WYPR Board Plans More Revenue, Ignores Steiner (Updated at 4 P.M.)

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.

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Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• “Fundamental Differences” About Public Radio, Says WYPR
• WYPR Closes May 21 Board Meeting
• WYPR Community Advisory Board Recommendations
• 4/17 from Marc, on WYPR BOD meeting