Save WYPR

Marc Steiner spoke about his removal from WYPR on Feb. 1, 2008 as part of a fundraiser titled “The Rest of the Story” at the Village Learning Place. Emil Volcheck was there and took notes, and the first part of the talk already has appeared on this blog.

“On the matter of WYPR, I’ve moved beyond it,” says Marc Steiner, who works full-time at his Center for Emerging Media in Baltimore, and who is developing a show at public radio station WEAA. Currently the show airs on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. each week.

“I’m reluctant to discuss the matter because I feel like I’m being dragged into the muck again. I spent seven years at WYPR. When WJHU went on the market, there were many trying to buy it from Hopkins, including a Christian broadcaster and WAMU. I believed the station should belong to the community and worked to keep it there.”

“From the beginning, there was war inside the station. At the first Board meeting, some came to me and said thank you for all your work, but we are the guarantors of the loan, and we’ll take it from here. I said that I was the guarantor of the community’s contributions, and that I was not going anywhere. You could feel a line being drawn in the room.”

Steiner says that he recently advised a public radio station in Salisbury, Maryland not to sell their station to WYPR because of the loss of community-focused programming that would entail. Steiner seems to feel WYPR under its current management is not a community-focused radio station.

Steiner says that public radio, historically speaking, was established with the model of a central, national public radio that would create programs for local stations to use. The local stations would in turn feed news to the national.

“Public radio should not be afraid to talk about and discuss controversial issues. It should be adventuresome, edgy,” says Steiner.

“For many years, CBS was the model of establishment media. You could rely on CBS to report the mainstream news. Public radio should push the envelope.”

Steiner spoke about why the membership of public radio is important. Membership has fallen off in public radio broadly across the public radio spectrum, and corporate and non-profit underwriting of public radio stations and specific programming is the rising trend. In fact NPR’s national Marketplace business news show published a special report on the rise of underwriting in public radio. Click here for to listen to that three-part series.

“The makeup of the WYPR Board is very white, wealthy, protestant,” said Steiner. “The Board needs more than that.” Steiner says that when WYPR was first being organized, there was a proposal to have the WYPR station members elect a certain number of members to the Board. This suggestion was never implemented.

In terms of the future, Marc Steiner is focusing on the Center for Emerging Media (CEM).

“When I founded the Center for Emerging Media in 2001, I intended to have a certain number of members on the CEM Board chosen from members who joined over the Internet,” he says.

When he left WYPR, WEAA came to me immediately, says Steiner. “Fortunately two of my producers, Jessica and Justin, came along with me. We are fortunate to have help from Claire Gilman and Lea Gilmore.”

“Public radio is the most segregated medium in America” claims
Steiner about the lack of ethnic diversity on public radio. “Tavis Smiley, host of News and Notes, and Michelle Martin,
always seem to be able to find experts to interview on any topic,
experts who are people of color.”

Steiner noted that the popular news Web site “Slate” had a special African-American news Web site called “The Root.” Still, why is this needed, wonders Steiner. “Why can’t African-American news be integrated into mainstream news?”

Nevertheless, he added, “There is a place for media that serves distinctive communities, for instance, the Jewish Times, or the Afro-American.” Overall he believes there is a lack of commitment in the media towards making it inclusive. “There is a difference between carrying out affirmative action and consciously building a multiracial staff.”

Steiner advocates a cooperative model of media.

He ended his talk by speaking about some of his recent projects with the Center for Emerging Media. They are preparing a program on the controversial mining practice of mountaintop removal. He stated that Governor Martin O’Malley has been supportive of his work. Steiner quoted O’Malley saying “Marc, you always give me a hard time, but I’m behind you.”

Steiner says he is optimistic about the future, but also worried about the lack of common purpose in America today. “There is conflict over different visions for the country.”

WYPR has replaced its “Justice Talking” public affairs show with a culinary cuisine show called “The Splendid Table” out of Minneapolis. As Take Back YPR activist Max Obuszewski notes: The move replaces a public affairs show with fluff, with a lifestyle show, and this move is typical of WYPR today.

