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 a portion of 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: got confused -- didn't mean to post more than 4 grafs of the published letter.
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