Family Roots Radio
from www.familyrootsradio.com:

ProGenealogists, Inc. and Genealogy Today announced the launch “Family Roots Radio,” an Internet radio show devoted to the widely popular pursuit of genealogy and family history. This weekly, hour-long radio show will begin airing each Thursday at 1pm Pacific (4pm Eastern) beginning February 8, 2007 on Modavox’s VoiceAmerica™ Channel (www.voice.voiceamerica.com), the nation’s leading Internet radio provider.

Hosted by well-known genealogical author, speaker and researcher, Kory L. Meyerink, the show will feature a wide range of “how-to” elements designed to assist all people interested in family history, from the novice to the professional. In addition to answering general questions from listeners, spotlighting important family history news and providing research tips from professionals, the show will include guests from among the most prominent genealogists today. The show will also explore effective ways to use software and the Internet in the pursuit of family history, including spotlighting data-rich websites. In addition, an “interactive” feature will walk listeners through the use of important sites, while they are listening to the broadcast.

“The value of the Internet for genealogical research today cannot be over-emphasized,” according to Meyerink. “The growing number of genealogical sites online, along with the explosion of content on the web makes it crucial for all family historians to more effectively use this key resource. An Internet radio show is simply the best way to provide that information. Users can log onto the show live, or anytime after the broadcast and listen at their leisure. Since they’ll be listening on-line, we’ll have the chance to walk them through the sites and concepts we discuss in each show.”

“Family Roots Radio” will be broadcast on the popular VoiceAmerica Channel, accessible by anyone having an Internet connection with audio capabilities. The addition of an interactive website and downloadable archives of past shows will provide many more listener options than available via traditional radio broadcasts. To listen to the show live, log on to the VoiceAmerica Channel at www.voice.voiceamerica.com. Kory will take calls toll free at 1-866-472-5788. All past shows will be archived and available in MP3 format for podcast download.

Natalie Cottrill, CEO of ProGenealogists, Inc. explained, “We have long wanted to find a new and unique way to share the tremendous expertise that exists among our staff and researchers, and to reach out to the broader genealogical community. We also wanted the ability to tap the expertise of the entire professional genealogical community so the typical family historian can get to know the wonderful people who contribute so much to this important and engaging activity. We appreciate VoiceAmerica for giving us that opportunity.”

To help with the publicity and content of “Family Roots Radio,” Cottrill and her team at ProGenealogists turned to their long time friend and colleague, Illya D’Addezio, owner of “Genealogy Today” a popular web site for family history news, data and information. “I am excited about this project, and have been from the day Natalie first talked to me about it. Both the content and audience of “Family Roots Radio” fits very well with the demographic of our site visitors at “Genealogy Today” and our affiliated web sites. This will give us the opportunity to broaden our user base, while providing additional important content to our existing users.”

Host Meyerink brings more than 30 years of professional genealogical experience to “Family Roots Radio,” having served in a wide variety of genealogical positions. He has worked as an independent researcher, as a librarian at the Family History Library, as a manager at Ancestry.com and is currently a vice president at ProGenealogists, Inc. He also serves as adjunct faculty for San Jose State University and Brigham Young University. As a volunteer in the genealogical community, he has served as a trustee of the Association of Professional Genealogist and as president of the Utah Genealogical Association. He is also the founding director of the popular Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. His writings include Ancestry’s major reference work, Printed Sources. He holds four Accredited Genealogist credentials, has a Masters of Library Science, and is a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association.

Randall Libero, executive producer at the VoiceAmerica™ Network, explained that their market studies had shown a great need for content oriented to the growing activity in family history. “Studies have consistently shown that interest in family roots is one of America’s most popular leisure pursuits, and providing such informative, topic-driven radio is exactly what we do at VoiceAmerica. When we went looking for a professional group to develop and host a genealogy radio show, we were impressed with the expertise and the people at ProGenealogists,” said Libero. “We look forward to providing our listeners with timely, expert information to make it easier for them to find their family roots.”