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Jesus. I just turned in an application to WBEZ literally an hour ago (to intern, but one of those was for the TCAF). And here, I thought that would be one of the safer places...

How big of Malatia to take a salary cut! He should have been fired long ago for his mismanagement of WBEZ and his mistreatment of many current and former employees.

"So far, he's had CPR's board behind him." Wrapped around his finger for 13 years now . . .

That's really surprising considering the record breaking fund drives pubradio stations around the country have been having this fall.

i have hated malatia ever since he got rid of my beloved "mambo express" on saturday afternoons, and i have never given since. public my eye.

I like the staff's ideas - not Mr. Malatia's. It's his changes (killing music, vocalo) that made me reduce my yearly donation. I'll always give, but now less. I can't say this is what I had in mind, though.

I don't give anymore after they pulled the plug on the music. Who wants to listen to reruns of Fresh Air in the evening? If they put the BBC on 24 hours it might be fun but I don't think much of a lot of their local programming. WGN does a better job I think.

Hey michael, I heard the reader's not doing too well. When they cut you out of the budget, I'll be sure to blog about it and link you. That way, your friends and family can read about it before you have a chance to tell them. Dick.

Its too bad that people lost their jobs, but to have their families read about it before they get home for dinner is a shame.

It's no wonder they're in a deficit. How much money have they spent on Vocalo? Someone needs to take the wheel from Malatia, he's positively drunk on power.

you're really criticizing Miner for reporting on breaking news? in case you haven't been paying attention, that's what good reporters do.

Jazz fans were great supporters of BEZ for a long time. Torey treated us poorly. I stuck with the station, but how much blabbering can one take. Ultimate mistake: Sound Opinions...Airtime taken from music to listen to these two arrogant chuckleheads bluster cluelessly. Thank god for WDCB.

I, too, was a 6 year supporter of BEZ until Malatia pulled the plug on Music. Haven't contributed for over a year and don't intend to.

by the way. I took it off my presets and haven't listened to 20 minutes of it since 2007

Fire Malatia and be done with this idiocy already. Vocalo is failure.This alternative programming and cutting a new path. *********************************** Vandamn63 http://www.widecircles.com

Jazz that people say they loved but never listened to? Bring back old programs? What world are you people living in? The audience is slowly dying. If it keeps up, the beancounters will arrive soon enough to take away every ounce of potential and innovation from CPR. I'd rather not cheer for them.

Not sure why people are using this as a forum to bash Sound Opinions. A wonderful show, an asset to the lineup. Additionally, I appreciate less jazz filler...I listen to that on my own time and love what WBEZ as to offer instead these days. I remain an avid supporter and financial contributor.

Of course there's a 1.5 million dollar shortfall -- Malatia funnels WBEZ money to Vocalo to continue paying for his unlistenable vanity project. Had there never been a Vocalo, or had it been killed before it had a chance to use up WBEZ resources and money, I bet the situation would be a lot different at WBEZ. The real question is what will it take for the board to finally oust Torey. It's certainly long overdue.

What Malatia is refraining from mentioning is that WBEZ's largest listening audience is 18-34 years old. Which completely neutralizes his defense of Vocalo. I'm not opposed to the concept of Vocalo. I'm opposed to Malatia's handling of the Vocalo project. The board needs to act decisively as follows: 1) You can keep Vocalo, but cut funding and cut the inexperienced staff there. The community-driven radio concept is good, but it is being executed very poorly because of terrible staffing decisions. Hire TRUE curators of audio content, not self-pleasuring amateurs. Partner with Chicago community colleges and high schools to help establish a laboratory for experimentation. Invite contributors from other Chicago social media outlets to participate. Make it truly inclusive but don't skimp on talent of the group who would be managing the on-air work and selection of material. This would get the Chicago community behind the effort. 2) Immediately stop hiding the Vocalo project from WBEZ donors. Begin to reestablish the trust that donors used to have in CPR. 3) Put more music back on the air at WBEZ. More community music. This city has more breadth and depth of music than most US cities do. We have a musical history and a current music scene that is no longer covered to the extent that it SHOULD be. It is one of the key components of the city's personality. Celebrate it, don't kill it off the air. 4) Expand the analysis of the news. Exciting, creative programs like Planet Money give a personal, relevant take on current events. Work that. 5) Finally, listen to the CPR staff (not management, STAFF). I mean, hell, you hired these creative, passionate people and then you kill their spirit? OMG, why? They are the saving grace of public radio. Get out of their way and let them work.

there were actually 12 people fired. most of them long time veteran producers. malatia is killing CPR.

One Word: VOCALO. Vocalo has a bigger staff than any other Chicago Public Radio project. The antenna they just built cost 2 MILLION dollars. Vocalo brings in absolutely no revenue from listeners. It's a huge drain on the station and absolutely the reason why WBEZ is loosing money and now, staff. The bad economy is not the reason for the situation that WBEZ is in now and listeners should not be led to believe that it is. The board is out of touch. Maltia is out of control, and 91.5 is a sinking ship.

I have not listened to WBEZ in years. I have an iPod. I wanted to contribute to This American Life, but it turned out to be a pain in the ass, nothing they did, it was just that all the damned little numbers have rubbed off the back of my credit card. Why don't they have a contribute button in iTunes? That I am already set up for and would use with ease because that is where I get all my public radio shows that I listen to both daily and weekly. It would be nice to get some nice Chicago oriented shows. I used to contribute on the regular to Public Radio, but as it is, I have gone back to stealing it.

I've been upset with WBEZ for years. Not because of the lack of music (I never though they did a good job with it and enjoy the BBC), but where is all the local programming? They have only two shows, 848 and Worldview, for such a large staff, and this is the third largest market in the country! Not only that, but unlike some smaller markets such as Boston, there is no public radio competition in Chicago! There is no reason for CPR to be in the hole right now. Vocalo could have been integrated into regular programming but to waste $2 million on this is a tragic failure. Anywhere else, Malatia would have been fired a long time ago. Chicago deserves much better than this.

Good. The sooner this hive of stupidity gets eviscerated the better. Why do they need a brodcasting office on Navy Peir. Dont. Move to a ditch in the south loop where you belong.

Overwhelmingly the comments have mentioned that folks stopped contributing after Malatia cut music. I, too, stopped donating when he cut music. And yet he doesn't seem to be getting the hint - instead blaming the economy. Kinda like the car companies blaming the economy rather than their product. Put music back on WBEZ, instead of reruns of the day's shows, and maybe listeners will return and start donating again!

Just so people reading this understand. There are a lot of bad facts and figures listed in these postings - The demographics, the costs, budgets. WBEW was going to have a new tower with or without Vocalo. Chicago gave CPR the slot at Navy Pier at a steep discount to draw culture to Daley's then-untested urban playground. Chicago Public Radio is one of the best public radio stations in the country, though it has NEVER had the largest base of contributors. Some very good people were let go Friday. But given all the leaking and bile in the Reader, I hope there are a few more on the block. Stop living in a dream world. The economy is in the tank. Media is in free fall. The audience IS aging. People didn't listen to the music. Do you really want CPR to be like the Reader, sitting static as a monument to past glory, while they wait for the collection agency to knock on their door? They are in a fight for their life. You can cry and cry all day but the world isn't going to spin backward for you.

I guess I go against the majority, but I am very happy they cut the music. For those of who work during the day and are unable to listen to the talk shows, having them run at night is great. I would agree that the local programming is poor - sometimes I wonder who comes up with their stories. But don't blame the lack of music as the reason the station is having trouble. It might be the reason it is still alive

A lot of these posts indicate support dropped after the format deemphasized music. Malatia correctly recognized that the old format had a loyal but dwindling audience. The reasons for that decline include changing tastes and the internet where you can hear jazz and blues 24/7 to your heart's content free of charge. A DJ sitting in front of a microphone spinning old records and CDs all night is no longer a viable concept. Only Dick Buckley and Nile Frantz could make that kind of a program compelling. As one poster said, WBEZ does not do enough local content. Sound Opinions has very little Chicago content and should go back to WXRT because it is about commercial popular music that does not fit in with a non-profit station's mission. WBEZ could support the local music scene by taping and airing shows from clubs around the city like the Velvet Lounge and the new Jazz Showcase. It would cost almost nothing to produce (I bet technicians would volunteer), would not require much equipment and the club operators and musicians would love the exposure. It would give WBEZ proprietary property they could license and sell. It would be more fun to listen to than old Coltrane or Thundering Herd records (sorry about that)and be more appealing to the 18-34 demographic. This can also be done with other genres and venues like the Old Town School. Localizing content is one way commercial radio builds loyal audiences in a competitive environment. WSCR battles with WMVP in sports. WGN has a lot of local content and they are number 1. WBEZ's competition are the other non-profit and for profit stations on the internet. Localization is the potential differentiator.

I don't know enough about Malatia or the inner workings of WBEZ but as a loyal listener and [financial] supporter I am really sad for the hard working committed people who just lost a job they probably really loved. Lets hope things get better for all of us.

Whenever BEZ pops up in the news everyone gravitates to the "Vocalo is killing the station" and "They should have never gotten rid of music" arguments. There are other reasons that BEZ is in trouble that have nothing to do with either of those things. 1. Their pledge drives are horrible. Their model resembles the U.S. approach to the Vietnam War: browbeat the listener with incessant chatter until people call. Other stations only pledge for two minutes at a time, only four times per hour, and those stations tend to do better with fundraising. 2. Their local news department is terrible. 3. They need more -- and more relevant -- local programming.

A message from WBEZ producer Johanna Zorn to the Association of Independents in Radio: "Due to budget considerations, Chicago Public Radio has decided to stop funding the [Third Coast Festival] at the end of this fiscal year, June 30, 2009. CPR still feels a commitment to the project, which it founded eight years ago, and which it still believes in, so we've been told that we'll receive some in-kind support."

Some great people were laid off on Friday... people with years of institutional knowledge and great ideas for moving public radio forward. Malatia is an idiot. He has visions for Vocalo that aren't even shared with the staff. Most of the Vocalo staff was surprised to find out that even after the new tower went up, most of Chicago can't even tune in to listen. The money spent on Vocalo is criminal, given the # of listeners and visitors to its web site. I receive more visitors to my blog, and that only costs me about $5/month to maintain.

Being a visionary means taking risks. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail. It's easy to point fingers but more often that not one's opinion is based on emotion and not fact. Malatia is not an idiot. He's overseen a lot of success--far more than failures. As for the music, it had a small but vocal audience who rarely contributed. And regarding the layoffs, I have no doubt no one is more tortured over the decision that Torey.

My favorite is the four point plan for the Board of Directors. Will you people listen to yourselves. Times are bad enough without all of this. Do you have no respect for the people who are leaving. You're tearing the place apart. CPR seems to have gone pretty far under Malatia. Let's hope he can keep it up a little longer.

The talk format works better on AM radio, as spoken word doesn't require stereo and the higher fidelity of FM. I used to donate money every year to BEZ, and not just the minimum either. Since they eliminated jazz (not long after a deceptive pledge drive), I've switched to WDCB Glen Ellyn, which plays a lot of jazz, bluegrass, blues, and other great music that has been marginalized in the commercial realm. Given the way that BEZ under Maldicta disrespected its deejays and jazz listeners, I am among the many who will never listen to that station again. I now listen (and donate) to WDCB (90.9 FM), and it seems to be doing quite well.

I'm the person who posted the 5 point plan for the Board and I really do believe that they should replace Malatia. He may have done some interesting things early on in his tenure at WBEZ, but at this point, I believe that he has let his ego run over his ability to be a good manager. And that is his JOB. He is not the Director of Programming who is expected to pitch new programming. He is the General MANAGER and, frankly, his management skills of people is seriously lacking. This has affected not only the people who have left, but the people who are still there. His poor management style is not just contributing to dissatisfied employees. It is now extending to listeners and contributors, which is affecting the financial health of Chicago Public Radio. His lack of self-awareness is compounded by the fact that no one can tell the emperor that he has no clothes or else their careers will be affected. Different managers are needed at different times in an organization's life cycle. I believe that Malatia's time is up and WBEZ needs new management. Hopefully, the Board will soon come to this decision also.

I can tell you what Malatia’s problem is He tolerated low-level managers who engender loyalty by telling staff they are protecting them from the demonic Malatia. Nice for them but it undercuts the organization. Replace Malatia and things grind to a halt in public radio, not just here but, in many ways, around the country. The sad underside of giving people so much freedom to be creative is that some people use the power to attack. I think the board understands that.

To respond to those of you who say the local news programming is lacking -- of course it's lacking. The board and Malatia have completely shifted their focus to Vocalo. The news department has been wanting to expand for years, they have the know-how, but not the money or the staff. Now, they have even less staff. It's also a real shame to loose The Third Coast Festival. Third Coast attracted a strong community of creative producers to Chicago/Chicago Public Radio and was one of the things that made CPR stand out as a cutting edge institution. It fostered a culture of innovation among Chicago Producers. It's a such a shame to loose that. What was one of the greatest public radio stations in the country is shrinking to a bare bones operation. I also blame Malatia and the board for making these bad decisions and I agree that although Malatia has lead the station through some strong times, he has now lead us into a real disaster. What's worse, is that he isn't demonstrating the leadership skills to lead us OUT of this disaster.

janimarie's 5 point plan sounds a like a good beginning point for what should be a total PUBLIC reevaluation of WBEZ's current situation, mission, vision, audience etc. Congratualations janimari. WBEZ is a great resource for the city, but current management reminds me of the ego driven, corporate loving management that crippled WTTW just a few years ago.

