operations and production.

In 1987, Scherer graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor of music degree in music engineering technology.

In 2004 he wrote the foreword to the book Career Opportunities in Radio from Ferguson Publishing.

John Battison, P.E., CPBE - technical editor, RF
John Battison was awarded the prestigious honor of Radio Engineer of the Year by the NAB in 1998; a distinction worthy of his contributions to radio engineering.

A former editor of Broadcast Engineering magazine, Battison has been involved in broadcasting for more than 60 years. He is a Consulting Engineer and Registered Professional Engineer in Washington, DC. He holds amatuer radio license W8KUC.

In 1961, Battison penned an editorial calling for the creation of a new broadcasting technical organization. This rally lead to the creation of the Society of Broadcast Engineers in 1965. Battison served as the Society's first President.

He is the Former Director of Education of the National Radio Institute, Former Director of Engineering for the Ohio State University Radio and TV stations and organizer of the five famous WOSU Engineering Conferences. He is also the former owner/operator/builder of KAVE-AM-TV, Carlsbad, NM.

Erin Shipps - associate editor
Erin Shipps began as associate editor of Radio magazine in July 2007. Previously she was the associate editor with Gas Engine Magazine, Farm Collector and Steam Traction magazine, and copy editor for Motorcycle Classics, which are all published by Ogden Publications in Topeka, KS. She had been with them since November 2005.

She is a 2005 graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in journalism, emphasis in magazines. She also has experience in radio, having worked at KHCA in Manhattan from 2001 to 2002.

Harry Martin - technical consultant, legal