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Behind the Mics
Steve Clem
Operations Director & documentary host
A native of Sand Springs, Steve joined the Public Radio Tulsa staff as Operations Director in 2009 after living all around the country…from Seattle to Sacramento, Albuquerque to Salt Lake City… in a 30 plus years radio career programming music stations.
“Through the years, I found myself listening to NPR more and more. So, when the opportunity came to work in Public Radio back in my hometown, it just felt right!”
“NPR’s thought-provoking programs and Public Radio Tulsa’s excellent local shows are some of this area’s best kept secrets. I enjoy spreading the word and cultivating new fans to our stations.”
When Steve arrived at Public Radio Tulsa he immediately jumped into a historical project, writing and producing a documentary on Tulsa’s KAKC radio, the area’s legendary Top 40 station of the 1960’s and 1970’s. The resulting two-hour documentary, Tulsa’s Top 40 Legend, KAKC “The Big 97” debuted on KWGS in September 2010, and went on to become a multiple-award winner. The documentary spawned the Tulsa Historical Society exhibit, The Big 97, Tulsa’s KAKC Radio, which runs until June 2012 at THS, 2425 S. Peoria.
One of Steve’s hobbies is travelling Route 66 and photographing what he calls the “Disappearing America.” “It’s really the American landscape that we grew up with in the mid-20th Century, and it is getting harder to find. I just love the history and the old architecture, especially the classic neon motel signs!”
“There are a lot of rewarding moments working in public radio, like providing programming that is meaningful in people’s lives. But the highlight for me so far is purely self-serving: Hearing my documentary on the air for the first time over KWGS 89.5! After the countless hours of gathering interviews, writing and editing…to hear the result of that and for it to be well-received, nothing can top that!”
Steve is currently working on a KAKC book as well as a new documentary project: A profile of oil man and philanthropist, Charles Page, founder of the city of Sand Springs. “Page had a dream to take care of orphans and widows and their children. He built a Children’s Home and Widow’s Colony in the woods and established an industrial city to support them.” The airing of that documentary will coincide with the City of Sand Springs’ Centennial celebration in 2012.