Financial Cloud at WYPR

WYPR may be experiencing financial problems, according to sources working with the station. Furthermore at the March 11, 2009 WYPR Board meeting, WYPR closed the discussion of its finances to the public. WYPR station manager Tony Brandon failed to provide a reason for this closure, says Max Obuszewski, who was asked and then forced to leave. An arbitrary closing of a WYPR Board meeting may be a violation of open meeting laws.

During the previous WYPR Board meeting in Jan. 2009, Andy Bienstock detailed troubles facing public radio stations across the country. He discussed numerous layoffs hitting stations in Minneapolis and New York, and of course at the D.C-based National Public Radio. WYPR has claimed success for its 2008 fund drives, but considering all the unverifiable information coming from station management, who knows?

An on-air WYPR personality–who shall remain nameless–recently claimed that the station is having trouble meeting payroll, according to a bird outside my window.  Of course, this is just a rumor.  But combined with the closing of their financial report at the March 2009 Board meeting, maybe this rumor has some legs.

If layoffs do come to WYPR, they probably will be with low level staff first. WYPR is required to list their top five paid employees in their publically available Tax Form 990–which likely means that on-air personalities like Sheila Kast and Dan Rodericks are being paid under unlisted contracts, because very few on-air people are listed in WYPR’s forms. In fiscal 2006, WYPR station manager Tony Brandon pulled down $135,000. The highest paid employee was underwriting sales representative Carla Truax at $115,000. WYPR has a very commercial bent these days, and this is reflected in where WYPR salaries go.

WYPR’s online auction, and a forthcoming 24-hour fundraising drive, may be a reaction to raising money in a recession. Interestingly, the top item at WYPR’s online auction as of April 28 is a “$3,000 Underwriting Schedule” that someone is willing to pay about $400 for. If you want to think about what public radio is today, just look at how WYPR refers to its own services as “(advertising).”

WYPR 88.1 FM Underwriting Schedule

Estimated Value $3,000.00

Item Number 140

Item Description: Work with Leslie Bowyer, Underwriting Account Executive to design a $3,000 underwriting (advertising) schedule on WYPR. Promote your business or services and get results!