“Justice Talking” lost its own funding and that is not WYPR’s fault, notes both Obuszewski and WYPR.

Still, it seems WYPR is remaking itself as a statewide, feel-good, dinner-party banter media outlet. It is doing this step by step by moving from The Steiner to Roderick Show, from Justice Talking to The Splendid Table. What’s next?

The media in America today is really not acting like a disinterested, third party. To use the words of the U.S. Constitution, America’s media does not seem like a “free press” that watches the government and fosters debate among citizens. I say this because today I went down to Washington D.C. and ambled into a Ron Paul rally–that libertarian candidate and current U.S. Congressman (R-Texas) who ran in the Republican primaries. Click here for his Web site.

Let me say I didn’t really follow him, but listening to some of the speakers and then Ron Paul, there is not doubt that Ron Paul is attempting to serve the people of this country and be true to the world of ideas. That does not mean I for one agree with all of his ideas, but it does mean I can respect him. I do believe as Paul asserted on The Mall in Washington D.C. before the U.S. Capital on July 12, 2008 that there is an open assault on the U.S. Constitution today, on American civil liberties, and tha the Iraq war is wasteful and wrong.

When John McCain campaigns to drill offshore of America as the solution to high oil prices; and Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi takes impeachment “off the table,” though any rational person must concede that the alledged (and it seems numerous) crimes of this President and his executive cabinet should be investigated, at least, like any common car thief would be investigated–when politicans take rational ideas like raising car milage gas standards, conservation, and investigating a president “off the table,” one should not assume they are irrational and stupid. Rather, they are serving unspoken, rational interests: Pelosi is protecting Washington D.C. corruption and McCain is serving the short-term wishes of the oil and gas industry much like his idol currently does.

Okay, rant over and out. The Splendid Table, however, will not be covering Ron Paul. That is the point.

On June 11, 2008, former WYPR radio host and station icon Marc Steiner gave a talk called “The Rest of the Story” at the Village Learning Place. As part of the Grace Darin Memorial Lecture Series, the talk raised money for the Village Learning Place. Steiner recounted his first days as a journalist, and spoke at length about the meaning of “objectivity” in today’s press. He then recounted his last days at WYPR. Emil Volcheck attended the talk and took notes. In this Part I of a two-part series, Steiner shares his comments on the meaning of “objectivity” in journalism.

Marc Steiner began working in alternative media from an early age, first with the Washington Free Press and Liberation News Service. Today Steiner believes that the media have become less willing to ask difficult questions.

“If you question someone too hard, it’s considered bad manners.” He told an anecdote about Senator James Webb, whose son was stationed in Iraq. Webb pledged to wear his son’s combat boots until he comes home. On one occasion when President Bush met Webb, Bush asked him about his son. Webb responded with a question: When will Bush set a timetable, when will his son come home?

Bush was taken aback, as though Webb had said something rude. Steiner believes it was fair for Webb to ask a tough question, even if it put the President on the spot.

The polite, dinner party approach to journalism today is in remarkable contrast to the early days of the U.S. press. The pre-20^th century newspapers and media were filled with hard questions and screaming accusations, says Steiner.

The 19^th century press often was a partisan press. Newspapers were often funded by people supporting political parties and candidates. However unlike Fox News today, the 19^th century press was explicit in its tough questions and their chosen sides.

“Since the 1930s, newspapers have tried to be objective,” says Steiner. “What does that mean, to be objective?”

Steiner thought back to his days at WJHU. “When I started my show at WJHU in 1993, I thought I had all the answers.” He then came to realize issues were far more complicated than he had imagined. The complexity of issues makes it difficult to determine what is a neutral point of view. That makes it more difficult for media to be truly objective.

Steiner shared an anecdote about a study conducted by a researcher asking people to define “communication.” Native Americans tended to describe communication as listening. This insight was transformative for Steiner. “There are elements of truth in everything you hear. You can have a point of view and be honest in your listening.”

