About Us

MQ2 is an initiative of the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), an extensive social and professional network of leading audio producers and associates from across the US and the world.

This pilot project was launched in September 2008 with principal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) with the aim of turning to producers to help lead public radio in its transition to public media. The first round of MQ2 disbursed $400,000 to 8 selected producers and sound artists exploring new approaches to producing for traditional broadcast as well as new digital platforms. MQ2 also matched selected projects with “incubators” – radio stations and network programs.

To view the 2008 MQ2 projects click here.

See the project FAQ for information about the nomination and selection process, and the timeline. To pull back the curtain and learn more about who's pulling the levers at AIR, go here.

MQ2 Talent Manager

Julie Drizin, Talent Manager, Public Radio Makers Quest 2.0

Julie Drizin has worked in and around public radio for over 25 years, beginning at WXPN-FM in Philadelphia, where she garnered many awards as News and Public Affairs Director. After a stint as an independent producer, she moved to Washington, DC at the dawn of the Clinton Era, to become News Director and later National Bureau Chief for Pacifica Radio. There, she launched and produced the successful “Democracy Now!” Julie was the founding Senior Producer of NPR’s “Justice Talking” and “The Intersection,” a multicultural regional news-talk experiment at WETA-FM. Most recently she was Assistant Director at J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism, where she helped manage the Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism, an intensive on journalism and gaming, and two competitive funding streams: the New Voices citizen media project and the New Media Women’s Entrepreneur initiative. She was a judge in the Public Radio Talent Quest and a finalist in launch round of AIR's Makers Quest 2.0 initiative.