How do those of us who love public radio get organized to spearhead needed changes at WBEZ management and its misguided board? How is the board appointed? How can we get on the Board and vote out Mr. Tony Weisman? There need to be consequences for failure.

Clearly, Malatia isn't going anywhere. Why keep calling for it? The station has huge problems across the board. The fact there's even talk about cutting Sound Opinions (its best product, by far) is evidence of the larger dysfunction at the place. They need better product at a lower price. They should cancel pointless shows of little value that eat up valuable salary space, build up the low-cost content (read WEB CONTENT), and just get some better people running their newsroom. They should: 1. Kill Worldview (would rather listen to BBC) 2. Kill Re: Sound (hopelessly pretentious) 3. Be more transparent about VOCALO 4. Build up their web team/web presence 5. Replace the leadership in their newsroom. Use the salaries from Worldview to build up a localized evening program.

They tried a local arts program (Hello Beautiful) and it was not successful. But I'd love to have a local version of Sound Opinions. Why aren't they more public about their financial troubles? If they went on the air and said they're going to have to lay off top talent, I bet they'd make up some of the shortfall. Instead they do spots about how great the pledge drive was. Perhaps it was just a convenient opportunity to trim some fat left over from the programming changes.

JillianneK, your comments are idiotic. Any success that has happened at WBEZ, such as This American Life, happened despite Malatia not because of him. He just claims responsibility when things do well, while riding the coat tails of talented staff, not only those that got cut now, but also the mass exodus of former staff that have left because of him during the last several years. Now, when you see something that actually is his baby, Vocalo, to be representative of his "innovative" thinking, you can better understand what a sham he is. The only genius that Malatia has is his cunning tactics to intimidate the board and the staff to shift the balance of power into his hands. Someone else nailed it - he is drunk on power - and acts like he owns the place, rather than being entrusted to manage a public-supported non-profit organization. If listeners/members want to change WBEZ they need to get up off of their asses and do something about it. The staff is powerless. The board is completely out of touch or they are only interested in keeping "CPR board member" on their business bios. Get ready for all NPR and BBC 24-7, until the place goes completely under.

What a sign of incompetence. If they can't even accurately count the number of people they fired and release accurate information about it, how the hell can they manage to do anything else right there. referring to this post: disgruntled December 6th - 7:52 a.m. there were actually 12 people fired. most of them long time veteran producers. malatia is killing CPR.

mike - management at WBEZ has no incentive to be honest about the numbers. malatia is all about deception and manipulation, though he'll do it with a sad look on his face and tell you how much it pains him!! in addition to the 12 full time employees that were let go, a least one person was cut to part time, and several other positions are threatened. there are also many current positions that have been vacant for some time. there is absolutely no accountability at the station. as an earlier poster comment pointed out, malatia has protected himself with spineless mid-level managers that all play the 'we'll protect you from torey' card. until the public demands accountability from this PUBLIC institution there will be no change. i really feel sorry for the staff that is left there, it will be miserable to walk in to the office on monday...

Well, they had their annual board and advisory council meetings last Tuesday. Though that doesn't help any of us who wish to question the board about these current events. At this point, it would probably be more likely to request a special CPR donors' meeting with board members and the advisory council that is also open to the general public. Their alternative is to only allow us to voice our displeasure by withholding donations, which doesn't seem to be working well for them so far. Here are the names of those associated with the CPR Board: Tony Weisman Chair Prudence R. Beidler Tony Dean Susan McKeever Torey Malatia Laurence B. Ashkin Stephen W. Baird Prudence (Prue) R. Beidler Marge Collens Doris Conant Jonathan Copulsky C. Bryan Daniels Claudia Freed Larry Keeley Jim Lecinski Lisa Lee Ken Lehman Robert B. (Bud) Lifton James W. Mabie Kay W. McCurdy Matthew T. McGuire Ralph R. Mueller James N. Perry, Jr. Cassandra M. Pulley Alison P. Ranney Raul I. Raymundo David J. Rudis Esther S. Saks Merrill Hewson Smith Kimberly Taylor-Smith Alexander (Sandy) Stuart Tony Weisman Don Weiss Erik E. Whitaker Bryan S. Traubert Woodward A. (Woody) Wickham Here are the members of the Community Advisory Council: Joe Grossbauer Chair Rebecca Teasdale President Emeritus Members: Judith A. Aiello-Fantus Peggy Barber Elliott Goldman Roger Isaacs John (Jack) W. Jerak Associate Members: Narimon Safavi Pat Yuzawa-Rubin Joanna Augustynski Lester Blair Evan Freund Marc Hauser Rajinder Singh Mago Susan F. Messinger John H. Robinson Jennifer Schlueter

Unfortunately, it looks like the latest Comm Advisory Council meeting wasn't included in the meeting list on the CPR website (the one on Dec 2 at 3 pm). And the meeting schedule for 2009 is not posted. But, if the old schedule is anything to go by, the meeting SHOULD be held on Jan 15, 2009 at 6 pm. More on the CAC here: http://www.wbez.org/AboutUs_People_Community.aspx

First, I think it was tacky for Miner to list by name select few that lost their job. Really insensitive and unnecessary. Also, in reading the comments I see so many are quick to blame mismanagement for the layoffs. The recession has hurt almost every sector, why would public media not suffer? A fair chunk of individual givers are giving less because they're broke. Truthfully, I've listened to Vocalo, and when it's good, it can be really good. Its strength is how it plays audio from seemingly every source, submitted by "THE PUBLIC" to the website. Some of it is too raw to ever be played on BEZ, but I like that. I like hearing real voices, not editorializing voiceovers. But that's me.

johnnie, I'm guessing that you either work for Vocalo or you are Malatia. I've yet to know ANYONE in real life who can listen to more than 10 minutes of Vocalo without switching it off. And besides, Vocalo isn't the point, exactly. If Vocalo were self-funded or if the WBEZ donor community was TOLD--ON AIR--that their pledges could be going to Vocalo and they decided to keep pledging? I'd say "live and let live". I'd even start donating to CPR again, because at least we'd have transparency. If WBEZ news staff and programming wasn't being cut while Vocalo continued to be funded? Again, live and let live. But let's say I donate during a WBEZ pledge drive. Malatia sends me a thank you note on letterhead that never mentions Vocalo. Vocalo isn't mentioned on the air during the pledge drive or in the newsletter. The programming that I enjoy and want to support gets cut and the staff that makes that programming happen gets cut substantially. The experienced staff at WBEZ gets paid less than Malatia and Turner have offered the inexperienced people at Vocalo. And THEN the WBEZ staff are told that they have to TRAIN the Vocalo staff? (Nice slap in the face.) Then, I find out AFTER the fact that WBEZ pledge drive funds are going to Vocalo or the reserves that could see WBEZ through a tough economic year are going to Vocalo. That's where I say no thanks. This is a case study for poor management.

"johnnie" you should worry more about putting at least one freaking piece of accurate, relevant, original, or even comprehensible content on Vocalo and try to become more appealing than the lame thoughtless blather that no one other than the staff of Vocalo can stand to listen to for more than a minute. For you to describe WBEZ/public radio as "editorializing voiceovers" is a dead giveaway that you're one of the clueless vocalo crew that has no experience or understanding of radio or media, and have no experience working in any kind of media or ANY place of employment at that. Good luck, because Malatia is banking the survival of their entire organization on your embarrassing-use-of-frequency crew. No pressure for a bunch of blissfully ignorant "real voices" I'm sure. Here is one tip for improvement: there is a thing called the internet where you can look up information to store in your brain about topics before you stand in front of a microphone and open your damn mouth. Surely with your over-paid salaries you can afford to invest in a computer and buff up on your communication skills.

Full disclosure: someone I went to school with years ago works at vocalo, or else I wouldn't have known about the station (I think that's a marketing issue). The "real voices" I cite are not the hosts, they are the inner city kids who contribute their solutions for ending gun violence in their community, for example. The hosts are clearly not the strength of the station. I respect WBEZ, and resent lame's assertion that I don't. Why do I have to choose sides in this? Sometimes I like Chocolate, sometimes Pistachio. Lastly, I do very much agree with jeanmari's call for transparency in pledge drives. It does seem shifty. Note: Vocalo is portrayed as a leech, but according to last week's Time Out Chicago: Vocalo’s $2 million budget is funded in part by grants (the Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided $750k in 2007, and the station recently was awarded a MacArthur grant for $1 million), the difference comes out of Chicago Public Radio’s pocket. " It seems a good chunk of its funding doesn't come from CPR (or us).

Read more carefully. It says 750K was for 2007 (FY). That money is gone. 2 mil for Vocalo 2008 operating minus 1 mil from macarthur leaves a 1 mil hole filled from wbez coffers = almost exactly WBEZ's current 1.5 mil shortfall. this is not complicated. it is pretty clear cut. whatever little slowdown has happened with listener donations does not calculate up to the major crisis they are apparently in. Anyway, people should know better than to believe the "facts" they read in press, which is all info supplied by Malatia to reporters. They should know better that non-profits are required to publicly publish financial reports, and not just take Malatia at his word. It's all smoke and mirrors and half-truths at best.

Fire Malatia. It's the only hope. To say that BEZ's problems are caused by the bad economy is a lie. Of course the economy has an impact but WBEZ has been mismanaged for so long - that is its problem. Malatia hires the wrong people. His "sincerity" about caring about them is a lie. Half-truths are his m.o. His is not a good manager, not anyone who can build a place up. The local programming is awful. His biggest problem is that he puts the wrong people in the wrong jobs. Isn't it clear that since he's been at BEZ it has gotten worse and worse and worse? Someone wrote that MacArthur gave Vocalo a million. Malatia could have asked them for money for BEZ and probably gotten it, but because he's all about Vocalo he asked them for money for that. Vocalo is killing BEZ, but moreso, Malatia has ruined WBEZ. Everybody I know listens for the national programs and that's it. Nothing he has anything to do with. PLEASE - remove him, we need new blood in there.

Yes, the shortfall is attributable to Vocalo. You might be able to say that $500K is WBEZ's shortfall, but there are reserves that are supposed to get WBEZ through economically difficult times, like now. These reserves are made up of pledges and grants that were unused in prior years plus the interest made on those reserves. Malatia has already admitted (in writing) that he is dipping into the reserves for Vocalo. Is the entire $500K shortfall the economy? I doubt it. There are too many people who I know that have stopped contributing to WBEZ because of programming decisions. I stopped contributing because of the lack of transparency around Vocalo and the effects that Malatia's management decisions have had on the station. Your use of the "marketing" excuse for not letting WBEZ donors know about Vocalo? Makes me think that you are either Malatia or Turner. They are the only two people I know who try to use "marketing" as an excuse to thumb their noses at donor rights and transparency. And Malatia is the only person who tries to distinguish between WBEZ and CPR in one forum, while merging the two in others. BTW, donor rights? They look like this. The Shedd has a responsible set of them. CPR does not. http://www.sheddaquarium.org/donor_billofrights.html

Just by reading the other posts, looks like your math is missing a few grants there “calendar”. Now, I love WBEZ but here's my plan to save money – Keep only the staff who are either producing innovative work or who know news. Vocalo can have the pop culture pieces, the comedy and the personal stories. Get rid of anyone who mainly proposes stories they found in a newspaper. For that matter, get rid of anyone who mainly lines up newspaper people to come on the station to discuss stories that were in last week’s newspaper. Get rid of anyone who mainly works on the long-winded pieces that seem to take six months to put together, where they talk to everyone under the sun to about their personal plight, but never seem to bring out anything new about the topic. In short, keep only the dogs that can hunt. Show everyone else the door. Times are tough day-dreamers. Outstanding journalists with real notches on their belts are losing their jobs. It’s time for a much-needed reality check. It doesn’t cost an anyone an extra dime to come into work and do your job. Dump the silliness. Dump the fantasy stories. Malatia and the board won’t stop you from putting a better class of work on public radio. Wake up people. Unless you ARE Ira Glass, you are not Ira Glass.

