Well, I hope there is a huge public outcry about this: the ousting of Marc Steiner from WYPR.
I listen to WYPR all the time, and have always considered Steiner the soul of the channel. His program, between 12 and 2 every day, focuses on education issues a great deal, making Steiner feel like a voice for the teachers of the city. I've always found his quirky style endearing and intelligent; he really listened to his guests, really prepared well for his shows. Most importantly, he cares a great deal about Baltimore. I feel like I got to know Baltimore through his show. (I was thrilled when, last week, I saw him for the first time, moderating the Coynes/Carcetti debate on Season 4 of The Wire.)
I hope he lands on his feet somewhere.
I wonder how much the emergence of the Ed Norris Show led to this departure. While the Norris show is much more erratic and probably more biased (Steiner was admittedly liberal, while Norris is pretty conservative), it also has a fine ear for Baltimore and its issues. They air at the same time, and often I had to choose between the two. I wonder if that had something to do with his listenership loss. Though, according to the article above, the ousting had more to do with personality conflicts than ratings. This wouldn't surprise me.
I wonder where he'll end up.
Rowdies at Dawn
-
I made the mistake of renting a place smack dab in the one section of
Prague frequented by 20something beer-chugging loudmouth apes. These two
clips were t...
57 minutes ago
9 comments:
I see Mark as the face of WYPR. They're making a huge mistake--he's a good guy, smart and committed. He's also very personable and approachable. He seems to know everyone. My husband used to be a fairly frequent guest a few years ago, as a tech expert. We still run into Marc at various city events. That just sucks.
Wasn't Mark only aired on 88.1? I don't see why he couldn't make the move to another local NPR station like 88.5. I doubt the Ed Norris show had much to do with it -- after all, WYPR could've just moved his time slot.
A freaking colossal mistake. Not like, "Oops, I dropped an egg in the kitchen and I wasn't wearing any socks and now my toes are goopy" kind of mistake. More like "Geez, now we're exposed as the unthinking, small, vindictive little corporate-lickers that we really are" kind of mistake.
Look at the comments of the Bozutto woman in the Sun - they read just like dialog from "Mean Girls". This, this is someone entrusted with public radio? Could her comments possibly be less professional, or more of a verification of how poorly Steiner must have been treated and how poisonous the atmosphere must be in the back rooms at the station?
Look, public radio is PUBLIC RADIO. Those airwaves are the people's, that bandwidth is a public trust, just like national parks or libraries or Old Glory. We set those aside to be used in the public's interest.
Unlike Ed Norris, Mark seemed to have faith in our city. A faith that I haven't found anywhere else on radio. For that reason, I will really miss Mark.
I heard a little about this on Maryland Morning last Tuesday and then read about it at Video American. This man is emblematic of the public interest in public radio. I spoke today today Deborah Davis and she urges everyone to email their concern to tbrandon@wypr.org, witha cc to her ddavis@wypr.org
I am witholding my membership until he's back on the air
“I know Dan Rodricks, I've talked to the man, I think he made a mistake, no one should take another man's job. It's that way. Where I come from in the Bronx, when you take another person's job, you're a scab. So Dan shouldn't take the job.” Brendan Walsh, February 20, 2008
Protest the firing of Marc Steiner from noon to 1 PM every day in front of WYPR, 2216 N. Charles St. Also urge Dan Rodricks at dan.rodricks@baltsun.com not to cross a picket line to occupy Marc’s chair. On Mon., Feb. 25 at 11 AM, there will be a noisy welcome for Rodricks. Contact Max at 410-366-1637 to join the Bring Steiner Back Movement.
I was stunned today when I turned on WYPR to listen to the Marc Steiner Show and it wasn't there. I thought I had the wrong station. Apparently I did.From now on I'll be listening to the Kojo Nambi Show. Big mistake on WYPR's part. Good luck to you, Mark
Today, months later, I was listening to WYPR (they're in a pledge drive). They're still going. Listing to their pledge drive I kept wondering what's happened to Mark Steiner. It seems he's now on 88.9 in a 5pm slot. I'll have to check out that station, as I do miss the political focus of Mark's show, which Dan Rodricks seems to avoid. I guess that's the point, whoever owns the station (and it sure wasn't us) wanted a change.
The Marc Steiner show now airs Monday thru Thursday from 5-6pm on WEAA 88.9 FM or with podcasts at
www.steinershow.org
Post a Comment