The controversial firing of iconic WYPR radio host Marc Steiner - whose show has been a mainstay on the station since its days as WJHU - has sparked a public backlash and allegations of power-grabbing at the station.
Steiner learned of his firing on Friday, but says he's still unsure why the station cancelled his program.
"I've heard lots of reasons. I've heard I wasn't being a team player. I'm not sure what that means given the money I've raised [for the station]," he said.
"WYPR cancelled The Marc Steiner Show because his ratings were down, the station was having trouble drawing underwriters to his show because of ratings," said one employee at WYPR familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Steiner said he felt he was fired in a power play by specific management members with whom he has had personality conflicts and has differed with on the philosophy of the ownership and role of public radio.
The WYPR employee confirmed that there has been a longstanding power struggle between Steiner and Anthony Brandon, the station's president and general manager.
The station has received hundreds of e-mails since Steiner's firing, including members and station underwriters who say they will no longer support the station's upcoming winter pledge drive, according to the WYPR employee.
In a statement released yesterday on WYPR's Web site, Brandon said, "the sequence of events that led to the sudden cancellation of Marc's show unfolded rather quickly."
However, in a Feb. 5 radio interview on the WYPR program Maryland Morning, Brandon said, "this was a very agonizing decision for our senior management and for our board but it was not done hastily."
Brandon and other members of WYPR management did not return calls for comment.
Nearly a dozen protestors rallied outside the station yesterday in support of Steiner.
"I think the firing shows the attitude of WYPR is not consistent with their message," protestor Stan Markowitz said.
The soft-spoken Baltimore resident praised Steiner's even-handed discussion of controversial issues.
"He had people from non-profits, people from the streets - perspectives that no one else brings," Markowitz said.
"Certain people are unique. Marc Steiner is one of the unique," protestor Max Obuszewski said, pausing to wave at the honks of passing cars.
"Marc can bring in the governor of Maryland at the same time he can bring in a person who just got out of jail and is looking for a job. He really can't be replaced," the Hampden resident said.
Steiner would have celebrated his 15th year on the air in May. He began his show while the station was still owned by the University and was called WJHU.
In 2002, when Hopkins decided to sell the radio station, Steiner began asking his listeners to fund the purchase of the station. The campaign raised $750,000.
According to the WYPR Web site, Steiner was introduced to Brandon, who helped secure eight guarantors to give funds matching the $5 million purchasing price the University was asking for.
WYPR management has said that they requested Steiner expand his coverage beyond Baltimore.
"The board and Tony did want the station to be a Maryland station, not just a Baltimore station," the WYPR employee said.
According to the Saturday edition of the Baltimore Sun, fewer than 12 of Steiner's last 50 shows were focused on issues facing Baltimoreans.
"If anything I'd like to see him have more shows on Baltimore," Markowitz said.
"Steiner and management had been at odds over what direction his show should take," WYPR board chairperson Barbara Bozzuto told the Sun.
"I've been at odds with them for other reasons, over the philosophy of public radio, but they never had any conversations with me about the progress of my show," Steiner said.
According to Steiner, conflicts arose between him and Brandon, Bozzuto and Vice President of Programming Andrew Bienstock, a Hopkins alum.
"Tony, Barbara and Andy just wanted me off the air. It was very personal and at the same time the difference was philosophical," he said.
Steiner has been a vocal supporter of the idea that listeners ultimately control public radio.
"It's very simple. We disagree," Brandon said during the interview on Maryland Morning.
Because the board of directors is the trustee of WYPR's license, Brandon argued, they are responsible for the station.
"Public radio has a mission that is intended to go beyond ratings as a public service. There is a segment of our society that doesn't have lots of money and influence and are too much of a minority to affect ratings," the WYPR employee said.
"My understanding of the board is that its members are overwhelmingly white, overwhelmingly affluent. I don't know how many of them even live in Baltimore. It's outrageous," Markowitz said.
"I'm very disappointed to see Marc leave. He brings a lot to the culture of the station and the culture of Baltimore," WYPR Board of Directors member Aldan Weinberg said.
Steiner said he felt that the board of directors "needs to represent the racial, ethnic and economic demographics" found in its listenership.
One of the reasons given by WYPR for Steiner's ousting was decreased ratings.
WJHU sports broadcast director Brendan Vandor said, "while public radio's main concern shouldn't be ratings, it's obviously still a factor. There's no denying this."
The reaction to the news among Hopkins students was mixed.
"I don't think public radio necessarily needs to be primarily concerned with ratings," WJHU technical director Matthew Ziegelbaum said.
"That's not to say, however, that ratings shouldn't play any role. If Marc Steiner's ratings were truly falling as much as the station says, it's entirely possible that, as their flagship show, he was costing them in decreased donations."
Bozzuto told the Sun that the station's listenership has increased overall, except during the noon-to-two time slot occupied by Steiner's program.
But according to available data, WYPR's overall audience has actually decreased.
Approximately 47,300 people tuned in to listen to Steiner's show in the fall of 2005, according to Carl Nelson, manager of client services at the Radio Research Consortium.
Over the next two years, listenership decreased by 21 percent to 37,400. During that same time, the overall WYPR audience decreased by 17 percent from 170,500 to 142,000.
Nelson said it was possible for the station to have different ratings information than what is publicly available, but that WYPR is not obligated to release this data.
Steiner said he would be willing to return if asked by WYPR.
"I love what I do," he said.
