February 6, 2008
I'll be on the Ed Norris Show tomorrow the 6th of February at 11 am. Tune in to 105.7 WHFS. Call and talk 410-481-1057.
February 5, 2008
First, thanks so much for all the support. In my next post I will respond directly to the thoughts and ideas you all have shared.
I don’t know if you all heard Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast today. They interviewed me and then they spoke with Tony Brandon, who is president of the station and who led the effort to get of me. Quickly, I want set the record straight on one thing that he said which was a bald-faced lie.
He has constantly attempted diminish what I and our listeners did six years ago in raising funds to purchase what was then WJHU. He said on the air that we raised only 5% of the $5 million to purchase the station. I have all the records, and the old bank statements. We raised close to $750,000 after I send an e-mail asking listeners to support our effort to buy the station. $400,000 of that came in huge contributions of six figure. Four people gave $25,000 and numbers more $15, $10 and $5 thousand dollar contributions. Hundreds more gave everything from$5.00 to $1000.00. None of them (those who gave $25 thousand and less) were ever acknowledged or thanked by the station.
At any rate, in many ways this is beside the point. The money is not important. It is more important to them than to me. But it is important that the efforts of the listeners and early supporters not be diminished.
What is important is the future of public radio. What is important is that this is about integrity of public radio. It is about the corporatization of WYPR and of public radio.
When I raised the money from listeners I said I would return every dime to them if we did not buy the station. You trusted me. I met some people, like Tony Brandon, who I thought would be partners to build our community station. Instead it was hijacked.
There is a history here that I will relate to all of you over the next few days. Right now I have to go off to a lunch meeting so I can continue to ensure coverage of our world in print, audio and video on our blog and the Center for Emerging Media website.
So, I will share with you all our future plans, and my perspective on the history of the past six years at WYPR very soon.
Thank you all so much. I will back at you a bit after lunch and for the next few days.
Take care.. and thanks
Marc
February 5, 2008
Folks, I really thought I would have to time to write something longer today but as you can well imagine it has been madness.Tomorrow I will write you all a tale of the last six years and what may lie ahead. Tomorrow, also, I will be on Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast to discuss this situation. Tony Brandon will also be on giving his reasons for this situation. Thank you all so much for your outpouring of support. Just a thought for tonight. This is not about Marc Steiner but really about the future of public radio. I am merely a public image of much deeper issue.Talk to you all tomorrow.Thanks
Marc
Links to some of the coverage
February 2, 2008
I want to thank everyone for all of the support I've been receiving. I also want to let you know that I'm going to keep this blog open. I haven't had a chance to write sooner because the internet is down at my house, but on Monday I will write more about what's going on. In the meantime, please post your thoughts and questions here. You can also reach me at marcbsteiner@gmail.com. -marc
January 31, 2008
Check out the first paragraph of this article:
FINALLY SOME GOOD NEWS—someone is going to help me play music with whales instead of warning me that it’s against the law. According to the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, all “harassment” of marine mammals is illegal, including my idea of playing live music to them just to see what happens. But there are still places beyond the grip of the law.
Read it all here, and hear Marc interview the author, David Rothenberg, at about 1:30 today. For more of David's writing, check out this piece on www.terrain.org.
Before that, after the news at 1pm, join us to discuss genetically modified food. Seems like it was something that was really in the public eye, along with lots of outrage and uncertainty, a few years ago, but all of that has subsided a bit, here in the US, at least. It certainly didn't go away, though, as more genetically modified crops are being grown worldwide than ever, and the highest percentage of any country is right here in the States. Yes, if you're not sure, our food supply is flush with genetically modiefied ingredients. We'll discuss the details, focusing on the company at the center of it all, Monsanto, with Brian Hindo. He wrote the article Monsanto: Winning the Ground War in Business Week.
Every Thursday from 1-2pm for the past few weeks, we've been featuring interviews with the authors of articles that we've come upon and found particularly interesting. If you've caught any of these segments, what do you think? Would you like to see this continue as a regular, weekly feature on the show? Also, comment here with suggestions for articles that you've read and would like for us to consider featuring!
-Justin
January 31, 2008
What comes to your mind when you think of bail bonds? The nice folks who help spring you from jail when you're waiting for trial? One of the few types of businesses that populate mostly vacant commerical blocks in poor neighborhoods throughout the city? Those ubiquitous yellow and pink Big Boyz Bail Bonds pens that are everywhere in Baltimore?
