Well, I’m back. My road trip was great. I know I am just a doting Dad (with my older ones who are gone now, and my little one at present) but she was brilliant on the stage. Well worth the day off.
I don’t have much to say about the Dan Rodricks issue. I have no control over it, can’t do anything about it and will just wait and see on that one. There was a big hole left and opportunity to fill it. Doesn’t come along every day. He filled it. What can you do? That’s life.
I want to encourage you all to come to the Community Advisory Board Meeting at the BMA on February 20th. It will begin at 7:00. It is scheduled to last two hours. The CAB was formed in response to a regulation that requires all public radio licensees to have a community board. The event on the 20this your opportunity to speak your piece. I hear it may be taped and made available on the WYPR website.
A public radio station worth its salt should have some of those who make up the CAB be members of the Board of Directors. The board, while made up of many good people, should be all inclusive. It is not. Listener members should be members of that board. Community and corporate leaders should interact on the board to help guide the station. That is a real democracy of the public airwaves.
Anita and others who wrote on the blog recently talked about how the crowd at the Obama rally held in the 1st Mariner Arena represented that same “view/world”, as she put it, as those who have supported me and my show. I want to build on that. We want to continue our public commitment to this community. We want to create a new forum for all of us. We are going to start on the web. We will build it from there. Jessica Phillips and I are already trying to work on ideas to produce and share with everyone. Let us know what you think. What do you want? More documentary features? Panel discussions? One on one interviews? What topics do you care most about? What have you enjoyed in the past?
It is Valentine’s Day. Gotta go celebrate. Remember, it may be a Hallmark Card day and full of commercialism but reality is if you blow it… you’re done.
I’m Marc Steiner, for whatever comes next that will be your public media
Take care, talk soon.
-Marc