Steiner says a false sense of objectivity in the news is harmful. For instance, in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, he expressed disappointment in the “terrible job” his colleagues in the media did in covering this issue.

Steiner compared early Iraq war coverage to the civil rights struggle. In the 1960s, the Press took a position that segregation was wrong. The media was battling for the hearts and minds of America.

Steiner also expressed disapproval about how the media treated the Democratic Primary. “The debates between Clinton and Obama were horrible.” The Press portrayed [Clinton] in unseemly ways.” Another example of inappropriate conduct by the media happened recently when Fox 45 News referred to Michelle Obama as “Obama’s baby momma”. Marc wrote to the station to ask them to apologize but received no response.

Mr. Sam Zell, the new owner of the Tribune Company, which owns the “once great Baltimore Sun”, was caught on tape telling reporters “you are all expendable.”

Zell has been developing a mathematical model for evaluating reporters based on how many words and bylines they write. Steiner was incredulous that Zell would place such emphasis on quantity over quality.

University of Maryland Law Professor Douglas L. Colbert writes:

When WYPR’s management pulled the plug on the Marc Steiner Show because of “fundamental, philosophical differences” according to WYPR Board Chairperson Barbara Bozzuto, the Maryland public lost an independent perspective on government policy and corporate practices. While the impact may seem less dramatic than a moving company’s overnight hijacking of Baltimore’s beloved Colts, the long-term consequences represent a direct hit on democracy and on public radio’s duty to present diverse viewpoints not easily obtainable elsewhere.

That was, after all, Congress’ main objective when passing the 1967 Public Communications Act. The Carnegie Commission Report had called for a publicly funded, non-commercial public broadcasting service to be a host “forum for debate and controversy” and “provide a voice for groups in the community that may otherwise be unheard.” Congress intended that the “alternative” Corporation for Public Broadcasting would express “diversity and excellence” and produce cutting edge reporting to supplement traditional news. For fifteen years, Steiner programming was committed to fulfilling these promises.

Public radio listeners became accustomed to hearing critics and defenders argue both sides of controversial issues, ranging from crime and education policy to the Iraq War and Constellation Energy’s takeover of Maryland utilities. Hearing people directly affected - families of soldiers in Iraq, consumers and the front line activists - encouraged listeners to join the conversation and consider alternative solutions.

As Thomas Jefferson and James Madison well understood, an informed and participatory citizenry is the best guarantee for sustaining a flourishing democracy.

In terms of Marc Steiner, Steiner challenged guests and listeners to consider issues systemically. A crime discussion went beyond stereotypes. Activists working with African-American youth delivered a more positive image and experienced professionals presented hopeful messages for reform. Education discussions brought teachers and students together who articulated what elected leaders needed to do to reverse public education’s decline. Immigrant workers’ first-hand accounts helped bridge the gap between citizen and non-citizen communities. People tuning to Steiner public radio learned from others, while moving closer to a unified community.

The Board of Directors at WYPR must remain committed to presenting divergent viewpoints about controversial issues. During the first three months of Steiner’s replacement show, invited guests have been predominantly male and white. Fewer minority voices and community activists appear. Instead of independent critics, YPR relies on mainstream news reporters, particularly from The Baltimore Sun, whose radio viewpoint mirrors their edited articles.

The WYPR and Sun relationship illustrates corporate media’s increasing monopoly over public access and First Amendment right to information.

Content-wise, WYPR’s mid-day programming also has shifted noticeably. By design, the station’s website applauds more mixing of “not so serious” with “serious” subjects with “a certain politeness, good manners and gentle laughter.” Consequently, less air time is given to controversies about the Iraq War, official use of power, human rights and critical perspectives. More programs focus on neutral subjects about crab cake recipes, spring and summer activities, crab grass and the one millionth word.

To take a specific example, when a human rights violator like China is the show’s subject, the two invited guests share business backgrounds and discuss the country’s investment potential, not Tibet and Darfur. YPR’s website fails to mention that one guest has substantial financial interests in China.