Mpeg, let's be for real. Malatia has NEVER and will never do a thing to attract or keep a STAFF of high-quality producers and reporters. Malatia likes to run public affairs and local news operating on the cheap with graduated interns and little-experienced staff who will work for lower pay than veterans who know better. Anyone worth their salt eventually leaves that place or does not even come in the first place because malatia will not pay adequate salaries for top-shelf players. There is ZERO commitment to quality local programming there. Really, wasn't the reason music was cut was supposedly to build this magnificent news source which is so sorely needed in this era of Sam Zell? What happened to that plan? Ira is not the only great producer, and his success, like that of Terry Gross, Garrison and other successful shows, are the exception, not the standard. Do you really think WHYY is producing Fresh Air quality local programming day and night? There are many other talented people out there, but they would not come within ten feet of the revolving door there. The turnover that happens at WBEZ is NOT that common generally in public radio. Even if there are any dogs left there that can hunt, I can't imagine them being able to perform well with their tails between their legs because of the current pressures and horrible morale. If you think otherwise, all I can say is that's some powerful kool-aide malatia is brewing.

funny you mention Glass because people think Tory Malatia is good because we had Ira here. Check it out folks - TM had NOTHIN' to do with creating that show or making it. If it wasn't for basking in Ira's glory people would have seen long ago that Malatia can't make even a decent radio station. And if I'm right, he's been fired at several radio stations before. How does he get to ruin Chicago Public Radio for so long? My friends won't donate in big amounts until he is out of there.

I’m just saying, make this a memo to the board: if you are poised to get rid of Malatia, you'd be fools to stop at the top. Make sure you bring in someone who will vow to use a fire hose to wash away everyone that came in under his watch. Leave only the pencil sharpeners. You’ve got a lake right outside the front door. Use it. Rebuild with a tougher, savvier bunch who are up to the challenge of playing to win in Chicago. In this media market, you can do so much better. Listen to what these people are telling you. They're right - all the good reporters have either left or they wouldn't take a job there in the first place. You've got the green light. It’s time to toast the marshmallows.

Well Folks, I would like to add a few things. First there are no more reserves left. second 11 were fired. shortfall is due to Vocalo.org. The house is on fire but there is an arsonist. All Board meetings are for the public to attend and everyone should at the next one. They have to be posted on the website. more than 2 million spent on Vocalo annually with a radio signal that doesnt north of the river.

Well Folks, I would like to add a few things. First there are no more reserves left. second 11 were fired. shortfall is due to Vocalo.org. The house is on fire but there is an arsonist. All Board meetings are for the public to attend and everyone should at the next one. They have to be posted on the website. more than 2 million spent on Vocalo annually with a radio signal that doesnt north of the river.

looks to me like the CPR board are a bunch of nobodies who are probably happy to get a little notoriety by being able to sit on a board. not impressive...

I've written quite a bit about Vocalo, so I wanted to clear something up (kind of) about the perceived lack of transparency and marketing. Malatia decided, well before Vocalo actually existed, that he would publicly wall it off from WBEZ. He felt that a new type of public radio was needed, a type of public radio NOTHING like WBEZ or "public radio" generally, so it's long been part of the plan that WBEZ would never mention the station or put its substantial name and marketing outreach behind Vocalo, for fear that Vocalo would then end up sounding too much like "public radio." Obviously this has created problems, and I'm not defending the decision--just pointing out that some things people in this thread are writing about as mistakes or deficiencies are *built in* to the model and not just typical human error. That doesn't mean they're not mistakes, necessarily, just that it's more complicated.

It seems that the kool-aid being drunk around here has been concocted by a vendetta that Miner has against Malatia. Yes - transparency during the (too many) pledge drives is essential and the organization made a huge error by not being forthcoming with the knowledge that Vocalo would be getting some assistance from the WBEZ coffers. The elimination of late night jazz has NOTHING to do with the current situation. It was canned because all the very vocal windbags that are STILL angry about it weren't pledging dollars to support the programming in almost any way whatsoever. Additionally, that group of hardcore listeners was a dwindling, tiny number and thus it was done away with. Drop that argument because it holds no water. Further, you can't effectively have things both ways when trying to denigrate Malatia - either everything is his fault (including the success stories like TAL, WWDTM, and the excellent Chicago Matters) or the organization gets the credit for it all (including the failures). Demonizing Torey Malatia is ludicrous and childish. The issue most accurately described here as "the culprit" in the station's financial woes is the argument against Vocalo. And Vocalo is in its infancy. No one seems to dispute the IDEA behind Vocalo, merely its execution - which is something that requires time to develop. Yes - right now it sounds like low grade college radio with very little substance unless you listen to Bibiana or Robin. You ever listen to the first years of TAL? Even Ira Glass admits it was poorly executed. Perhaps the Board at WBEZ sees the merit in creating an alternative model to the slowly dying model of public radio. Perhaps they aren't so incredibly stupid or compliant as you think. If, after a couple of years and some fine tuning and some incredibly disciplined pruning, Vocalo becomes the model that saves the life of public radio, will you eat your shortsighted words. The saddest part of this entire thread is that, for whatever reason, eleven fine people are no longer employed at WBEZ and those that still are will miss them greatly. 'nuff said.

Nice, Fedup. You've made an eloquent defense of a pathetically inept concept with a horrendously amateurish implementation that's been foisted upon an unsuspecting (and uninterested) public radio audience. Malatia has remade WBEZ and Chicago Public Radio in his image:the music's gone, the local hosts and programs are gone, the flavorful regional sensibility has been ditched in favor of homogenized national content except for Vocalo which I challenge ANYONE to listen to for 20 minutes. Who's drinking the kool-aid, pal? Your claim that Malatia's poor programming decisions (dropping Jazz, etc) have nothing to do with the current situation smacks of the worst kind of propagandizing big lie bull****. WBEZ used to be a community resource with, contributing a wealth of music, culture, and information to as supportive and engaged audience. Torey and the board have eviscerated the soul of that station in favor of prevailing concepts they deem to represent prudent programming: no music, few local programs, endless repeats, and a new radio concept that would make even high schoolers cringe if they listened for more than 5 minutes before turning it off. I ask you again: HAVE YOU EVER LISTENED TO IT??? And you have the temerity to defend the wisdom of the board in backing these worthless and corrosive initiatives. Keep rearranging those deck chairs, fedup. You're doing a GREAT job.

I am shocked, SHOCKED to discover that Torey Malatia is making poor programming and management decisions!

"The elimination of late night jazz has NOTHING to do with the current situation. It was canned because all the very vocal windbags that are STILL angry about it weren't pledging dollars to support the programming in almost any way whatsoever. Additionally, that group of hardcore listeners was a dwindling, tiny number and thus it was done away with. Drop that argument because it holds no water." Sorry buddy, but THIS IS 100% FALSE. It has been published before that music had very good listener support and numbers. Their stats were the envy of many other major pub stations across the country. People saying or assuming mis-information have either a poor memory or are trying to re-write history. I'll agree the format change has had little effect on what is happening now, but to support your opinions with COMPLETELY FALSE information is stupid. There are people out there who know and remember actual facts, so it doesn't help your case. Some of us remember quite well Malatia's explanation of his theory that talk shows would increase listeners because they were not limited to like a specific music genre, and that everyone will soon be issued at birth an iPod filled with all the music they would ever want to be exposed to throughout their lifetime. Or something like that.

Since music has died on WBEZ I have added my previous donations to those of WDCB and WFMU which isn't even in Chicago. This will remain so until this BS ends.

[quote]Malatia decided, well before Vocalo actually existed, that he would publicly wall it off from WBEZ. He felt that a new type of public radio was needed, a type of public radio NOTHING like WBEZ or "public radio" generally, so it's long been part of the plan that WBEZ would never mention the station or put its substantial name and marketing outreach behind Vocalo, for fear that Vocalo would then end up sounding too much like "public radio."[end quote] Fabulous! Then let Vocalo live or die on its own. Malatia also said there would be a "firewall" between Vocalo and WBEZ. They would share funds, staff, resources, anything. Let's go back to that model. Malatia and Vocalo cannot have it both ways. They can't take resources and money from WBEZ while refusing to let WBEZ staffers work on Vocalo, keeping WBEZ donors in the dark about Vocalo, or keeping WBEZ talent out of its shiny new studio (while WBEZ uses duct tape to keep its old ones together). If that firewall is going to come down? It's gotta come ALL THE WAY DOWN. WBEZ talent on the Vocalo staff, Vocalo using the old studios (since they can't afford to keep the new one), Vocalo being part of the pledge drives. Firewall proposed? Firewall failed. Want to keep Vocalo? Tear the firewall down, ALL the way down. That's the ethical thing to do.

Sorry, that sentence needs to say "They (WBEZ and Vocalo) WOULDN'T share funds, staff, resources, anything." Let's go back to that model. It was Malatia's idea to begin with. Let's go with that.

I would personally help board up the Lehman Family Public Radio Center with the cheapest plywood available. As the content of WBEZ no longer resembles Chicago, it will not be a loss. Hopefully, we can use its dust to create a station of in-depth news, jazz and blues, a no-lose format that they threw out with the talent years ago.

This options are clear: FOR THOSE WHO THINK MALATIA IS RUINING THE STATION 1.. Start a petition asking for Malatia's ouster and send to the Board 2. Cancel donations and state Malatia's leadership as the reason FOR THOSE WHO THINK THE STATION IS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION 1. Turn off the radio and just download the shows you like from Itunes 2. Listen to the shows you like, donate to those programs and not the station in general FOR THOSE WHO ARE (STILL) UPSET ABOUT THE JAZZ PROGRAMMING 1. Steam one of the dozens of jazz programs on Itunes 2. Buy jazz albums, put in cd player/Itunes, set to shuffle, hit play 3. Take a time machine to 1952 and go to the Green Mill 4. Get over it. It's gone. FOR THOSE WHO HATE VOCALO 1. Don't go to the site (you won't be alone) 2. Donate really awful things to VOCALO to drive the abysmal content even further into the depths of mediocrity FOR THOSE WHO WANT WBEZ TO FOLD ALTOGETHER 1. Donate to VOCALO

"It seems that the kool-aid being drunk around here has been concocted by a vendetta that Miner has against Malatia." Oh "fedup", is that the best you could come up with? Yeah, Miner has a vendetta against you the way Woodward and Bernstein had a vendetta against Nixon. Where oh where is Bob Feder when you need him most? Oh sorry, your friend is no longer available to print your spin on things.

Some points of clarification: 1 -- "Chicago Matters" precedes Malatia. It was launched in 1990 by the Chicago Community Trust and funded by them since then. It includes work by, on, and with WTTW/Channel 11, the Chicago Reporter, and the Chicago Public Library in addition to WBEZ. Its subject matter changes each year, but its format, content, and method have remained the same throughout its 18 years of annual programming. Malatia joined WBEZ as program director in July 1993, became general manager in 1995, and president and general manager in 1996. He was never involved in Chicago Matters and I have not seen him take personal credit for it. 2 -- Like it or not (the show or the history of its origin), Malatia did co-create "This American Life" with Ira Glass in 1995 and their partnership in its management remains unbroken, even after Ira's and the program's move to New York City.

Tory Melanoma is a cancer on the air waves of Chicago Public Radio, I stopped giving them money when they bumped What-do-you-know from Saturday morning.

Actually, I remember "This American Life" being "The Wild Room" a long time ago -- 1990 or 1991?? I made a point of tuning in every Friday night for my long commute home. And I agree about "Whaddya Know" -- they should have kept that.

Vocalo is a great idea on paper, but as everyone has noted here...it has been implemented poorly. Also, there is no clear plan as to how it will ever make money. How does a board support layoffs of current working staff at an entity that makes money, in favor of continuing a project that can only lose money? There would be no 1.5 million deficit without Vocalo.

I was upset when WBEZ eliminated much of its music programming, especially all the jazz on the weekend, and I vowed to withdraw my support. Anyway, I'm still a member because I listen all the time, but I miss the music. Also, I had no idea Vocalo was getting any of my membership money. I think that's a bit shady. I'm watching you, wbez - maybe this is my last year of being a member!

In any other economy, I'd say give Vocalo a chance. But the way things have become, it is a drag on the main business of CPR, which is WBEZ. If things haven't turned around by the time the MacArthur money runs out, pull the plug and focus the CPR budget on what Sirius XM, iPods and the web can't provide: A strong focus on in-depth local news and information on WBEZ, along with the NPR news shows. And this comes from someone who's defended Malatia many times in the past. Can't this time.

I work in public radio and our fund drive pledge amounts have not decreased. In fact, we've seen an uptick. Something is wrong at WBEZ.

I work in public radio (not WBEZ) and our pledge amounts have been lower by 30%. You must be lying.

Why must Ron be lying? Just because several stations are struggling doesn't mean they all are tanking. It's a mark of how homogeneous NPR affiliates have become when people who work at one station think their station's health must resemble that of every other affiliate. Or something something...

But Ron seems to be saying that because his station is doing well that there is something wrong with WBEZ. Oh, no. That's exactly what he said. Based on your argument, "wha?", Ron's statement is just more pointless anti-WBEZ nonsense and is wholly irrelevant.

I think Ron was saying that BEZ can't argue that all media companies are suffering from the economy, but I don't know Ron and am not sure if the full intent of his twenty word post. Huh?, if you bring the sparkling personality you display on chat boards into the pledge room, then it's no wonder your station is losing money.

Actually, I'm not lying. It has been our experience that during financial down-times persons still support public radio and other charitable organizations, sometimes more than they did before. This is often due to the fact that people realize that non-profs have a hard time making it in these economic situations. However, for this mentality to work, these donors must believe that the organization they're contributing to is legit and trustworthy. I think that many listeners now realize that their funds are not just supporting WBEZ, but also Vocalo...and I think that they "voted" with a 30% reduction in pledges.

