Antonio Ortiz has been working in community media for 25 years. He started in PEG Access TV with Berkeley Community Media in the City of Berkeley, CA, and then made his way to and continues to work for KPFA Radio. Antonio has filled many roles at KPFA, as a volunteer apprentice, a Board Operator/Engineering Assistant, a Union Steward for the station’s bargaining unit with CWA Local 9415, an Operations Manager, and now the Interim General Manager. He also did a short stint as Technical Producer with Free Speech Radio News, a worker-run collective daily 30-minute national newscast. Through his years in community media, he’s learned to “lean into the discomfort.” His values are for collaboration, creativity and harmony.
This month, we’re highlighting Antonio not only in his new role with NFCB but also as a dedicated person serving the community radio sector. Enjoy!
Antonio Ortiz speaking with a KPFA Listener (left) and KPFA's Membership Coordinator, Vicky Palacios (right), at a staff holiday gathering in December, 2025. Photo courtesy of Peter Stickney
Serah Mead: I love a radio origin story. Can you share with us your relationship with radio and how you came to be at your station?
Antonio Ortiz: Actually, I never intended to work in radio when I began my career in media. I had taken a class in video production, where we recorded and edited videos on a VHS camera in college. I loved the class and I wanted to learn more about visual storytelling. I did an internship with Berkeley Community Media, a Public Access TV Station, and soon afterwards worked in their Programming Department. One late evening, when I was switching out tapes for the next days’ programming, I remember watching a visually interesting show by a local video producer. Unfortunately, I could not understand the narration. The audio was terrible. At that moment, I was reminded of the power of sound and how a visual masterpiece is essentially worthless when it is unintelligible.
Because of that, I wanted to learn more about audio and how it worked. I was made aware of KPFA’s First Voice Apprenticeship Program, an 18-month intensive radio production training program geared toward people from underserved communities, and I applied, and I got in. Not only did I learn how to produce segments, engineer studio recordings, operate a board, and produce a live show, I also learned about the power of working with a team of folks from diverse backgrounds.
After graduating from the apprenticeship program, I worked at KPFA as an Assistant Engineer, News Tech, Systems Engineer, Operations Manager, and now the Interim General Manager. I ask myself, why do I continue to stay and to do the work that I do? The answer is the people I work with. My colleagues are some of the most empathetic, caring and compassionate people that I know and they make this work rewarding. AND our station is able to cover topics that our listeners value. And that’s a win!
SM: As you step into this role as a board member for a national organization, what are you most eager to learn more about? And what are you eager to bring to the table?
AO: I’m eager to learn about the people that make NFCB what it is, from the members to the staff. During the start of my Interim position, I focused on KPFA and its stability. I spent my energy training and mentoring new leadership. Going to the NFCB Conference in 2025 reminded me that I am part of a larger community and I had wonderful interactions with everyone I met. I would love to meet and learn more about the community members of NFCB and find out how I can be of service.
These times are bringing up feelings of uncertainty in many of the people that I know, and I’m sure that is true for many in the NFCB community. My goal is to bring calm to any situation, to help put people at ease and to listen to their concerns and their dreams. I hope my value for harmony, building and maintaining it, is useful for NFCB at this time.
SM: What was the most helpful advice you received in your community radio journey so far?
AO: The most helpful advice that I received from my former boss, KPFA’s General Manager prior to me taking the lead, was to walk around to observe and check in with the people that make the station what it is, the core group of employees and volunteers. As a manager, I need to know how people are doing, and I need to find out what challenges them and what inspires them. Also, being around the people gives me a fuller understanding of who they are and what they need. I’m here to help and having constant communication gives me the opportunities to help them.
At a random gathering, a stranger who was a consultant for large businesses gave me advice that I found super helpful. If you don’t know three things about your workers that aren’t work related, then you don’t know your workers. I strive to know each person in their entirety, which is somewhat impossible if you have around 200 people in your organization, but I try my best.
SM: This year has really tested the resilience of community broadcasting. When you look to the future, what is your vision for public media and community radio? What do you think it will take to get there?
AO: My vision for public media and community radio is for it to remain a space where people can talk, build a shared understanding of all of our people’s collective experience, and to inspire positive connection. Doing that work will help us continue to build a world where everyone belongs and matters.
I’m also visioning public media and community radio having financial stability.
How to get there? It really boils down to us working together as a community and finding the solutions together. I don’t know the exact steps, but I do know that if we collaborate and keep our minds open to possible solutions, one will make itself clear. We just need to be ready to take advantage of it.
SM: Finally: What would be your dream music festival lineup? You can choose any artists, alive or dead, past and present (even future!).
AO: This would be hard for me to answer since I don’t go to music festivals. Sometimes I listen to Sam Smith, to Bad Bunny, to Kylie Minogue, to Cher … I guess I follow whatever piques my fancy. I used to love listening to sad and depressing songs, but I’m trying to listen to songs that feel uplifting and that helps me feel good. At this time I’ve been listening to a Zen music playlist and some Art of Attraction talks, which wouldn’t make a music festival lineup, or would it?
Chiming in here (hi it’s Serah): a music festival with Sam Smith, Bad Bunny, Kylie, and Cher would be i.n.c.r.e.d.i.b.l.e. Picture the main stage with a big tent off to the left being a restoration zone playing the Zen playlist and a another tent off to the right for lectures tent with leading minds in social anthropology and mental heatlh… bada-bing!
