Discussed: FM radio, music, St. Louis, wealthy benefactors, KDHX, KCRW, KEXP, WFMU, KPFK, KOPN, volunteerism, rituals, Sovereign Glory, ego, purpose, Grand Center, South City
It still astonishes me that decades of community goodwill could be destroyed in a few short years. I knew they must have had their heads up their asses when they fired Paul Stark--GRANDFATHER STARK!--who helped remotely rear thousands of St. Louis children and who was a beloved fixture in the child-music scene (I know I am not using the right lingo, but I don't have children so I can't be expected to learn their musical subgenres). As Xian said, "That's like firing Mr. Rogers."
Another point I keep coming back to is, "How did this happen?" I think it happened because the Board rewrote all the bylaws we used to observe back when I served on the Board, lo these many years. Back then we had real checks and balances. The current ED and her selected cronies on the board reduced the power of the advisory committee and the programming committee, and they also significantly neutered the Associate Members. The removal of checks and balances works out just great for neoliberal PMC administrators who don't think community radio ought to be democratic. They are making a lot of money while failing upward.
Personally, I think community radio that does not depend more on individual donors than it does on the largess of a few local richies is already a contradiction in terms. If the only way for it to survive is to listen to a bunch of other grifting PMC consultants who are magically endowed with the power of telling the ED and Board President what they want to hear, well then it might as well die, I suppose. It makes me sad, though. I want other St. Louisans to have the opportunities we had.
It still astonishes me that decades of community goodwill could be destroyed in a few short years. I knew they must have had their heads up their asses when they fired Paul Stark--GRANDFATHER STARK!--who helped remotely rear thousands of St. Louis children and who was a beloved fixture in the child-music scene (I know I am not using the right lingo, but I don't have children so I can't be expected to learn their musical subgenres). As Xian said, "That's like firing Mr. Rogers."
Another point I keep coming back to is, "How did this happen?" I think it happened because the Board rewrote all the bylaws we used to observe back when I served on the Board, lo these many years. Back then we had real checks and balances. The current ED and her selected cronies on the board reduced the power of the advisory committee and the programming committee, and they also significantly neutered the Associate Members. The removal of checks and balances works out just great for neoliberal PMC administrators who don't think community radio ought to be democratic. They are making a lot of money while failing upward.
Personally, I think community radio that does not depend more on individual donors than it does on the largess of a few local richies is already a contradiction in terms. If the only way for it to survive is to listen to a bunch of other grifting PMC consultants who are magically endowed with the power of telling the ED and Board President what they want to hear, well then it might as well die, I suppose. It makes me sad, though. I want other St. Louisans to have the opportunities we had.
You had to pull out the Bob Reuter book, didn’t you?
As if I wasn’t broken up enough already.
I guess you had to, though. It would have been lying by omission not to.