PEORIA and MACOMB, IL -- The odd war on NPR continues. Here's the op-ed piece I submitted to the Journal Star, which ran on Sept. 1 but has not been placed on the PJS website:
Who could have imagined that two prominent downstate Illinois universities, Bradley U. and WIU, would suddenly decide to kill off their NPR stations, radio that brings professional news and music to large numbers of listeners. For some it’s their only source of quality news, in their vehicles, at their bedsides, in their kitchens, at a workplace.
What on earth are the administrators who made these decisions thinking, to abolish the major outreach of their campuses to the public?
Are they both broke? No. Bradley is spending millions on fancy new buildings and programs. WIU could find the money to keep its station alive, only $453,920, by firing three administrators, justified by its recent enrollment drop. Instead it’s hiring more administrators while laying off tenured and popular faculty members.
Can it be that administrators at both universities have decided to turn their campuses into glorified trade schools? So kill off NPR, then the humanities, to graduate technicians and engineers who may have learned the latest fad technology (remember Fortran?) but little else in college.
And who will provide news of these developments with the campus NPR stations gone or greatly diminished?
Administrators at both campuses say the stations will stay on the air, but give no specific ways they can be funded without university support. Endless pledge drives? Please, no! Underwriting? There’s plenty of that already taking up valuable air time.
So here’s an idea: a consortium of area colleges could support an NPR station for central and western Illinois. This plan would keep the NPR we have now on the air. While not ideal, it’s better than radio silence.
An information dessert in our region serves no one except the powerful with their own agendas. - 30 -
And here's the line up of top administrative pay at WIU, from a Freedom of Information Act request:
Brad Bainter $13,115 per mo. $157,380 per yr., vice pres. for advancement.
Kathy Neumann $15, 750 per mo. $189,000 per yr., provost.
William Polley, $12,500 per mo. 6mos. $75,000 per yr., vice pres for administrative services (interim).
Joseph Rives, $14,635 per mo. $175,--- per yr., vice pres. WIU Quad Cities.
Jack Thomas, $22,544 per mo. $270,524 per yr., WIU president.
Ronald C Williams, $15,250 per mo. $183,000 per yr., vice pres. student services.
In addition,Pres. Thomas said there are 250 administrators at WIU, in a Tri-States Public Radio story Sept. 1.
And here's what I said at the WIU Board of Trustees meeting on Aug. 28 (It got applause):
Hello My name is Elaine Hopkins. My husband George Hopkins taught history at WIU for 40 years, and now we both are retired. We spend most of our time in Peoria because of my job but are considering living full time in Macomb. Last week we looked at a house for sale, then we learned of the WIU plan to axe its NPR station. We won’t move here without it.
The plan to require Tri-States Public Radio to raise nearly a half million dollars a year to survive is ridiculous and impossible to carry out. It’s a recipe to kill off the station as we know it. No more local news coverage or great NPR programs. Already “On the Media” is being dropped.
Even worse WIUM has a vital educational role at the university and in the community it serves. It presents fair, vetted, comprehensive unbiased news, in a time when millions of people are falling for Russian and extremist websites full of lies, political smears, ‘fake news’ or as our parents would have said, ‘propaganda.’
Students are able to access this news and learn from it. Many may be exposed to the station’s classical music and jazz programs for the first time. Some even work for the station as interns. Many have gone on to professional careers in broadcasting.
So for the price of three administrators who wouldn’t be missed, TSPR can continue to broadcast news and programs its many listeners rely on and need. If it dies, good will toward WIU will die with it.
Stop this plan today. - 30 -
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