Redeye has been broadcasting every Saturday morning on Vancouver Cooperative Radio since the late 1970's. For the majority of those years, we have operated as a collective — making decisions together about everything from how we run our meetings to what we cover and who we interview. We believe that working as a collective is one of the factors that keeps the show vibrant and open to new ideas.
Rebecca Visser: I became of member of the Redeye collective in spring of 2014. I was drawn to Redeye because the show critically engages with challenging events and ideas by empowering the voices silenced by the mainstream media. I am proud to be part of the community at Vancouver Co-op Radio that champions ethos of social justice, community engagement and media democratization. Outside of Redeye, I can be found sampling Vancouver's finest craft beers or playing board games with friends and family.
James Mainguy: I had been listening to Redeye for years before joining the show. I was drawn in with an invitation to create alternative media and I've stayed because of the collective structure of the show. We all get to contribute as much, or as little, as we want; we participate in all aspects of the show, from producing to hosting. I like to call myself an amateur in the old fashioned sense; the word, after all, comes from the French word 'to love'.
Esther Hsieh: I joined Redeye in the fall of 2009, drawn to the show by the way the collective makes alternative radio. Working together to bring different voices to the airwaves that inform on issues that can help make this world a better place has been very engaging. Outside of Redeye, I can be found writing freelance articles or exploring the world (sometimes with a surfboard).
Sean Mullen: I have been with Redeye since September 2007. For me, Redeye offers a combination of quality content and technical production that is rare in media. I enjoy the opportunity to bring a genuinely critical perspective to issues like consumerism, environment, media distortion, power relations and art. When not preoccupied with Redeye, I am teaching or exploring the province of B.C.
Lorraine Chisholm: What attracted me to community radio was hearing people speaking in their own voices about issues and projects that mattered. I made the leap from listener to producer when I was looking for a new way to channel my activism. It got into my blood, and I've spent nearly a third of my life making radio with other committed folks most Saturday mornings. That work continues to be fresh, challenging and sustaining. Outside of Redeye, I design digital media, spend time in the wilderness and hang out with friends and family.
Mordecai Briemberg: I have been joyfully part of Redeye for so long I don’t recall when I began – more than two decades ago anyway. Working across generations, with young people particularly, is one terrific satisfaction. The greatest challenge for me in independent media is integrating information and analysis with political organizing. Without face-to-face, patient, dynamic and sustained organizing, the “we” that is ever more urgently needed to change our world will always go missing.
Jane Williams: I joined Redeye in 1984. I was a potter then, I'm an ESL teacher now. What has sustained my interest through all this time is the pleasure of working with so many different people, the satisfaction of enabling alternative perspectives to be heard and my continuing fascination with the process of creating radio. I spent a few years working on the station's move to a new location and several more years on the Coop Radio Board. Recently I've been involved with maintaining Redeye's audio archives, creating our podcast and building this website.
Allan Jensen: I have been around Co-op Radio since 1985 doing public affairs, music and arts programming. Since 1989 I have regularly produced Asian music programs. I am a member of the WorldMusic collective, which airs Sundays at 11am. I also work on Animal Voices, Fridays at noon. I am pleased to be part of Redeye — through its collective structure and progressive political commitment the show reflects what I think community media is all about.
Chris Picek: I joined Redeye in 2011. I have always loved and supported community radio, as it is a vital source of information and entertainment. It gives me an outlet to participate in producing truly independent media, as well as learning the workings of a co-operative team. Currently I live in Calgary, and continue contributing as music producer.
Marc Lindy: I was delighted when asked to join the Redeye collective in September 2008 to assist with music production. Redeye is one of the cornerstones of Vancouver Cooperative Radio and it is stimulating to work with this dedicated group of individuals. Once a month I cobble together fifteen music tracks that are of interest or dear to me and hopefully that translates to the listening audience and underscores the stories or subjects of the day. This ongoing exercise keeps me listening with a fresh ear in the weeks leading up to the program. I was raised in Detroit during the height of the Motown era and my taste runs from funk to punk to Thelonius Monk. My regular Coop Radio slot is Gospel Train, an exploration of Black gospel music heard every Friday evening from 8-9:30. Outside of Coop Radio I am a community gardner as well as playing tuba/Sousaphone for The Carnival Band and The VCC Jazz Orchestra.
In Memoriam: Peter Royce joined Redeye in the spring of 1983. He worked on the collective for most of the next 26 years. He was particularly interested in producing stories about biotechnology, transportation, urban issues and human rights. Peter died at his home on November 4, 2009. His worsening health prevented him from coming down to the station for the last year of his life, but he still participated in the show: suggesting story ideas, writing news, listening as often as he could and passing on his comments. We will miss him, and his contributions to the show, more than we can say. If you would like to share your memories of Peter, you can do so here.
In Memoriam: Mark Dickson was a long-time supporter of community media in general and Coop Radio in particular. He joined Redeye in October of 2001, producing stories, writing news and participating in collective planning meetings whenever he could. Mark passed away on April 7, 2007, after many years of living with Friedrich's Ataxia. Mark wrote, "Democratic cooperatives constitute part of the appropriate form of social organization. The new society is at Co-op Radio". He is greatly missed.
Bob Rosen was a regular music contributor to Redeye. Bob died suddenly on November 22, 2011. This is what he wrote about why he participated in Redeye:
I have been a Co-op Radio member for as long as I can remember. Since high school I have been a singer and guitar player and recently have been performing around town with my political roots music band, the Gram Partisans. I support Co-op because of its progressive politics and community based programming and was really pleased to be asked last year to be one of the music producers for the Redeye Show on Saturday mornings. Being a producer gives me an opportunity to re-explore my own music collection and share some of my favourite music with the community. Photo credit: CoDev/Josh Berson