The station’s dependence on corporate funding for more than half of its’ revenue may explain why it no longer produces shows critical of business. WYPR now prominently displays Constellation Energy on its webpage.

Corporate advertising improves their public image and likely influences programming choices. Consider WYPR’s recent, two-hour broadcast about beginning a business. No similar air time has been devoted to assist people searching for jobs or promotions that pay the bills.

Since the Steiner firing, the WYPR Board has met twice and heaped praise on current management. No Board member questioned the station’s programming and lack of viewpoint and guest diversity. No one asked to hear from the many WYPR listeners who attended both meetings. To the contrary, most seemed content with hearing management’s report on revenue and station ratings, issues more befitting commercial radio.

At both meetings, WYPR’s board displayed an aggressive entrepreneur style that seeks to capture the biggest portion of market share.

The absence of disagreement may not be surprising considering the Board’s lack of diversity. Members are almost exclusively white, wealthy and privileged. Perhaps this is common in a corporate setting but managing public radio has different challenges than to satisfy shareholders quest for profit. Serving the public interest and meeting public radio’s educational mission requires that the Board embrace the entire Your Public Radio community. The WYPR Board and listening audience has considerable work to do to ensure that public radio represents the democratic voice of the many and not of the selected few.

Douglas L. Colbert teaches criminal and constitutional law at the University of Maryland Law School. He founded the Lawyers at Bail Project, and is a past chair of the Maryland State Bar Association’s section group on correctional reform.

I was listening to the Dan Rodericks show from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. this Monday and noticed a WYPR fundraising promo. How odd, I thought WYPR’s fundraising drive was over?

WYPR President Tony Brandon said at the April 15 board meeting that WYPR had a great fundraising session in their delayed, but finally launched, April 2008 fund drive. Was he being accurate?

Brandon did lie numerous times about the firing of Marc Steiner, claiming it was about “ratings,” then about some secret reason he could not disclose. He also claimed on WYPR Maryland Morning that a few loan backers “own” the station. How can that be true? WYPR has a special public-radio license and is a non-profit.

Another former WYPR member told me he was listening this past Saturday and also heard a WYPR fundraising promotion. Could the station be hurting from the fallout?

It warrents investigation.

In other news, The Baltimore Sun rejected its third commentary piece that expressed concern about WYPR’s management. The Sun for the sake of balance has a duty to publish at least one, after publishing a commentary piece by WYPR board member and attorney John Machen who justified the firing of Marc Steiner; furthermore he asserted like Brandon that a handful of people do “own” WYPR.

Of course, The Sun’s Dan Rodericks is now on WYPR hosting the noon to 2 p.m. slot. In fact he mentioned The Sun today on air (free advertising).

This time The Sun refused to publish a commentary piece by University of Baltimore Law Professor Doug Colbert critical of WYPR. We’ll run it here if The Sun won’t change its mind.

The balmy breezy weather in the middle of June is a welcome respite from the first blazes of swealtering heat. In the meantime, WYPR as a public institution continues to require attention. According to the saveWYPR movement, WYPR is pursuing an internal audit of its governance structure. No auditor has been picked yet. A WYPR board member is tasked with looking into it, according to reports from the May 21 WYPR board meeting. This is a key recommendation of WYPR’s Community Advisory Board. It is good to hear an audit is being considered and maybe implemented.

SaveWYPR movement advocate Kay Dellinger outlined some of the continuing issues in a April 30, 2008 letter published in The Baltimore City Paper. We thought we would reprint it here.

An Open Letter From Kay Dellinger
The March 19 article (”Why PR,” Mobtown Beat) says
there is no sign that WYPR-FM’s management intends to
reinstate The Marc Steiner Show. No sign that reason
will suddenly prevail at our beleaguered “public”
radio station.