I'm inclined to agree with Ron. Public radio generally does well during "bad times." More people tune in during times of crisis and therefore value the service more and subsequently you usually see an uptick in financial support. Many of the managers following the lead of NPR suits have been crying about the sky falling because they don't see the tremendous increase in numbers that happened for quite a while during the years leading up to and riding on through 9/11/2001 events. Public radio now gets ratings and financial support that they could not even fathom 15 to 20 years ago. But the growth has flat-lined and at times looks like it is dipping back down. There could be a week-long conference on the reasons, but generally many of the corporate-minded managers are in a panic about stagnation and can't possibly live with the idea of serving a loyal but stagnant audience. To them that means nothing but utter failure. If public radio managers were really interested in growing audience, more of them would follow this fellow's advice: http://radiosutton.blogspot.com/2008/08/if-public-radio-really-wants-to-grow.html However, I seriously doubt managers are genuine about wanting actual growth within diverse communities, but rather want programming that has a sense of diversity, but in actuality it really only serves and appeals to more lily-white north shore listeners that they believe they have not completely tapped out yet. I say make Vocalo true to its name's linguistic roots and make it a Spanish-language bilingual public radio station. Talk about under-served demographic. Surely that community could use something more than the Spanish pop music stations on the right end of the FM dial. Or, maybe even better, take a multi-cultural approach as the main focus of the station, rather than having the one "Latino USA" show and the one "Tavis Smiley Show," which instead seems to be the plan in place throughout public radio.

Please please please please let them get rid of Sound Opinions. Two old guys whose best descriptor is "Great" and "really great" whose idea of new music is the tepid comeback albums of guys (and every few months, a gal) who they loved back in the eighties and nineties. I like Mission of Burma, but come on! The music news and their fogey analysis, every week, can be summed up "Well, the internet has done it again, Jim!" and "Greg, it's about time the corporate ogres at the major labels got a clue!" To them, a breaking artist is Lily Allen or whatever Pitchfork thought was hot 10 months ago. In a city with so many inspired critics, bloggers, Pitchfork included...and we get stuck with two outmoded guys jerking off Peter, Bjorn and John in order to seem hip.

Look, this is just the "tipping point" - it's been clear for a long time. The stations been going to hell every year since Malatia took over. It has become increasingly irrelevant. Theres a reason young people don't listen to it. Vocalo the way he does it aint the answer. He insults us there, he insults us on WBEZ - where so little of the local stuff is professional. Man he hires a lot of bad people and a few good and keeps the bad ones in their jobs! Someone here wrote and they're right, that a bunch of radio producers with talent don't even consider working there because they know that Malatia's a bad boss who focuses on his very crazy projects. Always has. He thinks hes something that hes not. With the Ira Glass thing~ I know people who worked on the show for a long time. Ira Glass was doing a similar show on WBEZ before Malatia got there. Malatia only let Ira Glass keep doing it. That's all. Ira Glass is the creative one, Malatia has never had much at all to do with that show and my friends there say they would laugh at the way Malatia ran his radio station and all the not good stuff on the air. So what do we have here? A LOT of bad at WBEZ. Not much good there. He let a few people do a few interesting things but its so minor compared to what he has his people focus on. And teh station goes down and down into irrelevance, a wasted and lost resource since Malatia took the helm. Why would they keep him? Many public radio stations around the US sound a lot more professional than ours. Most are not having the financial troubles. Most are not having the bad atmosphere that WBEZ has for the people working there. This current situation should just be the last straw. If the board keeps him on after this, something is really wrong. It is not as if he is contributing a lot, inspiring people, finding great talent. He isn't. Chicago is hip. Alive! Let's get together and make a new Chicago Public Radio that really sounds as interesting as we are. Imagine, what a new WBEZ could sound like!

Gianofer Fields gone? come on this is just not what is needed right now. bring her back.

It’s such a pleasure to read people with the facts, a knowledge of WBEZ’s history, and a clear understanding of what’s going on. For a while WBEZ allowed critical comments on their own website but these mysteriously disappeared after the commentary cut too close to the truth, so it’s been a while since I’ve been able to feel like I’m not alone in my analysis. Malatia has been a disaster for Chicago Public Radio. If the house is on fire, he’s the arsonist. The problem, though, is deeper than that. After all, he was brought in after the little palace coup that let the directors of the new Community Licensee flex their muscles and remove Ken Davis. To understand the governance of the station you have to look at the way the Board is chosen. To the extent they are self-selected they are not accountable to the community as such, so long as they are content with whatever level of financial support Chicago Public Radio is able to draw. Right now Malatia is in a desperate drive to deflect personal responsibility for his incompetence by attributing the problems at Chicago Public Radio to the poor economy. And as long as he can play to the prejudices of the Board he will succeed, even as the station continues to decay. The question is: how do you get the attention of the people who have the authority to fire the “Evil Auntie” of Public Radio? The problem of how to get the Board to pay attention is exacerbated by a perspective well represented by “Mpeg,” “johnnie,” and “fedupwiththewhining.” These people – who appear to be insiders and infighters – have sealed themselves off from facts through a kind of belligerent defensiveness. This is a sneering, snarling nastiness that lets them represent themselves as tough-minded, hard-knuckled operatives serving the interests of an inevitable future. (For instance, all this talk about how ‘it’s over and it’s not coming back,’ when it never went away – ‘it’ just shifted over to WDCB. As did, it seems, many listeners and their pledges.) They are quick to misrepresent, quick to attack, and apparently incapable of listening. It is kind of sad for people working in audio not to be able to listen, but the combination of characteristics does have the virtue, for them, of creating an environment that has been hermetically sealed for their protection. They will be able to rationalize any disaster and excuse any failure. And as long as they are the ones giving information to the Board it will be about as flexible and adaptive as any other absolutist government that can’t be bothered to step out of the palace and see what’s happening on the streets. So, once again, the rot starts at the top. Someone will have to take a good, hard look at the composition of the Board, and determine what kind of appeals could rouse a majority to clean house. Here’s a warning, though: If these are people beholden to the city’s power elite, you won’t get much of a response. Just like you won’t get effective local coverage on WBEZ as long as the station enjoys a $1 per year lease in a prime location, courtesy of Mayor Daley and his minions, if the board members are also on a golden choke leash nothing will change. The station will be starved. And, since there are no local alternatives, this will be the death of NPR-based public radio in the Chicago area. It will require those interests, conveniences, and necessities of the public that can only be served through non-commercial sources to be served through another route entirely. It may be that the board members can be persuaded. On the other hand, it may be time to start looking for alternative media. (And I don’t mean Vocalo.)

If Mark Jeffries can come to his senses, surely CPR board can. Kudos Mark.

Wow. There are some here who say "Give Vocalo a chance, it's new!" Just a few, but some. So, I'll play ball. I'd like to hear the exit strategy. Anything that we're investing millions in HAS to have an exit strategy, right? Because that is good fiscal management. So, let me hear from Malatia what success would look like for Vocalo (in numbers...listeners, demographics, etc.) and what it would look like--in numbers--when CPR has decided that Vocalo isn't going to work out. And if it doesn't work out, what is the plan then? I imagine that the CPR Board, in being responsible stewards of the not-for-profit funds, must have asked for and obtained these details before approving such a massive amount of money to be spent? And the original writers of the grants with which Vocalo was founded, yes? Because if there are numbers that could measure the success or demise of any other program, such as 848 or Hello Beautiful, I'm sure that they exist for Vocalo as well. If CPR is being an ethical and responsible steward of donor funds, that is.

By the way. Before those who don't understand the term "exit strategy" try to label me as elitist for using the term, here is a definition: The planned exit of an owner from their business or a project manager from their project. You see, without an exit strategy, investors could continue to pour money into something that isn't meeting the original goals of its creators/investors or is draining resources from other projects. Why wouldn't someone like Malatia pull the plug on Vocalo or any program even if it wasn't meeting its goals? There could be many reasons: -ego-involvement with the project (if this project fails, I'm a failure. I don't want to be a failure, so let's keep it going at all costs), -denial that things are going badly, -things deteriorate so slowly that momentum keeps it going even though it is failing, -avoidance of being confronted by others with "I told you so", -avoidance of the unpleasantness of dissolving the project and staff, -Sunk Cost dilemma (the costs of starting the project are so huge that it is hard to admit that the money was ultimately wasted, leading to more and more waste over time) If the CPR board wants to delay the unpleasantness of ousting Malatia, the very LEAST that they could do to be responsible stewards and respectful of donors is to: 1) Outline the success goals of Vocalo versus the exit strategy of Vocalo; 2) Clearly decide...firewall or no firewall? Complete division of WBEZ and Vocalo or integration of the two (which would include sharing staff, programming, pledge drives, etc. across both projects); 3) Inform WBEZ donors very specifically in a mailing and on air, of the existence of Vocalo and its effects on donor funds. Very simple really.

As a former employee, it is sad to see the inevitable crash and burn of Torey's dream machine. Yes, he understood and capitalized on Ira's genius. But the day to day was depressing...under his leadership, mediocrity was rewarded, pet projects were sustained whether profitable or not, and attempts by lower ranking producers and others to unionize were queitley squashed while his pets enjoyed sweetheart deals. There was alot to be learned operating in this dysfunctional environment, but it is not healthy. It is time for Torey to move on. Change is good. Of course, with no competition, Torey has been successful. There's no where else for public radio listeners to hear public radio with local news in Chicago.

While I feel bad for anyone who has lost their job, since I like Torey, I feel the need to add a comment. Of the 12 people fired, only 4 should have stayed. The rest were either rude, incompetent, unable to work in a team setting, disruptive to the workplace, unprofessional, uncooperative or served no useful purpose. I had the incredible misfortune to have to work with them, so I speak from experience. As much as I like Torey and could see what his vision was for Vocalo, yes he made a mistake. He went overboard staffing and building a seperate studio for a project that wasn't off the ground yet. That bugged me too, but why are you all ripping him a new one as if he hasn't been there to build CPR to the great station that it is today? Trust me, I believe that he should have eliminated more of the Vocalo staff too. Yes, Vocalo has been a drain on our resources, but so has Third Coast. They were never fully funded either. No one whined like this and gave Torey a hard time when we took over WLUW. Give it up.

Thank you 'BeenThere2.' Yes, the _mediocrity_. That's the worst part about it all. And that word sums up the station during Torey's time there. Now I understand how it got that way, thank you. Mediocrity rewarded. I'm sure seeing that day to day is depressing. Listening to it is too. Sorry 'Reality Check' it is hardly a great station and he hardly built it up. He spent millions we gave him on that _mediocrity_. Most of the local sound has gotten pretty bad over the years. I second 'BeenThere2": "Of course, with no competition, Torey has been successful. There's no where else for public radio listeners to hear public radio with local news in Chicago." And I do agree: "It is time for Torey to move on."

I worked there too. BeenThere2 is exactly right.

Ditto.

"Reality Check" didn't you forget to add INSUBORDINATE in your vile laundry list describing former employees? But that is your opinion of everyone that disagrees with management, which is almost everyone you work with. That must be so frustrating for you. Why do you continue to subject yourself to working with such awful people? You poor thing. Any resemblance you have to a human being is purely coincidental.

Every station I worked at before WBEZ was, by-and-large, an inspired, fun and creatively-inclined work environment. WBEZ smashed that to pieces. WBEZ is an unhappy work environment steered by a rigid, uninspired management who are clueless about team-building and obsessed with the station's reputation. The producers do their best, but how much can they really do with inept leadership?

Wow. I knew from talking to donors and people connected with WBEZ that things were bad there, but I never expected such a response to Miner's columns. Just...wow. For the few Malatia apologists, I'm curious. How do we measure the performance of a General Manager for the station? Is it an increase in funds and donors? Is it the ability to attract and retain top talent? Is it the ability to increase ratings? Because, I think on all of these counts, Malatia's management has not met performance standards. It's just that plain. As a board member or one of his managers, you may like the guy one-on-one. But he isn't doing his job. And it isn't enough to say, "Well, I don't want to fire him because I like him." He needs to be more responsible for an entity that the public gives money to. He needs to more responsible for leading the programs that bring local/world news and local culture to one of the nation's largest cities. And he needs to be more responsible for the fair and supportive management of a staff of talent. He's not making the grade. This isn't just about him anymore. This touches much more than just him.

You people are afraid of change there are tons of folks who understand the necessity of vocalo...along with BEZ grow up fools!

It's hard to believe that anyone (other than people who work there) would defend vocalo as it stands. The idea is great. The station itself is awful.

NPR lays off 64 people. I'll bet it's Torey Malatia's and Vocalo's fault.

When WBEZ killed jazz programming I stopped contributing. Malatia is problem #1. WDCB is preferable, but with a weaker signal. Sad situation at WBEZ.

