Adam Rich
Chief Production & Audio Officer Emeritus
In high school, WOUB Audio Supervisor Adam Rich loved music. It was his whole world.
“I’m originally from Tuscarawas County, Ohio. My high school band would make yearly trips down to Athens to see the big Ohio University Marching 110 year-end concert at Memorial Auditorium, so Ohio University was my first and only choice for college. I actually started out as a music education major but quickly realized I didn’t want to become my high school band teacher, so on a whim switched to Audio Production,” said Rich. “I knew I liked music but had never even touched a microphone before coming to college! Thankfully, I took to the new program and found I really had a passion for recording and editing sound.”
During his time in college, Rich took a work-study position with Family Health, a 2 1/2-minute syndicated radio program produced at WOUB, and really found a home at the station.
“All during college, I ran sound for the Athens Midday news program, worked the Showdown bluegrass radio show, and helped out with Live From Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch recordings,” said Rich. “Radio Director Rusty Smith took me under his wing.”
Rich graduated from the School of Media Arts and Studies in the Fall of 2012.
“After leaving Athens for a few months after school, I came back knowing I did not want to burn my bridges with WOUB and Athens,” said Rich. “I started to bug Rusty once again, volunteering and helping him out on the radio productions.”
Eventually, a part time position at the station opened up as producer for WOUB’s AM talk show, Conversations from Studio B, and then Rich accepted a full-time position as Audio Supervisor in 2015.
“My day-to-day now consists of recording interviews, editing audio and music for podcasts, web series, and documentary films, facilitating connections with guests being interviewed for other public media entities, running Ohio sports games on the radio, and providing technical assistance to the stations other content producers,” said Rich. “Most recently, I’ve been an adjunct professor, teaching on the various subjects in the audio production tract; a surreal and humbling experience! I sincerely apologize to my professors whose class I talked and gabbed through in college; I now know your pain!”
Rich enjoys his job and truly loves the variety of work it provides for him.
“One minute I might be working on the audio for a film or podcast, and then Judy Woodruff from PBS News Hour is in the studio for an interview, and then I’m cold calling Ira Glass, and then a local band is coming into the studio to be recorded for our Live from Radio A music series. It keeps me on my toes, and there is never a dull moment.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed Rich’s work and his appreciation for what WOUB means to this community in a profound way.
“Seeing the Nelsonville Music Festival get cancelled was a big wake up call for the seriousness of this crisis, and the WOUB team had to call off a lot of upcoming productions,” said Rich. “All of my interview recording sessions have moved online, and while there have been a few hiccups along the way, I believe my crew of podcast and radio hosts have truly adapted to this new way of working and creating content. Seeing the people and volunteers at the station put their heads down and maintain the level of quality and commitment to the mission of public media during this pandemic is something I am very proud to be a part of.”