A article on the front page of the New York Times Tuesday pointed out the interesting fact that the US is one of only two countries in the world that use the bail bond system, empowering private companies to put up someone's bail for them in exchange for a fee. The fee is generally 10% of the bail, non-refundable. Critics raise the point that, although you are innocent until proven guilty, you tend to have to pay a lot of money to a private company in order to stay out of jail, innocent or not. Bail bonds is one way among many that the United States has charted a unique course for its legal system, internationally speaking.
Adam Liptak, the author of the article, joins us for the first part of today's show, and then we'll continue the discussion with a panel of local guests, discussing the pros and cons of the bail bond system, and possible alternatives.
Also worth checking out is a post and comments responding to the article on the Freakonomics blog.
-Justin
January 30, 2008
Every time an election roles around, people (or at least the media) start to talk a lot about the youth vote. We wonder whether young voters will finally start coming out in larger numbers than usual. Why do less young people tend to vote than the older folks? Are they just apathetic? Do they think voting won't make a difference, or that no one represents them? What issues do these elusive young people care about? What about those who are politically active?
One of my first assignments as a youthful WYPR news freelancer was to report on the youth vote in November 2006; check it here.
At noon today, we're bringing together a group of college students from the area to hear their opinions and observations on the upcoming elections. We'd love to hear your thoughts, as well, whatever age you might be. Call 866-661-9309, email thesteinershow@wypr.org, or post a comment here.
-Justin
January 30, 2008
Living in Baltimore, I can't help but notice a lot of distinctly unhappy looking people around town. I know this is not exactly some kind of utopia, so is it reasonable to assume that people are, in general, happier elsewhere?
NPR Correspondent Eric Weiner will be joining us at 1pm today to discuss what he learned travelling the world purposefully seeking out happiness. Check out his book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World.
-Justin
January 29, 2008
January 29, 2008
PAYING KIDS TO DO WELL
Dr. Andres Alonso at noon
Paying kids to do well on tests?!?!?!?!?!?!?
My first visceral reaction was no way. This is antithetical to what we all believe, that we should instill an intrinsic love of education.
Dr. Andres Alonso, CEO of Baltimore City Schools, is going to spend a million dollars, in part to pay kids in the 11th and 12th grade who failed one of the High School Assessment tests, if they improve their scores on future tests. They will receive up to $110.00, depending on how much their scores improve. Money will also be used to pay students to tutor other students.
Some would argue, like Dan Rodricks, that middle and upper class families always bribe their kids with cash, dinner and objects of desire if they do well in school. What is wrong with the city doing it for unmotivated kids also mired in poverty?
Others argue it is a quick fix and a bribe that hides real issue of why students don’t have an intrinsic love of learning and why they lose in our schools.
Is it a bad idea? Looking forward to hearing what Dr. Alonso has to say. Looking forward to what you have to say on air and on our blog.
BANISHED
I was not amazed when I first heard that there was wholesale ethnic cleansing of African Americans from towns across America. I was shocked when I found out that it occurred well into the depression era of the 1930’s.
One of our guests, Marco Williams, recently made the movie Banished. It's about the interactions of three Black families, who were descendents of the banished, and white people now living in those towns.
The issue of the day will be to find out what relevance this has on our lives now. The Germans paid reparations to the Jews who survived the camps, the US paid reparations to the Japanese Americans and the descendents of those interned in camps during World War II. Should the US do the same for those who are the descendents of those African Americans ethnically cleansed from their homes?
Is it different because these are descendents of rather than the victims themselves? Is monetary reparation the only possibility? Does this give us as a society a chance for some reconciliation? Is it just history, something for us to learn about and then let go?
What do you think? Call in or write in at one, or comment on the blog.
Check with you later.
-Marc
January 29, 2008
January 28, 2008
At noon, a topic I know some of our listeners follow very closely... while some of you might just wonder how you're going to pay a $450 BGE bill this month, which, by the way, is slightly less than the bill that arrived at my house last week.
Something for everyone, then: Steve Larsen, Chairman of the PSC (Public Service Commission, more info on both Steve individually and the PSC as a whole here) joins us to discuss the ongoing investigation into Maryland's 1999 energy deregulation deal, that led to a 72% rate hike for more than 1 million BGE customers last year, and could be followed by higher increases soon.
If, indeed, consumers got a bad deal, what should/can be done now? Should Maryland consider re-regulating? How about seeking monetary compensation from Constellation Energy in court? Last August, Illinois reached a one billion dollar settlement with a coalition of power suppliers over contentious rate hikes there. Read one account of it, from EnergyBiz Magazine, here. Please join us with your questions for Steve Larsen on the air at noon (866-661-9309 or thesteinershow@wypr.org) and don't forget to post your thoughts here, as well.
-Justin