NPR announced lay offs of 64 people and eliminates 21 unfilled positions. Guess what, Torey doesn't run NPR. This country is in a financial crisis, but most of you can only focus on the fact that you don't want anything to change, so you make Torey the bad guy. Torey cares about the people who were let go. One of the things that was said over and over in our surveys was how great Torey is and what a wonderful and fun work environment we have even if we all say that we are over worked. Now you want to turn on him and bash him. Vocalo is not great radio yet, but at least give them a chance to figure it out. As far as Jazz is concerned, people listened, but didn't donate. Every program costs money, without the money the program eventually dies. NPR is cutting two shows, is that Vocalo's fault too? By the way, I'm not a manager. I'm just a regular staff member who Torey has shown concern for even though he didn't have to care.

It's nice, reality check, that Torey took you under his wing. I don't doubt that's true. What's also true, though, is that the man has a paranoid, grandiose, hostile streak that's led him to mistreat many others over the years. Hardly a man of his word.

"As far as Jazz is concerned, people listened, but didn't donate." KEEP UP THE LIES. YOU ARE LOSING CREDIBILITY BY THE NANOSECOND.

RC, you can't compare what WBEZ does with the NPR shows. No comparison. Even a bad NPR show is listenable. This stuff we're getting here is a joke! A lot of people who want good public radio tuned out WBEZ long ago. Sure the economy is tough. But people are also sick of the trash on WBEZ and the stories we hear about how bad it is to work there. Malatia, what you produce at Chicago Public Radio is below mediocre. You have alienated a lot of people. The jig is up. It's time to go. You are the Blagojevich of Pubic Radio.

I would like someone to sponsor a public panel. Let's get all the people together to talk about the long time mess at WBEZ. Maybe there's a reason for it that we don't know. But I doubt it. Let's get together people who worked there, people who listen. People with ideas. We'll run the meeting and the board should be there to hear what we're upset about. WBEZ is at a crisis point folks and it's just going to get worse if we don't change directions now. Let's make what's going on there ***transparent***. WBEZ is supposed to be a public resource. Critical Mass! Yes we can! Who will set this up?

Whew - I haven't listened in years, except to flip over to see if it has improved. It hasn't. Let 'BEZ die - it will reduce the air pollution in Chicago.

It's too leftist. Socialist things don't survive on their own; they have to be subsidized. Society can only afford Socialism/Liberalism when times are good because people have money to blow on it.

Reality Check -- You couldn't be MORE right about this... [quote]As far as Jazz is concerned, people listened, but didn't donate. Every program costs money, without the money the program eventually dies.[end quote] I don't know what the stats are on donations per program, so I would have to see them. But you are so right about the rest. In fact, let's engage in a little word substitution to make you even MORE right! [quote]As far as VOCALO is concerned, people didn't donate. Every program costs money, without the money the program eventually dies.[end quote] Look. Keep Vocalo on the air if you want. But Vocalo has to earn its keep. Make it part of the pledge drive and tell the WBEZ donors where their money is going. If Vocalo survives that examination and can pull its weight with a pledge drive, then power to it! If it can't? Bye. But stop expecting WBEZ listeners to continue to subsidize Vocalo without even being told that they are doing it. That's dishonest and outrageous.

Dear Torey, I know you're reading this because I can tell several of the pompously hysterical and arrogantly defensive posts above are yours. So here's my message: We will get you fired. We will oust you. It may not happen in one quarter, but we will petition the board, and we will boycott the pledge drive, until you come clean with us, the members. This is our station. The board can only tolerate so much failure, and you're already losing grants for Vocalo because they know how shitty the content is. You have a year at most, so why not just leave now and give WBEZ a chance to survive? I have nothing but contempt for you Mr. Malatia, you charlatan, as do most of your employees and probably even casual acquaintances.

Well, Jeanmari (Lovely name by the way), I find it very interesting that none of the backstabbing staff members will talk much about the MacArthur grant. Vocalo received the highest grant that we have ever received from them. Torey is not the only one who believes in their potential. Yes, I have listened to it and most of it sucks, but have you ever listened to the archives of Wait Wait or This American Life? What if those new programs had been killed after a year? They were pretty bad too, but This American Life just won an Emmy. We have to give new ideas time to flourish or fail. For crap sake, the tower just became active. Give these people a break. People are screaming about all of the people who were let go, but constantly pushing to get Vocalo canned will put even more people out of work. Why are they less worthy of a fair chance to make a legitimate living? That's not fair to them or their families either.

It's laughable to compare TAL -- even the early years -- to VOCALO. The basic premise of VOCALO is insane and not in a good way: take a bunch of people with no formal radio training or experience and give them radio shows. This is problematic for several reason, and the reasons for its negative impact on the station are obvious: 1. It demeans the professional experiences of trained producers and journalists to create a program premised on the notion that the training and experience that the current employees/producers have don't matter and aren't integral to the product. It's like starting a bakery with a bunch of bricklayers and assuming the baked goods will taste betters. It's absurd. 2. It sends a message to current staff that their current work (ALL THE HARD WORK THEY PUT INTO 3. It's a poorly-masked version of the self-loathing that seems to pervade public radio, the presumption that people who aren't FROM the public radio world can do it so much better than those who are grown from within the ranks. Now it would've been one thing for Torey to recruit a bunch of wide-eyed college djs and small-market station big thinkers to run VOCALO -- at least they would've known how to talk into a microphone and could've put together credibly produced pieces. However, in its current iteration, VOCALO is an insult to the entire profession of broadcast media, especially to the trained radio professionals who, by and large, sweat through unpaid internship after unpaid internship to work their way into the system to get a job. VOCALO spits in the face of radio professionals everywhere and its horrific quality proves that training actually matters.

I apologize for my typos, btw. To complete #2: 2. It sends a message to current staff that their current work and professional track, doesn't matter in the long-term. It's insulting.

Vocalo is a "fire escape" for the house on fire that public radio has become? You have got to be kidding. Vocalo seems to be a wrong headed attempt to cater to an internet influenced young demographic. It is bad radio, period. What's with the dumbing down of the media? There's the Red Eye, the short on news, long on gossip, Mc-Newspaper, catering to those on-the-go 20-somethings, who apparently have the attention span of a gnat. And Vocalo, the amateurish, oh so hip, public radio station, that really is nearly un-listen-able. Is this current generation of 20-somethings really that vapid and shallow? Is it too much trouble to read a grownup newspaper or listen to a radio station populated with professionals? Or does it just take too much time away from that Guitar Hero 3 party you were planning on attending?

Torey Malatia is in touch with the youth. Torey Malatia knows what's hip. Torey Malatia has a lot of young friends who have explained how the InterNets work. Hey Torey, I like how you wrote: "Torey is not the only one who believes in their potential. Yes, I have listened to it and most of it sucks" No, Torey is not the only one, there's also Torey's anonymous avatars who believe in it's potential. Wait until the next pledge drive Torey, we're going to take back the station and you are going to be about as employable as Blago by the end of the fiscal year. Hey Torey: There's more to life than your monstrous ego.

Listen, you have a leader who promised big, bold, risky answers to save a trusted Chicago institution in troubled times. It hasn't worked, doesn't show any promise of working, and people are getting laid off. This is not an emotional decision - it's the type of decisions responsible boards regardless of the type of organization they represent, HAVE to make. By straying dramatically from your core competencies as an organization in the midst of a brutal media market, you are at risk of destroying a vital piece of Chicago culture. There is literally no time to waste. If WBEZ is to survive, leadership change should happen NOW.

Wow, I didn't know that some people were so ignorant that you wouldn't bother to do some quick and easy research before you bash an entire group of people. It would have taken you 5 minutes to go to Vocalo.org and read the staff bios. You can count on one hand the number of Vocalo people who don't have radio experience. MOST of them have radio backgrounds. Urban radio hosts don't always have radio backgrounds, but because you don't care to bother yourself with those types of details, you trash people. Steve Harvey and Tony Sculfield were comedians and now have very successful radio shows in Chicago because they were given a chance to work out the kinks even though their early shows were terrible too. I see that someone told about the million dollar grant, but you all have decided to gloss over that part of the Vocalo story. I guess a million dollars doesn't matter when you want to feel indignant and self-righteous. I am just as afraid for my job as everyone else, but I still admire Torey and WBEZ. Before the lay offs, I kept hearing the same thing as Reality Check, that we had a friendly, fun work environment and we appreciated how accessible Torey and the Senior Staff have always been to us. It has shocked me how many people have come on this site to bad mouth someone so badly, when two weeks ago we had a problem with Vocalo, but we still admired Torey's idea to change the face of public radio. Vocalo has been mentioned in Current as new and innovative and Wendy Turner was named a Woman to Watch. None of that matters to you people and that's a shame. I think Vocalo sounds bad right now too because they don't have the right people working together. Steve sounds horrible with Ayana and Darlene. He probably would have fit better with Jesse or Usama. Without him, those two ladies could have had a good show. Lloyd and Wendy need to really take a good listen to the people they have together and shift things around so that the hosts complement each other. That's not happening right now and until that does, the station won't work. Vocalo can be saved and so can Chicago Public Radio. Scale back, but don't kill Vocalo before it even has a chance grow. To the people who keep feeding these stories to this site, it's a shame that you have lost your journalistic integrity. Yes, most of us know that it's our own so called journalists who are doing it. You are the people who should have had to walk.

WOW. This is like tuning into a soap opera every day. I've actually added this page to my favorites. ...but it's sad when you realize that we're talking about people's careers. Given the interactions between former and current staff and managers, WBEZ must truly be a disfunctional workplace.

I love how Malatia doesn't even have the balls to come on the air, during a pledge drive or a call in on 848 and explain to the members of the station they claim to serve where their money is going. Maybe then, as "realitycheck" writes, someone might: "still admire Torey" and "still admired Torey's idea to change the face of public radio" Lots of admiration here. Also, I love how Malatia blames this on the current financial crisis, since Vocalo has been an absolute financial sinkhole since the moment it was instituted. So "Wendy Turner was named a Woman to Watch" because she went from running pledge drives to running a radio station without pledge drives, spending money she didn't have? And, RealityCheck, I'm sure your current employees are venting on the comment section because they have "a friendly, fun work environment and we appreciated how accessible Torey and the Senior Staff have always been to us" Maybe if you didn't stab people in the back (the list is to long to name) there would be less bitterness, but you reap what you sow.

To Reality Check 2, Nice to see you still have your idealism. And that TM hasnt screwed you over yet. I guarantee you you'll be mad at him someday. Very mad, just give it time. He is a duplicitous operator. So many people have seen it its not just a rumor. As for your colleagues on Vocalo, Sorry, I don't care what their backgrounds are, it is obvious to a sane person that just about all should have never been hired. That woudl be bad enough, but its worse when there is more talent at WBEZ, and they dont have enough funds to work with. Chicago Public Radio is tanking because bad management wasted a lot of money on Vocalo and other projects in the last and has chased all the good talent away. A lot of other public radio and commercial radio stations are doing well in this current situation! A lot had their best pledge drives ever last spring. Malatia can't run the place. RC2 - You can't look at other shows elsewhere that started slowly and turned into something. That doesn't mean all shows or projects will. Anyone with a bit of a brain who saw how Malatia started Vocalo, including the bad hiring choices - which is par for him - knew it would never fly. It is an enduring embarassment. The million dollar grant - Mcarthur is based in Chicago- and cares about what Chicago Public Radio should care about. Its natural for them to fund it. But don't think they chose to fund Vocalo of all projects. Malatia only applied to them for Vocalo. He probably coudl have gotten that money for other projects, but he threw everybody and all projects at at Chicago Public Radio under the bus except for Vocalo. Just think of that million went to the news desk, what they could do with it. He thinks Vocalo is going to prove him a visionary. Hes been trying for years to create some new show - anything and he can't do it! Vocalo is what he is capable of. Thats why the place is tanking. 1. Get rid of Malatia. 2. Can Vocalo. 3. Get grants for better projects. 4. Put better programs on the air. 5. Donations and listenership will, ESPECIALLY in a tough time like this, will go way up. It's always smacks me when they say they want to serve Chicago. Do what I said above and you'll be serving Chicago much better.

Even if listenership shoots through the roof, VOCALO is already a failure. The implementation drove an unfixable wedge between Vocalo/Management and the general public affairs staff that has clearly violated trust, and faith, in his leadership. While VOCALO might eventually be considered a success (unlikely given the content) when considered separately from WBEZ, it has clearly destroyed an already unhealthy relationship between management and BEZ. Ultimately, Malatia is in charge of ALL of Chicago Public Radio, and his drive to make Vocalo work has obviously been at the expense of the rest of the station. At the very least Malatis has proven himself incapable of nurturing the fiscal and professional health of a multi-departmental organization. In organizations where accountability matters beyond big ideas, he would have been booted to the street after the fiscal improprieties were disclosed earlier this year. Given that this is public radio, though, he will be allowed to linger on as a more destructive version of the archetypal gray-pony-tailed music archivist so many in the industry are familiar with. Except he's doing more than misfiling the Bread compilation: he's bungling the long-term health of the greatest public media resource in the best city in the U.S. I wouldn't expect anything to change.