What’s the only public radio station in the country
that fires its most famous, iconic talk show host who
is the heart, soul, and face of the station and who,
just eight weeks after being fired, receives a
prestigious Peabody Award? Why it’s Baltimore’s WYPR,
which now stands out as the most badly mismanaged
“public” station in the nation. Station manager
Anthony Brandon can’t be recognized because there’s so
much egg on his face.

At the April 15 meeting of WYPR’s board of directors,
which had approved the removal of The Marc Steiner
Show, the station’s Community Advisory Board (CAB)
gave its report, which stated that “based on the
overwhelming public response, we recommend that Marc
Steiner be invited back.” The report said that the
board of directors needed to acknowledge publicly that
it made mistakes in handling the Steiner situation and
also in its communication with the CAB and “decisions
were made that imperiled the station.”

The CAB also recommended that there should be an
external audit of the station’s governance by a
nationally recognized expert and the findings released
to the public. The CAB stated that the composition of
the board of directors should be more representative
of the public it serves, which means more
African-American members and people of different ages,
backgrounds, races, religions, and education and
income levels.

After the CAB gave its report, which was
enthusiastically supported by lengthy clapping by the
audience after every point, Barbara Bozzuto, the board
of directors’ chair, immediately rejected the major
recommendation and said that Marc Steiner would not be
rehired. The audience started booing. Bozzuto didn’t
try to restore order or start the process of answering
the written questions that the audience had submitted
after being told that they could not verbally ask
questions but could write them. Instead she said that
the board of directors would go into executive
session, and they all left the room while the audience
called for them to resign and booed them continuously.
The board of directors’ actions were disgraceful and
undemocratic.

The 22-member board of directors looked like an entity
from 1950. How could none of them even question its
composition? It’s composed of wealthy, privileged
white men and women, with one African-American male
member; no Latinos, no Asian-Americans. It’s an
elitist group that does not represent this community,
this city, or this state. The board of directors
should not be able to ignore the recommendations of
the CAB, which is the public’s representative. The CAB
and the public are demanding that Marc Steiner be
returned.

The public has to reclaim its public radio station.
The people who pledged to the station during its
recent fund drive should not pay their pledge. The
public should sign the online petition to bring Marc
back at
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/bring-marc-steiner-back-to-wypr

Kay Dellinger
Baltimore

Published 4/30; Baltimore City Paper;

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=15660

Veteran radio host Marc Steiner returned to the airwaves today from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at WEAA (88.9). The peripatetic man of politics, commentary, and letters spoke about the presidential election, spoke with The Wire’s David Simon, and interviewed an author.

Steiner will be replaying his weekly Wednesday broadcasts for those who cannot tune in at the Center for Emerging Media. Click here to hear his WEAA debut.

For those used to Marc on WYPR, it must be strange. Marc Steiner was a fixture there for almost 15 years, back into the station’s Johns Hopkins days. WYPR member Judith Ellen Suskin has this to say:

“Dear Friends,
WEAA’s fund drive is just in the past, and I found myself listening to the pledge requests. Why? Because Marc Steiner was on air on WEAA, along with Amy Goodman, drumming up support.

So I encourage all of you to please show your support for the truly public radio of Baltimore that is Morgan;s WEAA. The pledge line phone number is 410/319-8888. Or online at weaa.org.

Let’s support the “we” in WEAA as we struggle to bring WYPR back to respecting the public.”

Morgan State public radio station WEAA (88.9) is making some interesting moves under new station manager LaFontaine E. Oliver. He has brought Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! on every day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Starting next week, Marc Steiner will air each Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Rumor has it Marc Steiner may start his own WEAA daily show this fall.

Meanwhile, what is going on at WYPR? WYPR sources whisper through the grapevine that morale is low. Why wouldn’t it be? The most prominent WYPR voice and station co-founder was fired for spurious and surreptitious reasons.

Who is next? WYPR still has The Signal, a great show. Maryland Morning. WYPR offers national NPR coverage.

Obviously WEAA is jockeying to take a bigger slice of the Baltimore pie. Why wouldn’t they? I heard Democracy Now! for the first time this week (yes, I am late to the party)–an unbelievable show, an experience.

