don't give up on PUBLIC RADIO -- response to The Connection cancellation

[nashville_brook]

a couple of days ago i posted here about the cancellation of WBUR's The Connection with Dick Gordon. there were some DU'ers here and in other threads who said they'd write letters commenting on the cancellation.

i want ya'll to see what i wrote and the first response i received. i copied my email to scads of NPR, PRI AND American Public Media decision-makers as well as local public radio, my hometown public radio and my personal political response email list.

"I am worried, as I think many people are, that by the next fundraising campaign, there won't be much left to support on public radio.

my letter:

I learned today that Dick Gordon's The Connection, was summarily cancelled. I learned this by tuning in, and finding another show, On Point, had taken it's slot. After some research I found out that Mr. Gordon was as surprised as I was at the death of his program. As of this writing, no solid reason has been offered for the show's cancellation. With ratings up 22 percent, WBUR kills it's award-winning flagship program? There's only one way this 'programming change' makes sense, and that's as a casualty of the culture war.

It is common knowledge that public broadcasting is under attack. This atmosphere makes it easy to imagine the cancellation of The Connection was a victory celebrated by Ken Thomlinson and critters of his stripe. We also know that Michael Feldman is being pressured to move toward a pre-recorded format. That sounds like another attack and it makes me wonder what unreasonable demands are being made of Terry Gross. Or Ira Glass. How is All Things Considered faring in this atmosphere? Is this the last season of Studio 360, too?

I have been a public radio supporter since college. You can tell Thomlinson that your members will not retreat. As you are being attacked from within, we will not withdraw our support."

the response from my local affiliate:

Thank you for your encouraging message. I don't have any particular insights into the cancellation of "The Connection," but I think it has more to do with WBUR's internal turmoil than with attacks by those who are opposed to federal support for public broadcasting. WBUR has been through a very difficult year, including the departure of their long-time general manager, Jane Christo. There have been reports of enormous deficits, and I think the cancellation of "The Connection" saved them about a million dollars. For stations, the economics of producing and distributing national programs are brutal and one reason we have steered away from them.

This is an old article, and there are more recent ones which describe what's going on at WBUR.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/07/16/wbur_to_change_talk_show_lineup/

It was gratifying to read your e-mail and we appreciate it very much.
--
Rob Gordon
General Manager, WPLN

if you read the article referenced, there are a number of data points that Dick Gordon refutes in his personal message regarding the cancellation. therefore, i think the argument from the standpoint of deficits is maybe half true.

my point in posting all of this -- please don't give up on your local public broadcasting stations. continue to give generously during fundraising. it's not their fault that they have become a pawn in the culture wars.

some of the BEST people i have ever known have been associated with public broadcasting. these people don't get paid what they could earn in the private sector -- not by a long shot. the do what they do because they BELIEVE in the power of public broadcasting.

it's all too easy to stop giving -- to say, i'm withdrawing my support until you guys get your ship in order. that would work just fine if the problem were not an attack from outsiders. these folks need and DESERVE your support in their time of need.

PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP ON PUBLIC BROADCASTING!

PS -- here's Dick gordon's letter about the cancellation that refutes some of the reason set forth in the Boston Globe biz article -- their ratings were soaring! not flat. they had more awards than their replacement, not fewer. who knows what the real reasoning was... it doesn't matter. don't give up on your local affiliates!

I'm still bewildered as to why the program was canceled. At a time when WBUR is clearly anxious about maintaining financial support from the public, they have taken down what they called their flagship program. ''The Connection" was carried on more stations across the country than any other news show produced at WBUR.

They've talked about ''flat ratings," but ''The Connection" has consistently had one of the top measures of listener loyalty at WBUR and some of the best such ratings among all NPR talk shows. Just over a year ago the station was boasting that ratings for ''The Connection" were up 22 percent.

They have said they are replacing ''The Connection" with the ''award winning" program ''On Point." They choose not to point out that over the past four years, ''The Connection" has won even more awards.

They have said it was part of a switch to more local news. But when people challenged that, the program director wrote a letter to this newspaper promising that WBUR ''will not deviate from a commitment to . . . discussion and analysis regarding world news and events."

on edit -- hiccup, double post

[glitch]

1. I support individual shows directly - thus bypassing their corporate

heads. This way perhaps good shows like the connection may be more portable to community and internet radio. Break the bottleneck of the CPB.
Something to think about.

[nashville_brook]

6. if you do that during fundraising, the money still goes into the general

fund -- just a heads-up.

[glitch]

11. I know, and I don't. Good tip though. nt

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Great post, nb! (But check spellng in your subject line.)

:-)

[nashville_brook]

5. ah HA HA! multitasking strikes again!

that's a good one! tee hee.

[LisaM]

3. Please change your title

common misspelling, I know.

[etherealtruth]

4. Oh my gosh ....

I missed your original post r/t the cancellation. The "Connection" aired on my public radio station in the evening; sadly I haven't paid too much attention to it over the summer ... I AM HORRIFIED! Thank you for the info and for the time and effort you have put into this.

I am really upset.

[nashville_brook]

8. it's a little silly, i know -- but i looked forward to that show everyday!

i say it's silly b/c there's a whole of life and it's "only" radio -- but that show amazed me every single day!

public radio (with an "L") was my only connection to sanity during my 13 or so years in upper east tennessee. thru the music community i became friends with many of the announcers and professional folks at WETS-FM. they were a touchstone for me and greatly influenced my growth thru high school and college.

if anyone likes blues music -- check out "Blue Monday" on WETS' internet stream -- mondays from noon till 4, i think.

http://wets.org/
http://www.wets.org/?CONTEXT=cat&cat=40

the radio station is located in Johnson City, TN which has the nickname, Little Chicago which goes back to when Al Capone had an outpost there back "in the day." the blues tradition lives on largely because of the work of Wayne Winkler, head honcho at WETS and also thru bookings at The Down Home which is a great place to see live music if you are ever up that way.

[etherealtruth]

12. NOT silly at all ...

I moved around throughout the '90's, public radio was a constant for me ... (now this sounds sad) but at times it was one of the few constants in my life.

[Armstead]

7. Where did you see the letter from Dick Gordon?

Does he have a website? I've been wondering what he's going to do next.

[nashville_brook]

9. i meant to attach the link -- here you go

http://www.kpbx.org/programs/connection.htm

i found this googling -- it's a reprint from the boston globe, but this is where i found it.

[Squeech]

10. Hmmm...

Gordon is probably right that the cancellation of Connection had more to do with WBUR's own problems than the VRWC suborning of NPR. You should be aware that The Connection was not originally Gordon's show, but had been launched and nurtured by Christopher Lydon, who the aforementioned Jane Christo decided to cut loose for what appeared at the time to be stupid turf and money reasons. Gordon was never as good at it as Lydon, who had a terrific knack for cutting through the bullshit and getting to the heart of the issue-- but at that he was better than serial obfuscator and sensationalist Tom Ashbrook ever was on On Point.

OTOH, I'm sure the VRWC is happy to see The Connection disappear. We must never forget these immortal words of Thomas Pynchon: "If they can get you to ask the wrong questions, they don't have to care about the answers!"

[nashville_brook]

13. agreed -- and the thing is, the cultural climate is such that

we'd be remiss not to address these issues. if dick gordon came out and said look, this was an economic thing, that would go a long way. but he hasn't -- and rhetorically we might as well take this opprtunity to get out in front of the debate.

and, the tone of the response i got fro WPLN -- there's a bit of wonder and fatigue there that i think is telling.