About Me

Photo: Portrait of Rhoads by artist Timothy R. Thies. Oil on Canvas. 2004

From wikipedia:

B. Eric Rhoads (b August 30, 1954 in Fort Wayne, IN) is an entrepreneur, publisher, author, columnist, radio historian and consultant specializing in fine art, radio broadcasting, and marketing.

Childhood, youth, and personal life
Rhoads grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana son of Entrepreneur industrialist D. Dean Rhoads. Rhoads lives between San Francisco, Palm Beach and the Adirondacks with his wife Laurie Lynn Rhoads and his triplet children.

Career in Radio
Rhoads was enamored with radio broadcasting and at the age 14 when he talked his way into employment with a local radio station where he learned the craft and was soon an on air announcer. As an announcer/air personality Rhoads worked at radio stations in Indiana, Michigan, Florida and California. Rhoads later became a radio programmer and founded New World Communications with partner Jerry Clifton where the firm programmed 25 radio stations simultaneously.

In 1980 Rhoads founded Equivox Communications and purchased his first radio stations; KEYY AM in Provo, Utah and KLRZ FM in Salt Lake City. Equivox was also granted a license for 106.7 FM in New Orleans, LA. Rhoads sold Equivox in 1986. Rhoads then founded two radio promotion companies: Blimpboard which created remote controlled advertising blimps and Giant Boom Box Industries which created mobile broadcast studios and other promotional items.

In 1999 Rhoads founded RadioCentral Networks, Inc. a technology “dotcom” company based in San Francisco which created custom branded internet radio for companies like EarthLink, A&E Television, About.com, Lycos and Agile.

Rhoads was also a founding investor in SuperRadio Networks of Boston, MA and MLM Radio Networks. Rhoads is on the board of the Bayliss Broadcast Scholarship Foundation and served ten years on the board of the WAY-FM Media Group.

Career in Publishing
In 1986 Rhoads acquired The Pulse of Broadcasting magazine and founded started Streamline Publishing. Rhoads renamed the publication RADIO INK in 1988. Streamline has also launched FINE ART CONNOISSEUR a consumer art magazine, PLEIN AIR a magazine about landscape painting, E-RADIO a magazine about on-line radio, STREAMING a magazine about the Streaming industry, DIGITAL MEDIA a magazine about the digital media industry, and STREAMLINE PRESS which publishes books. The company also publishes websites and conferences for its titles. Rhoads is listed in Who's Who in American Art, and “Who’s Who in America.”

Bibliography
Blast from the Past: A Pictorial History of Radio’s First 75 Years. Streamline Press, 1997.

Radio: The Forgotten Medium.
Columbia University
Media Studies Journal 1998

Numerous Columns, Essays and Articles for:
Fine Art Connnoisseur Magazine
Radio Ink Magazine
Digital Media Magazine
Streaming Magazine
e-Radio Magazine
DEALER Magazine