If you are lucky enough to wake up at 5 a.m. for work like myself, try setting your alarm to WEAA. Trust me, it is the best jazz I ever have heard!

I got to go listen to Autumn Leaves by pianist Keith Jarrett again. “See ya,” as they say at 5:59 a.m. on WEAA.

The protest group originally calling itself The Save Steiner Show Movement has become the “Take Back YPR Movement,” according to The Baltimore Messenger. The Messenger published a solid overview of WYPR’s May 21st board meeting and the protest outside. The link is below.

The Baltimore Sun did not cover the issue. Unfortunately, The Sun’s silence likely is because their columnist Dan Rodericks is now the noon-to-2 p.m. host at WYPR. In addition, WYPR and The Sun have many other cross-promotional moments on the air, which is obvious to those still ocassionally listening to WYPR.

As elsewhere in society, real people with agendas exist behind “objective” news sources. The challenge for legitimate media outlets is to balance organizational interest with reporting. What some executives may not understand in our commercial and conglomerate era is that “news” is not just another product.

Journalism in America has a special obligation under the U.S. constitutional duty of a “free press,” and in addition journalism has unique social and ethical obligations to find and report the truth.

As Michael Olesker noted at the April 15 City Lit festival at the Enoch Pratt in downtown Baltimore, if reporting collapses in American newspapers (like it has in local T.V. news, he said), democracy will be lost.

When WYPR President Tony Brandon says on WYPR’s Maryland Morning with Sheila Kast that a few loan backers at WYPR “own” a public radio station, it goes against the spirit of public radio. What else is he missing?

Brandon’s ownership perspective on WYPR highlights the inherent conflict between management issues and news issues. WYPR’s attempt to close their May 21st board meeting, and then re-opening it in a coincidently small space which could not accomodate the public, hints at a distain for the public interest.

Click here for The Messenger article by Adam Bednar on WYPR.

The WYPR board of directors met yesterday on May 21 at The Family Tree in front of a select audience of eight members from the public and spoke mostly about how to boost WYPR revenue. They did not discuss anything related to their Feb. 1 firing of Marc Steiner, or WYPR programming. They did not broadly discuss the April 15 recommendations of the WYPR Community Advisory Board (CAB).

WYPR’s board member in charge of governance issues noted that he has spoken with CAB chairperson Doreen Bolger, and that he intends to seek outside consulting on WYPR’s governance structure. This is in accordance with a CAB recommendation of seeking an outside “audit,” though WYPR’s board is pursuing a more informal exploration than that. WYPR’s board decided against spending money on this as of now.

Outside The Family Tree gathered about 20 protesters looking to reinstate the Marc Steiner Show and reform WYPR practices in general. One board member did stop outside to chat, as seen in the picture below.

According to the saveWYPR.com reporter at the scene, WYPR kept the meeting room artificially full so that only 8 members of the public could be allowed in. Two empty seats remained, nevertheless. The room could have accommodated 5 to 10 more folding chairs.

WYPR’s fiscal year runs from May 15 to May 15 (2007-2008). Their total revenues were $4.9 million according to the WYPR board, and total expenses $4.412 million. They ended the year with a surplus of $479,000.

Membership comprises “almost” 33 percent of revenue, noted WYPR President Tony Brandon in a prepared speech. Underwriting goals were exceeded by around $80,000.

According to the board meeting, two growing revenue streams for WYPR are their new Ocean City, Maryland station and podcasting content from other organizations on the WYPR Web site.

This meeting also was the last with WYPR Board Chair Barbara Bozzuto as the chairperson. She received commendations from Mayor Sheila Dixon and Governor O’Malley. I am not going anywhere, she vowed lightheartedly, though seriously.

WYPR’s board spent the entire time discussing financial issues, revenue, and increasing revenue. This makes some sense considering the May 21 board meeting comes at the close of their fiscal year on May 15. However a lack of interest in programming–more even than ignoring the community’s outrage–shows a narrowness of vision.