Dear Mr. Miller,

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment with WFCR and its programming decision to cancel Valley Folk.

For more than 20 years Susan Hansen's program has been a bright spot in an otherwise bleary spectrum of radio offerings, both public and commercial. It was the one place where I could find music that's all too rarely heard on the air, discover local performers, and enjoy three hours of quality local programming. It was a fine example of the mandate of public radio - serving listeners with excellent and relevant locally-produced programming.

The folk music community in southern New England is vibrant, thriving and richer thanks in large part to the work of Susan Hansen on WFCR. I am distressed to find out that you have decided to still that voice.

Yesterday, Neil Conan interviewed Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, on NPR's "Talk of the Nation". When asked about public radio's mandate for music, Gioia specifically mentioned classical, jazz, and folk, and emphasized the need for diversity in programming. It is a message you should consider.

It is all too common that radio consultants are hired to advise homogenized formats for public stations. Both Connecticut Public Radio and WFCR have taken that advice. In doing so you have become just like your commercial counterparts in the upper three-quarters of the FM dial. Diversity is what built public radio, and the lack of it may well be its downfall.

Sincerely,

Jim Rigby