NPR Board Election Results

National Public Radio released the results of its Board of Directors Election on July 9th, and Colorado Public Radio Blog received the results on Friday, July 18th. As CPRB Readers know, Max Wycisk, President of Colorado Public Radio threw his hat in the ring during this round, but his own peers (or as NPR refers to them, authorized representatives), who make up voting constituents from public radio rejected him (1 station, 1 vote). As you can see from the results below, Member Station diversity is spread geographically. This year; however, was not Max Wycisk's year to represent the Rocky Mountain Region. Perhaps because he COMPLETELY LACKS DIVERSE EXPERIENCE.

The current NPR Board of Directors consists of 16 members: 10 of whom are General Managers, Presidents, CEOs, etc., of NPR Member Stations; The Chair of the NPR Foundation; and 5 prominent members of the public. Staggered elections for new Board Members are held every year, and Board Members serve 3-year terms. This board-member distribution and ratio goes back several years, to a time when Member Stations bailed out NPR during a financial crisis in 1983, and subsequently demanded a stronger say in the strategic guidance of the network. In short, NPR Board Membership is about power -- about the leadership and management of the network in general, and about the network's relationship to Member Stations, specifically.

From some of our previous posts, it is the opinion of Colorado Public Radio Blog authors that Max Wycisk lacks the ability to represent Member Stations nationally on the NPR Board, BECAUSE his past history shows that he lacks the fundamental skills necessary to deal openly and ethically -- to deal publicly -- with NPR and non-NPR radio stations within the State of Colorado. For their own reasons, it appears that Member Station Authorized Representatives -- the Member Stations -- agree.

While CPR membership on the NPR Board potentially gives Colorado a higher profile at National Public Radio and in public radio affairs, it's better for our state to have creative, open-minded representatives in place to guide public radio during flattening times -- irrespective of region, state, or station affiliation. Public radio in America needs true creative visionaries to guide this medium into the future if it is to survive -- if it is to thrive. We think people like Max Wycisk represent public radio's past -- a past to which public radio should rightly look back, but also to a past which public radio can ill afford to move back.

JJJ

*****

NPR Board Election Results
July 9, 2008

To: AREPs
From: Joyce Slocum, NPR Secretary
Michelle Shanahan, NPR Assistant Secretary
Re: NPR Board Election Results

We are pleased to report the results of the balloting for the election of four Member Directors to the NPR Board of Directors, as well as the confirmation of three Public Directors, and the ratification of one Non-Board Distribution/Interconnection Committee Member.

The following candidates were elected as Member Directors of NPR, with terms beginning in November 2008:

1. Steve Bass, KOPB-FM, Portland, OR
   
2. Jon McTaggart, KSJN-FM, Minneapolis, MN
   
3. Marita Rivero, WGBH-FM, Boston, MA
   
4. Roger Sarrow, WAFE-FM, Charlotte, NC

In addition, voters confirmed the Board’s election of the following Public Directors:

1. John Herrmann
2. Lyle Logan
3. Howard Stevenson

On a separate ballot, PRSS representatives ratified the Board’s election of Loris Ann Taylor as a Non-Board D/I Committee Member.

Thank you to all of the candidates who sought to serve in the Member Director positions. NPR is honored to have had such a strong slate of candidates willing to serve as Member Directors. Thank you also to all of the Authorized Representatives who exercised their membership rights by voting in this election.

NPR Board of Directors Meeting

The NPR Board of Directors met in both open and closed sessions on July 10th and 11th, according to the NPR website. Find a link to their agenda here. As you know from earlier posts on Colorado Public Radio Blog and Denver Westword, Max Wycisk of Colorado Public Radio, threw in his hat into the race. No word, as yet, if he made it to the show. My guess is that he made it, since he spent much of last year working on CPR's Board of Directors and Governance process, and that is probably just what NPR is looking for in a corporate tool. If so, he will be part of a group presiding over an important evolution in public radio. However, my prediction is that his inclusion will result in two major developments: the devolution (power shift) and de-evolution (degeneration) of public radio.

Of course, anyone who leads public radio member stations during this time -- National Public Radio member stations, that is -- will blame any of their problems on media fragmentation, the economy -- BOTH. So, talking the lead at this time is really not a bad gig. If the new NPR Board succeeds (whatever that means), they'll credit their skills. If they fail, they will blame the media market, economic landscape, et al. Very nice. It's good to be The King! or Bureaucrat, if you prefer.

This just in . . .

According to the New York Times, the NPR Board dumped the Bryant Park Project. The Gray Lady, nicely hangs this one around recently-departed NPR executives Jay Kernis and Ken Stern:

In addition to the on-air changes, two top NPR executives who helped develop the program have left the organization. Jay Kernis, the senior vice president of programming, went to CNN, and Ken Stern, NPR’s chief executive, departed in March after the board decided not to renew his contract."