THEY RECEIVED A MILLION DOLLARS!!!!!!! Everyone who has ever worked for Torey knows that I am not him. Torey would never ever say that his baby sucks. LOL.... He definitely wouldn't say anything simply. Each email or statement is like an event. He uses lots of philosophical references and colorful phrases. They are actually pretty cool to read. I do appreciate you thinking that I am articulate enough to be him. To Reality Check 2....I agree, the people who feed these stories to someone who would be so low as to try to humiliate people by printing their names after something as personal as being fired, should have been the ones to leave. Unfortunately, no one will tell what they know. It would be a string of "I heard" anyway. Since our "journalists" have lost their integrity (Right Ben and Cate?) we aren't going to make it much longer. Thanks for having my back! My work here is done.

LOL.....Damn, I let the cat out of the bag. Let's see how Torey handles the truth.

What does "our "journalists" have lost their integrity (Right Ben and Cate?)" mean?

It means even though Malatia has tried to cover up his bilious pomp by patronizingly trying to sound normal. "Reality Check" writes... "LOL.... He definitely wouldn't say anything simply. Each email or statement is like an event. He uses lots of philosophical references and colorful phrases. They are actually pretty cool to read." He wants you to think, (a) 'it can't possibly be Malatia, he would never write "LOL"... and (b) someone is interested in his self-indulgent email rants. Nice try Torey, you Professional Douschebag, you "let the cat out of the bag" that you are coming on this page and badmouthing your best journalists. Stay classy, Malatia.

The idea that WBEZ will learn from what Vocalo does is insane. For example, Vocalo is supposed to be forging ahead by marketing itself on Facebook, but take a look at the Chicago Public Radio Facebook page and compare it with the Vocalo one. I think you can see for yourself which one is more innovative.

Now you know why Chicago is called "the windy city.

Sure Vocalo is unpopular, but it is new and grows using the resources its given. You know, like cancer.

First, I'd heard the same thing about Ben and Cate, but I definitely wasn't going to say anything. Many people who work on 3 and 3 1/2 have said the same thing. Second, to Reality Check=Malatia, no matter how much you like to crucify him, Torey isn't the type to say the things that Reality Check said about the people who were fired and he certainly wouldn't publicly down Vocalo. If you read these carefully, Fedupwiththewhining would most likely be Torey. It's a very eloquent statement, much like the emails we receive from him on a regular basis. If I get fired next week or next month, I will be hurt, disappointed and upset, but I will at no point be on this site saying that the decision to let me go came easily to or cruelly from Torey. I have never seen any CEO with tears in his eyes talking to someone who had just been let go. He feels bad for those people who were let go too. He's a human being who had a good idea, but made a mistake bringing it to fruition. None of us are perfect robots who do everything right every time. Give Torey a chance to fix this. The Vocalo staff needs their jobs as much as you or I do.

Nothing personal against Vocalo staff or WBEZ staff but we want quality radio here and that Torey Malatia is not giving it to us. He is in control and he failed. Fortunately we can all listen to internet radio or radio on our iPhones today. I am a public radio junkie, not very old, and I would never ever listen to the trash that is Vocalo. Anyway I think a lot of the local WBEZ shows are pretty pathetic. I have to listen and donate to stations that are not even in my home town. That sucks. I'm hoping more people do that so WBEZ gets the message. Please people - do not contribute until they have new management! We have to send a message. When they get new management and get better Ill contribute. I hope you will too. But right now its not good. Period. The guy had a chance and he failed. In business, don't they move on? If you listen to public radio in another major city you know this one should be better. Chicago doesn't need to suffer with this third quality station. Obviously to anyone after so any years Mr. Malatia can not make good shows and his style makes a dysfunctional workplace. Thank you for your service, now good-bye.

I'm doubly mystified: First that CPR would sacrifice any of WBEZ's stability when the station is the main reason it exists and the main reason for listener and donor support. People give money to hear WBEZ. They might do it for Vocalo to, but this hasn't been tested directly. Second, if CPR is going to divert resouces to Vocalo and Malatia believes it will be CPR's salvation, why does it have a marginal presence after a year? Especially since a large audience it part of its alleged business model. This bold new experiment should be buzz central locally and nationally. Done right it might be able to raise funds through a paypal button. Instead, it seems to have a fringe presence by accident rather than intent. I went to early public planning meetings when Vocalo was still the "Secret Radio Project" and I'd like to correct Whet's assesment. >>>Malatia decided, well before Vocalo actually existed, that he would publicly wall it off from WBEZ. He felt that a new type of public radio was needed, a type of public radio NOTHING like WBEZ or "public radio" generally<<< He words things as if Malatia originated the main concept. Wrong. The project was created by a team of people with various visions who eagerly sought input all over the city in personal meeting and online forums. In the initial stages, at least, it seemed like a truly collaborative effort I don't know what happened between than and Vocalo, but initially Malatia's main contribution was a vague mandate to innovate and a supportive attitude. Those working on the project were open about it being a WBEZ/CPR project in meetings and press releases. They said it had to stand on its own in terms of finances and resources, but this idea of hiding the WBEZ connection wasn't there. The boosting of the tower signal was already approved - and allegedly funded, though that's now in doubt - and the Secret Radio Project was meant to use that as a way to experiment on the cheap. There was also allegedly start up money, though that might have been burned through in the planning stage. >>>so it's long been part of the plan that WBEZ would never mention the station or put its substantial name and marketing outreach behind Vocalo, for fear that Vocalo would then end up sounding too much like "public radio."<<< As long as Vocalo doesn't look or act like WBEZ, acknowldging the connection wouldn't hurt its brand. This purity concept sounds like an excuse for hiding the financial structure. And hide it they didn. Before the recent pledge drive I was contacted by a staffer for suggestions about the drive. I mentioned the Vocalo controversey and the staffer responded this was a good point and they'd get back to me. They didn't. When I called to pledge I asked about Vocalo and the volunteer claimed to have no idea what I was talking about. Calls to listener services to get an explanation also went unanswered. I'm not saying I wouldn't want to pay for Vocalo, but I'm not giving any money to Public Radio which can't be straight with the public. Meanwhile, Vocalo's own public profile has been mysteriously low, as I said. This is part of what makes me suspect Vocalo still has focus issues. After a year of preplanning and one of execution it seems stuck in the unfinished experiment identity, which I question. The final product sounds like something that doesn't quite know what it is, though it has improved over time. Perhaps this lack is intentional, but how long can Vocalo amble along especially if it's meant as the escape hatch for the WBEZ pyre? Also, I question Vocalo's business model a bit. Bascially Malatia seems to be saying get rid of most staff overhead and exploit the listener's urge to create for free content. After jettisoning DJs from WBEZ - a choice I don't mind - he now seems eager to jettison all professional journalism for nothing but DJs. But I suspect he's grasping at straws. Vocalo is just a symptom of a station were a tough financial situation is made worse with poor management and some poor handling of listener support.

Sadly, my first comment is missing some parts. I'm doubly mystified: First that CPR would sacrifice any of WBEZ's stability when the station is the main reason it exists and the main reason for listener and donor support. People give money to hear WBEZ. They might do it for Vocalo to, but this hasn't been tested directly. Second, if CPR is going to divert resouces to Vocalo and Malatia believes it will be CPR's salvation, why does it have a marginal presence after a year? Especially since a large audience it part of its alleged business model. This bold new experiment should be buzz central locally and nationally. Done right it might be able to raise funds through a paypal button. Instead, it seems to have a fringe presence by accident rather than intent. I went to early public planning meetings when Vocalo was still the "Secret Radio Project" and I'd like to correct Whet's assesment. >>>Malatia decided, well before Vocalo actually existed, that he would publicly wall it off from WBEZ. He felt that a new type of public radio was needed, a type of public radio NOTHING like WBEZ or "public radio" generally<<< This sounds as if Malatia originated the main concept. Wrong. The project was created by a team of people with various visions who eagerly sought input all over the city in personal meeting and online forums. In the initial stages, at least, it seemed like a truly collaborative effort I don't know what happened between than and Vocalo, but initially Malatia's main contribution was a vague mandate to innovate and a supportive attitude. Those working on the project were open about it being a WBEZ/CPR project in meetings and press releases. They said it had to stand on its own in terms of finances and resources, but this idea of hiding the WBEZ connection wasn't there. The boosting of the tower signal was already approved - and allegedly funded, though that's now in doubt - and the Secret Radio Project was meant to use that as a way to experiment on the cheap. There was also allegedly start up money, though that might have been burned through in the planning stage. >>>so it's long been part of the plan that WBEZ would never mention the station or put its substantial name and marketing outreach behind Vocalo, for fear that Vocalo would then end up sounding too much like "public radio."<<< As long as Vocalo doesn't look or act like WBEZ, acknowldging the connection wouldn't hurt its brand. This purity concept sounds like an excuse for hiding the financial structure. And hide it they didn. Before the recent pledge drive I was contacted by a staffer for suggestions about the drive. I mentioned the Vocalo controversey and the staffer responded this was a good point and they'd get back to me. They didn't. When I called to pledge I asked about Vocalo and the volunteer claimed to have no idea what I was talking about. Calls to listener services to get an explanation also went unanswered. I'm not saying I wouldn't want to pay for Vocalo, but I'm not giving any money to Public Radio which can't be straight with the public. Meanwhile, Vocalo's own public profile has been mysteriously low, as I said. This is part of what makes me suspect Vocalo still has focus issues. After a year of preplanning and one of execution it seems stuck in the unfinished experiment identity, which I question. The final product sounds like something that doesn't quite know what it is, though it has improved over time. Perhaps this lack is intentional, but how long can Vocalo amble along especially if it's meant as the escape hatch for the WBEZ pyre? Also, I question Vocalo's business model a bit. Bascially Malatia seems to be saying get rid of most staff overhead and exploit the listener's urge to create for free content. After jettisoning DJs from WBEZ - a choice I don't mind - he now seems eager to jettison all professional journalism for nothing but DJs. But I suspect all that talk is grasping at straws. Vocalo is just a symptom of a station were a tough financial situation is made worse with poor management. Plus some acts which alienate listeners, which is unwise when every donation counts.

>>>Malatia decided, well before Vocalo actually existed, that he would publicly wall it off from WBEZ. He felt that a new type of public radio was needed, a type of public radio NOTHING like WBEZ or "public radio" generally<<< Malatia had a hands off planning of the concept. The project was created by a team of people with various visions who eagerly sought input all over the city in personal meeting and online forums. In the initial stages, at least, it seemed like a truly collaborative effort I don't know what happened between than and Vocalo, but initially Malatia's main contribution was a vague mandate to innovate and a supportive attitude. Those working on the project were open about it being a WBEZ/CPR project in meetings and press releases. They said it had to stand on its own in terms of finances and resources, but this idea of hiding the WBEZ connection wasn't there. The boosting of the tower signal was already approved - and allegedly funded, though that's now in doubt - and the Secret Radio Project was meant to use that as a way to experiment on the cheap. There was also allegedly start up money, though that might have been burned through in the planning stage.

Give yourself fifteen minutes and go back and read some of your favorite quotes, and those that made you question its source, those that were just plain clueless…maul over the content, read counter-arguments and write yourself. Get involved. Now take that concept to a higher level – that is the concept of Vocalo. Now if you hear that kind of stuff on the airwaves – how long could you stand the dialogue? I don’t know about you. Sometimes I like the drama; ONLY SOMETIME. But most times I want to say - turn that Shit OFF, SHUT THE FUCK UP…YOU TALK TOO MUCH. Whats with the Babble? I think someone said it best on here – what’s with the dumbing down of media? It makes me think of Obama and the republicans calling him elitist. I like public radio…I like the news read to me, I like stories told in interesting ways, I like the talent of the journalists and the editors and I respect the profession. And I think the non-so northside listeners would like it too. And it could remain -build to be- the answer to the loss of print journalism. Build to be. Regarding some facts – the macarthur grant isn’t $1 million up front. There is no exit strategy no Cut loss plan – its built on a whim. Where are the other revenues? And it appeals to a crowd that wont pay to hear. Torey is a visionary. A big thinker. Our own Trump before Trump got here…just as egocentric and cutthroat. He will have his way. The TimesOut article on him gives the general public a view to his character. And check out the picture, the staging of the pens!!!

What if he's trying to deliberately sacrifice Public Affairs, so that Malatia can say "I told you so" when Vocalo is the only thing left standing, after he cancels Sound Opinions & Third Coast and Wait Wait moves to LA as This American Life has moved to NY? As Torey/"fedupwiththewhining" says: "If, after a couple of years and some fine tuning and some incredibly disciplined pruning, Vocalo becomes the model that saves the life of public radio, will you eat your shortsighted words." Meaning, of course, that he plans to make sure that only Vocalo is left after he starves WBEZ. "Fire escape or bust!" he says, as he climbs further and further up the burning building, and more and more of the people who can think for themselves decide it's time to head back down the building.

Ding, ding, ding! "a thought" get's the prize for cutting straight through the clutter and right to the bulls eye. Malatia has done exactly the same thing multiple times before. Until he finally gets caught (by the board - or rather if THEY ever actually start to have ethics and care about the place and not just care about having their names attached to it) he will continue to do what has worked for him all along: have the guise of hands tied behind his back, showing crocodile tears to the faces of staff, while behind their backs he pushes in the knives as he forwards his own agenda. "Fire escape or bust" - you can count on it. Someone call 911 already!

