Sharon:

I wrote to the program director about my concerns that Valley Folk was being
cancelled. I've attached the letter. I have to say that I received a
less-than-satisfying reply. I'm afraid that public radio stations have
fallen into a trap where they listen to consultants to help them boost
listenership so they can, in turn, increase donations (and particularly
sponsorships). But in the process they lose touch with the communities
around them.

I implore you to return Valley Folk to the airwaves.

Ed McKeon
A Valley Folk listener
Middletown, CT

Dear Program Manager:

There was a time when "public radio" held all the promise that commercial
radio had abandoned. Non-commercial music, drama, alternative news, local
programming, underserved voices. Little by little that promise has faded.

With the cancellation of Valley Folk, WFCR is saying to its audience: "It's
true, we don't care about you, and we don't care what "public radio" is
supposed to mean."

The Pioneer Valley is, and has been, a hothouse for folk, acoustic and
American roots music. As an arts mecca, it's attracted musicians who call
the area home, clubs which regularly feature this music, a record label
(Signature Sounds) recently recognized by the New York Times as a "major
folk label," and musicians and audiences who travel to the Valley to play
and hear this music.

Valley Folk has always been an essential component in this small, but
thriving and evergreen music scene. And now, thanks to you, it's gone.

By canceling Valley Folk, you won't be destroying folk music. No one's ever
been powerful enough to do that. You're only admitting that you don't
understand it's power and importance to American, nay, world culture.
You're admitting your failure to recognize its importance to the Valley.
Your admitting your failure to make it a centerpiece of your programming,
instead of an afterthought.

I understand your claim is that this is a "budgetary" issue. Ironically,
the folk and acoustic shows at WWUH, here in Hartford, annually raise half
of all our fundraising dollars during our morning drive-time and our
Saturday morning bluegrass shows. For us to cancel them would indeed
present us with a budgetary issue. We know that folk music, presented at
the right time of day, can draw a large audience.

I hope the musicians and listeners of WFCR will take the time to express
their dismay at this sad news, and vote with their ears. Who needs a few
more hours of programmed jazz, or a syndicated roots music show (which
indeed I can hear on three other local stations).

Think twice the next time you proclaim yourself to be "public" radio or
"community" oriented. You are neither. You're simply incompetent to
understand the responsibility you have as a broadcaster, and the power you
could have to shape something special in the Pioneer Valley.

Ed McKeon
Folk Music Director
WWUH
University of Hartford

Sharon:

Thanks for your form-letter response, but I'm afraid it misses the point.

I think it's great that Tertulia will remain on the air, and that WFCR is
hiring a bilingual news reporter. Though it appears to me, and likely to
the general public, that you probably succumbed to the pressure which arose
from the hispanic community to avoid charges of anti-Hispanic sentiment.
How else can you justify retaining a show (Tertulia) which generated a
slight, but vocal, amount of protest when cancelled, but ignore a show which
generated a great deal of protest (Valley Folk).

It shows a real lack of understanding of the power and importance of folk
music in the Connecticut River Valley communities your station serves, and
especially the folk music community in the Pioneer Valley. You say we can
hear great folk shows elsewhere, and that's true. But you can also hear
great jazz shows elsewhere, great Afro-pop and world music shows elsewhere,
and great Spanish language broadcasting from stations in Springfield,
Worcester and Holyoke. In fact, you can hear All Things Considered, Prairie
Home Companion, Morning Edition, Car Talk etc, on an number of wonderful
stations in your listening area. So the "you can hear it elsewhere" excuse
just doesn't cut it. And a folk music show in Albany will not, and cannot,
be part of the symbiotic relationship between radio station, coffeehouse,
listener and musician. The Albany station is just not going to announce
shows at the UnI Coffeehouse in Springfield.

Just what are the goals of WFCR as a community "public" radio station? And
why is the management so mishandling this powerful signal so that they don't
have the appropriate funds to operate to serve that community? Perhaps
turning a deaf ear to the radio consultants, and listening more carefully to
community members will bring you and the station a better understanding of
what "community radio" means.

Whether you care to admit it or not, this is a reflection on your
university's place in the community. And I'm afraid WFCR's handling of this
situation does not serve you or the community well.

Ed McKeon

On 1/29/07 11:39 AM, "Sharon Fross" wrote:

> Dear Mr. McKeon:
>
> Please find attached my response to your January 26 email.
>
> Sharon L. Fross, Ph.D.
> Vice Provost for Outreach
>