Broadcasting/Radio Graduate

dorisMartini

It wasn't that long ago that newly graduated Katherine Sprenger traveled back to her home town of Santa Cruz, CA in pursuit of a promising career in radio broadcasting. She had studied and worked hard at earning her associate's degree in Broadcasting from The New England Institute of Art & Communications ( The New England Institute of Art). "I wanted to be on NPR in between "the Connection" and "Car Talk". My whole goal was to find some mix of respectable talk radio and Howard Stern."

"After graduating, I found that I didn't fit into either commercial radio or non-commercial radio formats. What I wanted to do was not found on either so I decided that what I needed to find was a new format that would fit whatever I wanted." Kati's determination to find her niche resulted in a unique and clever concept. While on a road trip from Boston to California, she came up with the idea of dorisMaritni, the world's first audio magazine. Kati wanted the magazine to highlight independent music but she also wanted it to be a stage for quirky interviews, comedy and satirical commentaries. She brainstormed with an old high school friend, Rodney Metoyer and together they came up with the business, marketing and production strategies. In order to get started, they borrowed a few thousand dollars from their families and set up shop in Kati's mother's living room. They started with a little mic plugged into the back of a computer, they made the sound effects themselves, used family and friends as actors and a digital memo taker for doing field recordings. "We even made up press passes for ourselves in order to get into rock shows and do interviews with the bands. I still can't believe that we got away with that!""

In October of 2001, Kati's original vision came to life: the premiere issue of dorisMartini was complete! This publication does not contain pages full of advertisements and odorous perfume samples. dorisMartini is a new, glossy audio-zine in the form of a CD, a magazine that speaks volumes to today's generation. Now it was time to sell. They called every coffee shop, bookstore, record store and college campus in central California. " I hate sales. I REALLY hate when they brush you off &so I guess I am not a huge fan of rejection, " admits Kati. Sure, rejection is a part of life but luckily many of the local businesses agreed to have dorisMartini grace their shelves and store counters."

"Welcome to dorisMartini, the audio magazine; your eyes and ears on independent music" is the opening definition at the beginning of each issue. Whether it's playing in the car on a tiresome commute to work or on your headphones on a lazy Sunday afternoon, one cannot help but smile when listening to Doris. Her captivating voice and witty discourse are counter-balanced with independent music and the combination is a pleasing aural explosion. After listening to just one issue, it is apparent that the founder, editor, producer, publisher, sound mixer, writer and interviewer, Kati Sprenger is quite a gem. Her talents and creativity are immeasurable. She attributes The New England Institute of Art & Communications for helping her to get where she is today. "The New England Institute of Art taught me a lot about the industry. Learning production skills was very important. Without an understanding of how to use the equipment, I would be screwed. More than anything, I was allowed access to technology and personal insight from the instructors." Kati goes on to admit that all of the The New England Institute of Art instructors taught her something important, something that she was able to use when starting up her business. She sites two instructors, in particular, who inspired her while she was a student here. "Although I never had her as an instructor, I always respected Mary Cardaras' work, both with the college and outside of it. There was also Larry Miller who had high standards that he expected students to live up to. Nothing makes you work harder than that."

With three issues under her belt and more on the way, Kati is cautiously optimistic. Her aspirations are simple yet grand at the same time. "I hope that dorisMartini will take off and become an industry standard. I hope that eventually I can make some money at it and that is really as lofty as my aspirations get." What is most impressive, however, is that Kati was able to bring dorisMartini to life by depending on her determination, creativity and wit. It really had nothing to do with luck but everything to do with hard work and talent. When asked what advice she could offer to The New England Institute of Art students who may want to start their own business one day, Kati's reply is honest: "Find money, lots and lots of money and then find a niche and fill it. If you are creative enough, the idea will sell itself. And don't forget that thing about the money!""