Reality Check, Were you around during the Odyssey days? It seems that was a Torey pet project also. It hung around for quite sometime for a program that I considered not very good. I think the show's concept was good but it's execution was pretty bad. This was mainly due to the host. Gretchen Helfrich seemed very nice but technically awful. She talked very fast, so fast in fact, that at times what she was saying would become an unintelligible babble. She had this incredibly annoying habit of interrupting her guests to identify who was talking just about every single time that a guest would open their mouth. I understand that she thought she was "directing traffic", as it were, but when your guests consist of one male and one female I'm sure the audience will figure out who is who. Her questions did not get the best out of her guests. Often they seemed designed to show that Gretchen could hold her own with a guest rather than solicit insight. All these seemed to be very correctable problems so I began to wonder as the years rolled on by and I would tune back in now and again if anyone ever said anything to her because her bad habits never changed. A more intellectual, high minded talk show would certainly have worked but with the correct execution - meaning host. It works at WNYC out of New York City with a show formerly titled "New York & Company" which is now called the Leonard Lopate Show after it's host. It's a pretty great show covering the topics Odyssey did. It truly is one of the great public radio shows. The success of the Leonard Lopate Show is, of course, due to it's hosts force of personality. Odyssey stayed on the air for 8 years and never seemed to get any better. I would check the WBEZ web site to see how it's syndication was doing every once in awhile and I'm pretty sure not more than 6 other stations ever picked it up. How did it stay on the air so long? All I could figure, that it was Torey's baby and he couldn't let it go. BTW, I guess I should mention I volunteered for quite a few pledge drives in the early 2000s and heard many rumors and gossip about various programs and goings on about the station but never really heard much about Odyssey.

Torey Malatia sounds like he suffers from James Gandolfini's Soprano's character, the sad little clown, conflicted but criminal

another pledge drive today - what up? and why can't donors demand how their gifts are used? I heard that money given to chicago public radio is spent across the board but half the people arent even aware that it is funding something they know nothing about? is that legal and if so is that moral? why would people stand for that? i dont think Chicago public radio is on my christmas list this year

If Malatia's design is to undo, or patently destroy, decades upon decades of work to make WBEZ one of the best and most reliable public radio stations in the country, then he deserves to be promoted to Emperor. And if also contained within his plan is to kill the absolutely INVALUABLE resource and connector and incubator for independent producers that is the Third Coast International Audio Festival (and with all the layoffs, there's gonna be more indies out there than full-time employees) then he deserves a gold star. And if he is delusional enough to think that the decent talent of Vocalo is going to become a go-to source and SUSTAINABLE project for non-public radio types who have an internet's-worth of incredible talent and shows to stream or download at any time, then he is the king of the pysch ward. How much it must suck to work at a station where your general manager thinks the kind of work you're doing is obsolete, and thinks that the audience you're currently reaching isn't important enough to keep. RIP Chicago Public Radio.

This guy is right-> Malatia--- Until he finally gets caught (by the board --- he will--- have the guise of hands tied behind his back, showing crocodile tears to the faces of staff, while behind their backs he pushes in the knives as he forwards his own agenda. THT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE DOES!!!!! HE'S A HORRIBLE MANAGER! TIME TO RID US OF HIM!! I've seen him stab sooo many people. And pretend to care. TIME FOR NEW BLOOD AT CHICAGO PUBLIC RADIO PLEASE BOARD PLEASE! What is the benefit of keeping him?

SO glad you mentioned Odyssey. That WAS, yes it was Malatia's pet project before Vocalo. I'm telling you he poured literally millions of your dollars into it. ask to see the books. they should be public. millions of dollars. it wasn't ever going to fly. How does he make these decisions? He makes pet projects. But he doesn't know how to hire, doesn't know how to manage. That show went down in flames. After he spent millions of dollars you donate on it. Did you know that? DO you know how he wastes your money? Now hes ruining WBEZ with Vocalo. If what you hear you think is okay then think what a good manager could give you! WBEZ has a program director at like $100,000 a year who is really not up to the job. $100,000 a year! His News Director at WBEZ makes like $100,000 a year but puts some really bad s*** on the radio. Problem is not economy but bad management. They have money - they waste it. So many great journalists out of work now, but Malatia cant see to hire them. To Chicagoans, please do not donate until changes are made. Board members, help out. What do you wait for? Time for change! New people would be good for the place. It's too dysfunctional.

People who think WBEZ is still considered one of the best public radio stations in the country are delusional.

There's an article about Vocalo in the November 2008 Current Magazine - which covers public radio business. It's at: http://www.current.org/radio/radio0821vocalo.shtml Despite being an article meant to boost Vocalo, the details aren't flattering. 1. Vocalo has taken 1.1 million dollars from WBEZ in the last two years. The same amount at the shortfall which caused the layoffs. 2. Vocalo's cost was supposed to be affordable because it would use an existing Indiana radio tower. Except CPR didn't have permission to do this when it approved the project. They failed to get it and chose to build a new tower for $2 million - Vocalo's entire annual budget. 3. Despite the touted MacArthur grant, Vocalo has failed to acquire other grants and funding. It may take even more money from WBEZ. 4. Vocalo staff has gotten favorable treatment: "DeRose recalls that when all of Vocalo.org’s host-producers received BlackBerrys, WBEZ reporters still lacked them." 4. Vocalo is not a unique public participation project and the manager admits it hasn't lived up to its mission. It's important to remember that WBEZ is the reason and source for nearly ALL of funds given by listeners and donors. Vocalo has failed to meet its funding goals and it has exponentially increased in cost. It's not just a disappointing side project - it's helped destabilized WBEZ.

I listen to 'BEZ in the drive times regularly and have NEVER heard of VOCALO.

Lewis Lazare seems like he would fit right in at Vocalo. Basic factual information is wrong, and he can't even get the name of the organization right. He doesn't seem to grasp that Chicago Public Radio is the name of the organization. Also, "no on-air talent got fired" ???? Has he EVER listened to the station? Does this guy even know that public broadcasting exists? And what an ace reporter he is jumping right on this story nearly a week after the news broke. Rather, the headline of his column on Thursday was the horrible non-transparency of ABC-7 reporter Dan Ponce's music group appearing on ABC network without disclosing that information - surely a travesty in light of the current state of news media, right? And that story is worthy of seven paragraphs of copy space, but the major crisis that is happening at WBEZ gets two factually incorrect sentences? Major media in this city has gone completely to shit. From Lazare on Dec 11: WBEZ money woes Chicago public radio station WBEZ-FM (91.5) is dealing with a significant drop-off in fund-raising by cutting 11 full-time staffers, or about 9 percent of its work force. The cuts involved no on-air talent, focusing instead on producers and administrative staff.

I just want to be clear that I have made no comments on this board under my own name or any others. I am not interested in being involved in these conversations. I find the situation regarding my colleagues who lost their jobs to be terribly unfortunate. I respect them deeply and would never do anything to violate their right to privacy (as I understand that was outrageously insinuated by someone?). I know there are people from the organization posting here. Please leave me and my name out of the discussion. Many thanks.

I think Vocalo is a great idea and the on-air end result has potential, but the business decisions do nothing but make Vocalo financially unviable. I get the idea of getting funds without using pledge drives, but Vocalo does no audience fundraising at all. There's no mention of listener support on-air or online, not even in the Vocalo store (which is barely visible save a link so small it's like an afterthought). CPR claims Vocalo must hide all signs of "public radio" for marketing reasons - a sad, evidence-free excuse for lying. Non-profits and fundraising are not impossibly uncool - the alleged target audience were part of Obama's grass roots campaign fundraising and many enjoyed the benefits of non-profit programs. It's bad enough Vocalo loses money while not raising it, but it's unforgivable that Malatia props up his pet project with money raised by WBEZ's hard work while declaring the station a dead business model. If it's so dead, why can't Vocalo pay for itself? If Malatia truly believed in Vocalo, he'd be doing everything possible to make it financially self-sufficient and really seeking those alternative fundraising models. Instead he's spouting jargon while things fall apart.

Frustrated Vocalo Supporter - I liked your post, I agree with much of it. But I need to know how you Vocalo is a great idea? What is great about it?

In theory, Vocalo has great sound and social potentinal. A mix of music and short audio work could be as fun as, to use a WBEZ comparison, a non-stop This American Life with longer, better musical breaks. Listener submissions open the airwaves to greater diversity of voices speaking for themselves. In theory, talented DJs and producers would craft on-air quality while a wider, less polished range of submission could be presented online. In practice, Vocalo can lack focus and form. There's a tension between the interactive mission and and the artistic one, which sounds like awkward, disjointed talk radio. This might partially be due to flawed DJs, but apparently they're expected to seek and manage audience input, do creative mixing and talk at the same time. This is a challenge of divergent tasks and it's not suprising when the end result sounds like its trying several things halfway.

If a previous Reader story is right, and it's included in the final figure, WBEZ's shortfall is $900,000, not 1.5 million, vith Vocalo responsible for a $600,000 shortfall. This is the "fire escape"? I'd call it a case of arson. Sure, pursue more adventurous programming geared to lure in younger listeners, but the train wreck that is Vocalo is the audio equivalent of throwing s--t at the wall to see what sticks. And guess what? Younger listeners tend to not donate or pay for downloads, etc.. What BEZ needs to do is build on a current line-up which, even with the tragic loss of jazz programming, is still pretty solid. And then they need to steer their fundraising efforts more seriously toward podcasts, with incentives for podcast subscribers to donate. Yes, new media has to be considered in the WBEZ budget. But it was not so long ago when this station was setting records for pledge drives. In an economy sure to struggle for several years, the answer is to right the boat...not to try and launch another one. Malatia must go.

Joel Wicklund: I understand your frustration as someone who likes both WBEZ and Vocalo. The point of Vocalo was maximizing bang for the buck with a radio / internet hybrid which uses listener created content. It was supposed to be COST CONSCIOUS as well as innovative. When the signal boost didn't get approval, buying a new tower was a bad budget decision and ignored the mission. The tower cost $2 million - equal to Vocalo's yearly operating. This put Vocalo in semi-limbo and scaled back promotion and outreach - which makes no sense as a large and interactive audience is Vocalo's entire reason for being. Imagine if the money had been spent promoting and improving Vocalo's mission and sound. A high profile, thriving Vocalo might have been able to fund its own tower with donations and grants. Instead it floundered in semi-obscurity for a year and sucked up WBEZ funds while breaking the bank for a weak signal at crowded point on the dial. The frequencies around 89 are packed and Vocalo has trouble getting through the static. It's nice that Tori appreciates innovation, but it's clear he's ill suited to carry it out. Both Vocalo and WBEZ supporters should want him to go.

Yes Vocalo was supposed to be innovative. The concept isn't the problem. But the way Malatia ran it it had to fail. Even without signal and tower problems he would not be the man to make it work. He can hardly run WBEZ, ask almost any of the people who work there. Why let him of all people try Vocalo with all that hard-earned pledge money? Bad execution. He tried, he failed. He failed a lot at WBEZ I think. I have heard so many bad stories recently about what a bad place it is to work. What's wrong with change? Others lost their jobs there, why does the person responsible for the failure get to stay?

Vocalo has claimed from the beginning that it's mission was to showcase under-represented people and communities. So it's sort of odd that they would fire Darlene and Usama; a black woman and an Iraqi immigrant respectively. And inarguably, two of the strongest hosts on vocalo. Which makes me wonder if it wasn't intentional. Why wait for the ship to sink, eh? Most of the remaining host/ producers at vocalo are insufferable, ego-driven bores who are all as individually clueless on the concept of vocalo as the next guy. Oh, I forgot to mention many of them are also white, liberal, over-educated, and economically well off, exactly like the public radio listenership Malatia claimed he wanted to veer away from. In essence, vocalo is a bunch of well-meaning frauds flopping around with little direction other than to appeal to a not so vague "under-represented community." This translates into playing a lot of commercial hip hop and r&b when at a loss. Insulting to say the least.

Notice NPR cut jobs by cancelling it's least performing shows. WBEZ cuts reporters,producers, and Third Coast (which brings some of the best journalists to Chicago) and keeps it's experiment.

It's obvious that the majority of the people writing here are from the station which makes sense, since management has given us no forum to discus the 91.5/Vocalo issue or anything else, for that matter. But why do comment threads always have to disintegrate into mean, childish rants and finger pointing? For some reason, I would think all of us at the station would be a little bit more mature than that. It's cowardly and , it detracts from any validity that your point may have had, and turns the whole conversation into something that reasonable people wouldn't want to touch with a ten foot pole.

Maybe you're from the inside, mom, but I'm not...I just hear something that sucks and calls 'em like I hear 'em. It might feel good to tell yourself that these are all insiders talking about how bad this experiment sounds - but that's just another lie you're telling yourself to keep moving forward with this insanity.

As another person who has no vested stake in this beyond my membership, what is really distressing is that this is the ONLY place that Vocalo's sustainability is being discussed. Why should we have to learn about the station from the Reader instead of from the institution to which we donate? Are they trying to alienate us?

