Comparison
between the Community Advisory Boards (CAB) and the WFCR Foundation, Inc., also
known as the Friends of WFCR.
Martin Miller, the General Manager of WFCR, states that "WFCR has voluntarily created the
equivalent of a CAB. The CAB rules and operating practices are similar when
compared to WFCR's Foundation By-laws (purposes) and
mission statement, and the governance statement of 1997 of the WFCR Advisory
Committee - which are posted at wfcr.org."
The systematic comparison carried out between the WFCR Foundation and WNYC's Community Advisory Board (CAB), as suggested by Martin Miller, starkly illustrates the crucial differences and in our view totally negates Miller's assertion.
The
central difference is that CABs are intended to openly, enthusiastically, and
vigorously welcome input from the public, by holding well publicized open
meetings, making minutes of their meetings public, and providing a vehicle for
effective community input. The WFCR Foundation board has no open meetings, does not make its minutes available, and does not solicit input from its listening public.
The requirements of the Community Advisory Boards (CABs) are summarized here, with extracts copied and pasted from the website of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The WFCR Advisory Committee has four open meetings per year (according to the Governance statement, though WFCR's website lists three.) Dates and locations of these, for members of the public wanting to attend, are not provided on the website. It includes three "community members" (currently, two.) By-laws of the Committee are not available on the website so how these three (or two) are chosen is unknown. It is supposed to advise on all matters concerning the station, including proposed programming changes before they are implemented. The Governance Statement states that "A separately incorporated non-profit, the "Friends of WFCR, Inc.," is responsible for assisting the station in fund raising activities.
The By-laws of the WFCR Foundation (the "Friends") are summarized here, using extracts copied and pasted from the WFCR website.
The Foundation is supposed to raise money, promote the station, and "provide the management of WFCR with information about the public's sense of the quality and effectiveness of WFCR."
Board Membership: there are at least 17 members. When there is a vacancy, the members themselves select new members, so this is a self-perpetuating board. Currently there are two vacancies, but there is no means by which a member of the public can apply to serve on the board and no indication of how members are selected. Contrast with the CAB for WNYC (as suggested by Martin Miller's email) for which the public is invited to apply for membership.
Meetings: The Board meets three times a year but the meetings are closed to the public. Contrast with WNYC, with five meetings per year, open to the public and well publicized.
Minutes: records of the Board are open to other Board members, but are closed to the public. Contrast with WNYC, with minutes made public on the WNYC website.
Composition of the Board: There is no public indication of the cultural or geographical diversity of the Board membership. Contrast with WNYC, where this is reported on the website.
Public input: The By-laws of the Board state that one its goals is to provide the station with information about the public perception of the station. However, there is no means provided on the WFCR website for the station to collect comments, other than a minimal "contact us" email link. The CPB emphasizes very strongly that a primary purpose of a CAB is to provide a vehicle for effective community input. Contrast WFCR with WNYC, which has an online form just for that purpose.
The purpose of the WFCR Democracy Task Force is to urge WFCR, its Advisory Committee and Foundation Board, to take actions opening the WFCR organization to public input, not grudgingly but with the enthusiasm we would expect for a station – a Public Radio station – wishing to serve the public and be open to it. The current structure is perceived by many listeners as serving the wishes of its "insiders" but not welcoming input from its listening community.
We want WFCR (1) to establish a genuine equivalent of a Community Advisory Board, and (2) at a minimum, to hold quarterly meetings at which the staff of WFCR could interact directly with the community of its listeners.