R.I.P.: Ruth Seymour, Legendary Executive Built KCRW

Ruth Seymour, the longtime radio executive who built non-com KCRW into a public media powerhouse in the late 20th century, transforming the sonic landscape of Los Angeles and beyond, died on Friday. She was 88, The L-A Times reports.

When Seymour arrived at KCRW-FM (89.9) in 1977, the station was housed in an elementary school adjacent to Santa Monica College, where staff could hear the hum of the nation’s oldest radio transmitter west of the Mississippi through the walls of the converted classrooms. The listenership at the time was just as modest, its numbers overshadowed by crosstown public radio peer KUSC-FM (91.5).

By the time Seymour retired as KCRW’s general manager in 2010 after more than 30 years at the helm, the transmitter had been upgraded, the offices had moved across the street to SMC, and KCRW had become a cultural and intellectual trendsetter not just for Angelenos but also for public radio listeners across America.

Seymour, with a keen eye for talent and often unrelenting standards, played a critical role in boosting the on-air careers of host and storyteller Ira Glass (“This American Life”), journalist Warren Olney (“Which Way, L.A.?” and “To the Point”), satirist Harry Shearer (“Le Show”), literary critic Michael Silverblatt (“Bookworm”) and film critic Elvis Mitchell (“The Treatment”). Her influence continued through KCRW creations like “Morning Becomes Eclectic” and “Left, Right & Center.”