- Welcome Log in
- My Account
- Wish List
- English
Call 1-800-317-1045Personal advisors 7 days a week
Learn: Home » A Conversation with XM Satellite Radio
Sure, it's easy to enumerate the reasons why XM Satellite Radio is worth experiencing. The programming is diverse, the facilities are state-of-the-art, and the coast-to-coast broadcast coverage makes driving cross-country a treat. But it's when you talk to the people involved in making XM so revolutionary that you really understand how far-reaching a phenomenon satellite radio could become.
On an afternoon in April, we were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to interview four Program Directors from XM: Lee Abrams, XM's Chief Programming Officer and primary format architect; Scott Struber, Program Director of XMU, XM's most varied alternative channel; Jessie Scott, Program Director of X (as in "cross") Country, a channel dedicated to Americana, alt country, rockabilly, roots rock, honky tonk, and the like; and Sonny Fox, Program Director of XM's two comedy channels, Laugh USA and XM Comedy.
What comes across more than anything is their unbridled enthusiasm for the undertaking. They believe in the profound cultural implications of what they're doing — attempting to reinvent radio, to alter dramatically the habits and mind set of radio listeners everywhere, and to breathe new life into a medium that has largely been stripped of its former glory and vitality. And they love it. One heck of a lot.
The conversation took place over about 45 minutes. We asked a single question, and the four participants were off and running, intuitively and spontaneously addressing everything we had planned on asking before we sat down with them. Their thrill at being involved with XM was certainly infectious. As you read through the following, remember that this wasn't a typical question-and-answer session; it was a free-flowing, energetic discourse which proved beyond a shadow of doubt that the folks at XM are on a mission to change the world of radio.
On an afternoon in April, we were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to interview four Program Directors from XM: Lee Abrams, XM's Chief Programming Officer and primary format architect; Scott Struber, Program Director of XMU, XM's most varied alternative channel; Jessie Scott, Program Director of X (as in "cross") Country, a channel dedicated to Americana, alt country, rockabilly, roots rock, honky tonk, and the like; and Sonny Fox, Program Director of XM's two comedy channels, Laugh USA and XM Comedy.
 Lee Abrams |
Scott Struber |
Jessie Scott |
Sonny Fox |
What comes across more than anything is their unbridled enthusiasm for the undertaking. They believe in the profound cultural implications of what they're doing — attempting to reinvent radio, to alter dramatically the habits and mind set of radio listeners everywhere, and to breathe new life into a medium that has largely been stripped of its former glory and vitality. And they love it. One heck of a lot.
The conversation took place over about 45 minutes. We asked a single question, and the four participants were off and running, intuitively and spontaneously addressing everything we had planned on asking before we sat down with them. Their thrill at being involved with XM was certainly infectious. As you read through the following, remember that this wasn't a typical question-and-answer session; it was a free-flowing, energetic discourse which proved beyond a shadow of doubt that the folks at XM are on a mission to change the world of radio.