Dear mom, How often do you LISTEN to the station? I don't feel like I'm being mean or childish. Frustrated, yes. Honest, yes. When Malatia goes against his own mission statement by hiring the individuals he initially chose for vocalo, then hastily tries to hire as many "voices from da hood" as possible to slant things back on track, then fires two of the only interesting, thoughtful hosts on staff who actually do fit the mission statement's goals, uh... wtf?? It's DISINGENUOUS and frighteningly misguided. Someone somewhere doesn't know what the hell s/he's doing. Isn't it reasonable, not "cowardly," to think that's coming from the top?

Dear mom, How often do you LISTEN to the station? I don't feel like I'm being mean or childish. Frustrated, yes. Honest, yes. When Malatia goes against his own mission statement by hiring the individuals he initially chose for vocalo, then hastily tries to hire as many "voices from da hood" as possible to slant things back on track, then fires two of the only interesting, thoughtful hosts on staff who actually do fit the mission statement's goals, uh... wtf?? It's DISINGENUOUS and frighteningly misguided. Someone somewhere doesn't know what the hell s/he's doing. Isn't it reasonable, not "cowardly," to think that's coming from the top?

I am not an insider and have listened to Vocalo. All forums get about 5% mean spirited and it's too bad but it's the downside of forums. If vocalo and Chicago Public Radio would listen to the comments and tips being said here, as well as make integrity be most important, Vocalo would make a big quality improvement and increase listeners. Just think if vocalo could get this kind of dialog going.(Lets face it though, Vocalo's website design is highschoolish)

Dear mom, Oh, it just occurred to me that you may be one of the insufferable hosts I mentioned in my first comment. If that's the case, allow me to be more direct. Vocalo is like a terrible dystopic nightmare straight out of Harrison Bergeron: impair the truly talented and competent, reward the mediocre with more airtime and free blackberrys. Is this the sort of populism Malatia had in mind? If you had a conscience or a clue, you'd be ashamed, not indignant.

I would encourage Wendy Turner to post an invitation for this discusion to be continued on Vocalo. I would atleast encourage vocalo to make a link for a suggestion box for what the people would like out of the radio and website. Management may be out of ideas at this time and could use the fresh imput.

Inside Mom, even if you personally have never experienced it first-hand (a fortunate few), you know there have been droves of people who have come and gone at WBEZ over the years. Talented people, who in return for all of their dedicated work received nothing but ingratitude, disrespect, and worst of all, disregard. No matter how many Lisagor, AP, or other broadcasting awards they received, the millions of dollars they raised for the organization, or the increase of audience numbers they inspired with their personality or programs. What kind emotions and reactions do you think emotionally abusive treatment like that fosters in people? Understanding and kindness? Sorry inside mom, you reap what you sow, and for the powers that be at WBEZ, it is harvest time.

It certainly seems the majority of people here are upset with the direction of WBEZ. My question is, does anyone know if there is a place to find mailing addresses or e-mail addresses for the members of the WBEZ Board, who seem so enamored of Malatia's leadership? Perhaps if an online petition were circulated and got enough reaction, it might make them reconsider their faith in him. As to "Mom," I agree these forums can get nasty and too personal, and I haven't read all the entries. But while many seem angry, I don't think fingerpointing is wrong in a case where you see a beloved institution being misled by one man. I'm not saying Malatia hasn't backed some good programs, but it's been to the detriment of others. The evening hours are now reduced mainly to re-running daytime show, uninterupted music is a rarity, and staff slashings go on while a largely unpopular "experiment" flounders. And whatever ethnic diversity Vocalo is supposed to be encouraging does not excuse programming that sounds like free-form college radio. There's a place for that -- college radio stations. Subscriber money should not be spent on an amateur enterprise that was not advertised as where our money was supposed to go. Beyond all that, Malatia's disparaging remarks towards his critics and his willingness to define the "old audience" as something dying that can't be revived or expanded upon, suggests a slash and burn managerial style that isn't appropriate for public radio. Cutting jazz music because it brought in less during pledge drives goes against the main mission of public radio -- providing for the minority tastes and concerns not provided for in commercial radio. And I'm not even a big jazz fan! In Malatia's mind, it seems, if a show doesn't have the potential to reach an audience the size of the one that "This American Life" enjoys, it's not worth nurturing. He sees himself as a visionary (always a danger anyway), but what WBEZ really needs is someone who listens to the existing audience, not someone who can't wait to bury it. If anyone knows of contact info for the board, please post it. Maybe we can get something started.

Listen, I understand why you are all angry. I'm angry too and actually, i think Vocalo has mostly been a terrible mistake for the station and I have plenty of critical things to say about it. I just think there is a way to express anger and criticism without sounding as childish and mean as some people have sounded on here. I think it really discredits your argument. Whether Vocalo is the right idea or not, the people who work there are still human beings (many of them talented and creative) and deserve some respect.

I think that, if you look past some of the expressed rage (which sounds like it has been repressed for pretty long), there are some incredibly good points that people are making here, as well as providing a valuable back story for members (or ex-members who would like to be members again, like me). Would this thread make good radio? I think this thread would be a train wreck on the radio. But would a good producer and professional journalist be able to craft a compelling story out of the content of this thread? Absolutely. And that, in a nutshell, is the difference between WBEZ and Vocalo. Vocalo is an un-edited thread. WBEZ is the craft of making radio. Look. Love Vocalo, hate Vocalo. Personally? I don't care. But don't spend the money that WBEZ listeners donate on Vocalo WITHOUT TELLING THEM. Tell them, let THEM listen to Vocalo and decide if it is worth their donations. My bet is that Malatia knows that it is not worth their donations or time and is trying his best to hide it from WBEZ listeners to avoid losing more on pledge drives. But his ego is so wrapped up in this project and his doesn't want to let the attention from Current et al. go. So, he wants to keep it going and going. He, like GWB, thought this would be a "quick and winnable war". Meanwhile, good people are being terminated and money is being wasted with no discernable benefit to the public. Overdramatic metaphor? Maybe. But hinting at the real dynamics in play. If anyone comes up with contact information for the board, I would be extremely interested in helping to reach out to them. For what it's worth, those who aren't convinced that Malatia can occasionally "dumb down" his correspondence are invited over to: http://vocaloandwbez.blogspot.com/ ...to check out the correspondence that I had with him on this. He swings pretty wildly there. And no, I'm not a WBEZ insider. I'm someone who used to donate money to WBEZ before I found out that they were intentionally hiding their funneling of donations to Vocalo. I'm in education, I'm the mom of a toddler, I live in the city but in one of the most diverse neighborhoods it has. I used to be a musician and don't have any reason to pick a fight with Malatia other than I don't believe that he is managing the station well (he didn't fire a family member or anything.) Sometimes, someone just has to speak up when they see something being mis-handled. I don't regret my reaching out to Mike Miner initially or my participation in this conversation. I think it is an important part of putting the "public" back in Public Radio.

in this thread the board members were listed above. google each - or send mail directly to them at the station. Send Help!!!!

http://www.wbez.org/AboutUs_People_Community_Meetings.aspx *Prudence R. Beidler Tony Dean *Susan McKeever *Laurence B. Ashkin Stephen W. Baird Prudence (Prue) R. Beidler Marge Collens Doris Conant Jonathan Copulsky C. Bryan Daniels Claudia Freed *Larry Keeley Jim Lecinski Lisa Lee Ken Lehman Robert B. (Bud) Lifton *James W. Mabie Kay W. McCurdy Matthew T. McGuire Ralph R. Mueller James N. Perry, Jr. Cassandra M. Pulley Alison P. Ranney Raul I. Raymundo David J. Rudis Esther S. Saks Merrill Hewson Smith Kimberly Taylor-Smith Alexander (Sandy) Stuart *Tony Weisman Don Weiss Erik E. Whitaker Bryan S. Traubert Woodward A. (Woody) Wickham ----------------- Tell your friends.

it wont help...the board is behind Torey

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Events.aspx?categoryID=1 Chicago Public Radio invites the public to its regularly scheduled Board of Directors meeting. Friday, February 27, 2009 @ 8:00 a.m. Chicago Public Radio Board of Directors Meeting Friday, April 24, 2009 @ 8:00 a.m. Chicago Public Radio Board of Directors Meeting Friday, June 19, 2009 @ 8:00 a.m. Chicago Public Radio Board of Directors Meeting Friday, September 11, 2009 @ 8:00 a.m. Chicago Public Radio Board of Directors Meeting Tuesday, December 1, 2009 @ 4:00 p.m. Chicago Public Radio's Annual Board of Directors Meeting We invite the public to our Annual Board of Directors Meeting. http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/AboutUs_People_Community_Meetings.aspx Community Advisory Council meetings January 17 Location TBD 6 p.m. March 20 Location TBD 6 p.m. May 15 Location TBD 6 p.m. July 17 Location TBD 6 p.m. September 18 Location TBD 6 p.m. November 20 Location TBD 6 p.m.

WBEZ has been doing a "special one day only" pledge this morning claiming it's "the right thing to do". Of course, they don't mention Vocalo on the air, and when I called the pledge line and asked about Vocalo. The pledge line person said they aren't allowed to say anything about Vocalo, not even that it exists, and said I had to call Chicago Public Radio HQ. This is how they are choosing to handle this crisis: stonewalling the public while asking us for money. Telling us WBEZ is so important on the air, saying the station is a burning building in meetings. Saying the audience is increasingly irrelevant while begging us for money. I told her this was a bad idea and I wouldn't give money until it was resolve. It's time for a listener revolt. I suggest everyone call the pledge line 888-915-9239. Praise to the author of the "Vocalo and WBEZ" blog; perhaps you can help spread the word. And "mom" - nothing is more irritating concern trolls trying to shut down a valid conversation with bogus scolding about civility.

I just called and said I'm withholding my pledge till they stop spending my money on "Vocalo" I hope others are doing the same.

I called and did the same...

Here's another suggestion: The managers of Vocalo have posts about station business which allow comments. So go to Vocalo, open a user account and start a discussion about the WBEZ funding issue. I'm sure they aren't happy about the money situation either. Perhaps a bit of diplomatic persuasion might at least get them to be honest about how funds are shared. Diplomacy is key, of course - we can be as rude as we want here, but Vocalo will likely ignore angry rants.

In theory Vocalo is a great project-community radio on local issues by locals-that's why I enjoy 848 so much. but WBEZ needs to come clean about where the money is going and why the building is on fire if they want their listeners to put it out. Vocalo is based on the concept pioneered by 90.5 WRTE, Radio Arte. They do a great job training community members in radio journalism and connecting national issues locally. Maybe WBEZ needs to reach out and ask for some advice.

Good point, acoco. The missions of both stations are threatened by this this foolish exclusion of the public from "public radio". It won't undo the current damage, but more honest exchange of ideas and money might stop it from getting worse. It might also give both stations what they claim to have been seeking: an audience with a strong stake and interest in keeping them going.

I also called and said I'm withholding my pledge until they can "Vocalo" and put better leadership in the station. I also know that whatever numbers we think we know about Vocalo and about WBEZ the truth will be even worse. I know that the current management regime of the station can not be trusted. I can't support them until they put someone at the top who is capable of leading and of making the stations sound professional. Does anyone have the email addresses of those board members? We should all write to them and tell them how we feel. A public radio station is a community asset to feel good about. Not this blues that we've had for so long here.

More local issues/public interest would be nice. I'm glad they're producing a few shows with local content, and Richard Steele is a class act. I've listened for years while they dance around Chicago and its politics with one-liners instead of addressing them, or fall back on easy arts stories that are cheap to produce and non-controversial, but lack substance. I'll hear the one-liner and think, ok, so what about that? Will not speculate on why it's so difficult to walk a line here.

I used to give and listen all of the time. Then programming began to get cut, times moved around and I got tired of being bombarded by fund raising. I stopped giving. I couldn't understand the demand. It seemed out of all proportion to the product realative to market size. Now I know what the problem is thanks to this forum - a program hidden from most listeners. I did not know anything about Vocalo. I also never liked TM when he came on after the fund raisers.

the general tone of much local programming is like a condescending 8th-grade teacher. Also, what's the deal with the bureaus? In a city? Robert Hughes wrote a nice piece on why our de-centralized public broadcasting system produces so little quality programming as compared to the BBC.

I'd like to thank the Reader for keeping the link to this post on the front page. It seems this is the only place with any ongoing discussion of Chicago Public Radio's problems and Vocalo. I realize it's an obscure topic, but it seems even Current, the magazine of the Public Radio business, has little interest in an ongoing debate. I wish all parties involved - especially the listener supporters - were given a more direct forum for dealing with the issue. It might even help CPR. Anyway, thanks to the Reader for giving attention to this issue.

It has been several weeks now and I have noticed the reduction in quality at WBEZ. But then again, I have never contributed any money so I am not complaining, just observing (listening?).

Hello, please change the station. Fire Tori Malatia. Please change it all at the top. This station is rudderless. It sounds bad way to much of the time. IN these tough times you've got to make a change. This is amateur hour! They'll put anything on the air. I'm not even talking about Vocala, I can't stand that. WBEZ is also terrible to listen to. You need big changes top down. PLEASE! We're all begging you!