About Mike Austerman and Austerman.com

This page is created and maintained by Mike Austerman, a freelance writer and web developer based in suburban Detroit, Michigan. One of my areas of interest is broadcasting, mostly radio but also television too. In addition, I'm a big sports fan- the Detroit Tigers, Red Wings, Lions, and Pistons all hold my interest as well as University of Michigan football.

My wife Janet and I have been married for nearly 15 years and ever since the fall of 2006, I've been a stay at home dad with two sons in elementary school. This web site and blog are to be my outlet, a place to post about anything and everything that comes to mind from family vacation spots and product reviews to observations on the media and sports worlds.

Prior to becoming self-employed, I worked in Information Technology for Pulte Homes, ProQuest/UMI, and Michelin Tire Company (formerly Uniroyal-Goodrich). I also spent time working for Red Lobster and Hardees (formerly Burger Chef) back in the day. I'm a proud graduate of Oakland University and Fraser High School.

And even though I'm way too old, you can find me on Facebook and MySpace.

If you've landed here looking for information on the Austerman surname, I have created a couple of pages on this site: the Austerman World War II Memorial has information on my grandfather and a great uncle; the Austerman Genealogy page contains very limited family tree info.

Web development and publishing

Austerman.com, established in 1996 as the world wide web was just beginning to explode, was registered at first just to have an easy to remember e-mail address (and to complete a college project). A hobby developed over the years, especially with the creation of Michiguide.com - a web site devoted to radio and television broadcasting in and around Michigan.

Since then, I've decided to use some of the knowledge I've gained to develop web sites for small businesses that can't afford to pay for big, fancy productions that take months to create then require constant maintenance. So as of early 2008, I'm working on building Austernet Media - kind of a way to capture the work I do and offer my services in a more formal way.

These are my web sites:

• Austernet Media: My own small business.
• Michiguide.com: The flagship site with thousands of pages about radio and television stations. Updated nearly every day with news and happenings about Michigan broadcasting.
• Rochester Center for Healthy Living, www.rcfhl.com: A wellness center that focus on healing the whole body, not just treating symptoms. This is the real future of medicine in the USA.
• Kolar Insights, www.kolarinsights.com: Personal holistic health consulting provided by Teri Kolar.
• Fraser High School Class of 1984, www.fhsclassof1984.com: Developed for a 20-year reunion, this site has become static since the reunion but hopefully can be reborn as 2009 approaches.
• MultiSeal USA, www.multiseal-usa.com: A manufacturing business based in Evansville, IN with a local sales office.
• C.W. Protection Services, www.corystarnes.com: My brother-in-law offers his services as a bodyguard to folks in Southeast Michigan as far north as Flint.

Freelance Writing / On the Radio

From September 2001 through April 2008, I wrote a bi-weekly column for The Oakland Press covering radio news and happenings in the Detroit area. Due to financial and space concerns at the paper, the column moved to an online-only format on Michiguide starting in May 2008. My On the Radio columns, along with those written by co-columnist Art Vuolo, are reprinted on Michiguide.com for easy viewing.

Some Fun Stuff

Features a few photo galleries, camping information, and links to our opinions on Michigan campgrounds and some other tourist attractions we've visited in recent years.

Visit Austerman.com Fun Section