Fan spaces are creative spaces. This has been true since people connected through the letter pages of comic books in the mid-twentieth century. (In fact, it’s been true a lot longer than that - I read somewhere that the state of California was named after a fictional island and its queen, "Calafia," from a 16th century Spanish novel - literature fans apparently are naming states?!) It was certainly true with the subcultural rise of zines in the 70s, and through to the dawn of the internet age, when pre-social-media geeks used their - our - home computers to type a phrase into a search engine and stumble our ways into communities of like-minded nerds on newsgroup forums or digital bulletin boards.
Whether it’s lifelong, transformative friendships, passionate letter-writing campaigns to try to save a beloved television show, reams of haikus to amuse fellow posters on a Usenet group, entertaining podcasts, or stunning works of visual art, the generative power of fan spaces can’t be understated. It might not be your kind of work. It might be a real “Stinkbutt” of a mural in your office’s lobby. But fan creations are a reflection of sincere love, and there is no better tribute to a beloved work than the rise of new art inspired by old.
NewsRadio is now 30 years old. It might seem funny to call a sitcom that aired on network tv - NBC, the good one! - in the 1990s a “cult” phenomenon, but to NewsRadio fans, it still feels like a secret club. Whether we feverishly chased it from time slot to time slot with our VCR remotes in hand upon first airings, or discovered it in reruns on A&E or PlutoTV in the decades to follow, NewsRadio fans all feel that we belong to a special, exclusive society that only other truly discerning comedy fans can join.
When NewsRadio premiered on March 21, 1995, I was a depressed 15-year-old, and having a pretty terrible experience in high school (I dropped out around that time.) Already a Kids in the Hall and SNL fan, I looked forward to the NewsRadio premiere date like I looked forward to few things in those dark days. I fell instantly in love with it, and with the lifeline that my family’s Macintosh had become, subsequently sought out others online with whom to share my appreciation. I moved into the Usenet group alt.tv.newsradio the way some people move into their first apartment. I splashed my silly, teenage thoughts all over the walls and made myself at home.
I made friends there. Some of them are still close friends today. These people who shared my love of Dave Foley’s dry wit, Phil Hartman’s exquisite comic instincts, Vicki Lewis’s astonishingly funny line readings, or the magic that is Stephen Root, also grew to share my life in various and important ways. Because of these people, I eventually did go on to attend (and graduate!) college. When I moved out of my parents’ place, it was to share an apartment with another NewsRadio fan (Gina!) I’ve been to weddings and funerals of NewsRadio fans (again, Gina.) When Phil Hartman died, the NewsRadio fan community called each other in hysterics, sobbed into each other’s ears, and drew together to mourn. NewsRadio helped me grow up, not only with its esoteric references (“some of which needed fact-checking” - Dylan Thomas, 1987) but with real, nurturing friendships.
I posted on that newsgroup a lot. Too much. I’ve been told that my name was known around the production. I know it was, because I got a few thrilling shout-outs in commentaries for DVDs of the series. Maybe I should be embarrassed about that, but I’m not. I’m proud. I don’t think it’s a shameful thing to be a fan, if you’re reasonably cool about it. Just be cool, my babies.
When I got to attend a taping in the show’s final season, both 2nd A.D. Mike Risner (affectionately known as “Lawncow” on the newsgroup) and Dave Foley himself escorted me and my friends to our reserved seats. Dave and I knew each other from my parallel Kids in the Hall fandom (I run the troupe’s official social media channels to this day) and he introduced me to writers like Josh Lieb and to Paul! Simms! himself! that day. Dave Foley and I text sometimes. When I met Stephen Root in 2015, I told him how much the show meant to me and he lit up like Jimmy James on his way to Fort Awesome to feed his dogs. When I met Maura Tierney later that year backstage at a Kids in the Hall show, she took a picture of me with Paul Simms. That was a real dream-come-true-garage-door-opener-silly moment. When I got married in 2019, I received a special, much-coveted prop gift from Lew Morton. From my perch across the country in NYC, while the show was being produced and in decades beyond, I’ve always felt like an extended member of the NewsRadio family. Like one of Jimmy James’ weird nieces.
And so I couldn’t let this anniversary go unacknowledged. There are much better, more talented, and more creative NewsRadio fans out there in the world, and I’m lucky enough to call some of them friends. During the pandemic, those of us on “NewsRadio Twitter” found our way into a group chat that continues to this day. We had weekly “NewsRadio fan” Zoom sessions that helped keep us sane. Among this group are people like Jason Klamm, (co-host with Alan Rueckert of “Dispatches from Fort Awesome: A NewsRadio Podcast”), and Thad, Thom, and Lauren of “The Hoodoo Factory/Kiosk”, NewsRadio fan podcast, as well as Neil Mason, who runs the “Modern Day NewsRadio” social media accounts, Becca of @NewsRadioQuotes, and lots of other talented, charming dorks (Dorks! Dorks! Dorks!) A full list of our crew can be found on the credits page.
This site is our gift to you, Paul Simms, and all of the writers, actors, and crew who brought this show into our lives. We’ll see you in the Tree Fort.
Tavie (rhymes with “gravy”) Phillips, March 2025