U-Mass Lowell drops Lydon (won't pay big bucksto NPR vet)

Lowell (MA) Sun ^ | 10/16/06 | Robert Mills

[raccoonradio]

LOWELL -- Radio personality Christopher Lydon's lucrative and controversial contract with UMass Lowell to broadcast an hourlong radio show will not be renewed when it expires in December, the school's interim chancellor confirmed last night.

Interim Chancellor David MacKenzie said the move will not be effective until December, when Lydon's contract expires, but confirmed Lydon was notified that the deal will not be renewed.

"It's basically an expensive program that, given our financial situation, doesn't make sense for the university," MacKenzie said. "I just felt we had other things that were higher on the priority list."

Lydon, a renowned former host of The Connection, on National Public Radio, and a former print journalist for The Boston Globe and The New York Times, was making about $12,500 per month under the deal, in exchange for his production of Open Source, an hourlong talk show.

MacKenzie said he notified Lydon as soon as the decision was made to be "fair" and to give the longtime journalist ample time to find other sponsors.

The show is broadcast Tuesday through Friday morning. It is also broadcast on 32 public radio stations across the country, and as far away as California and Washington. Most of those stations broadcast the show in the evening.

Lydon did not return a message left at his Boston home last night, so it was not immediately clear what effect the nonrenewal of the contract will have on the show, which is produced at WGBH in Boston, and distributed by Public Radio International.

MacKenzie said the decision "came up through the chain of command" but that he is taking responsibility for it.

Because he was speaking from his home, exact details of the financial picture, as well as what will replace the show on WUML, were not available. A university spokeswoman was not yet aware of the decision.

In addition to the cost of paying Lydon himself, MacKenzie said the university was footing the bill for four people who work with Lydon, among them his longtime producer, Mary McGrath.

State Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, a Lowell Democrat, noted that as part of the deal with Lydon, the university was also expected to build a new radio station so Lydon could broadcast from Lowell, and add a communications program, in which Lydon would have been an instructor.

"I don't think we accomplished either one of those," Panagiotakos said. "Without those, the benefit on campus is very limited."

Panagiotakos and MacKenzie both said the move was not related to Lydon's performance, which Panagiotakos praised.

"He did everything he was asked and got us national exposure," Panagiotakos said. "He's into 15 of the biggest radio markets in the country, which is great for branding, but there was a local component to bring him in, and we weren't able to come up with the finances to put that together."

Though Panagiotakos is disappointed, the decision will likely be popular in the campus community. The deal with Lydon was one of only a handful of issues former Chancellor William Hogan was criticized for during his evaluation by students last year.

The student-run station's general manager, senior Nate Osit, was pleased with the news last night, and said he had never even worked with Lydon, who produces his show in Boston.

"I think it's about time that they actually came to the same conclusion that the students immediately came to," Osit said. "Hopefully, the university will now be more receptive to the ideas proposed by students and community members.

"No tears will be shed by students or the community for Chris Lydon," he added.

News of the move comes shortly after news that pollster Lou DiNatale, the university's director of public affairs, who played a role in bringing Lydon to the university, is facing a complaint that he sexually harassed a female fundraiser at the university.

On the web at: www.radioopensource.org and www.wuml.org.

[raccoonradio]

U-Mass Lowell's radio station is mostly funded by the TAXPAYERS...who are paying for a greedy NPR veteran instead of having student-run radio.

>>The student-run station's general manager, senior Nate Osit, was pleased with the news last night

[raccoonradio]

>>Open Source

Open Sore.

[Disturbin]

If you only knew how UMass spends money, this is truly (and sadly) a drop in the bucket!

[trisham]

Lydon, a renowned former host of The Connection, on National Public Radio, and a former print journalist for The Boston Globe and The New York Times, was making about $12,500 per month under the deal, in exchange for his production of Open Source, an hourlong talk show.

***************

How much does Howie earn for his show?

[GQuagmire]

"How much does Howie earn for his show?"

A lot more than Lydon did

[raccoonradio]

Some say 800 large, but maybe not. At least it's sponsor-paid money on a commercial station. the taxpayers are not funding Howie!

[GQuagmire]

Don't forget voice over commercials,books,the Herald.
Howie's doing more than OK.

[trisham]

I suppose we could email him at HOWIECARR@WRKO.COM. He'd probably be eager to set us right about the issue.

[trisham]

At least it's sponsor-paid money on a commercial station. the taxpayers are not funding Howie!

************

Exactly right. WRKO can pay Howie whatever they think he's worth.

[GQuagmire]

I doubt that highly

[trisham]

:)

[lactoseintolerant]

To be clear...WUML is NOT funded by taxpayers. It us funded via a general pool of money paid into by students, donors, the government and other sources.

That said...this general pool of money is SUPPOSED to be paying for College Student EDUCATION! In the beginning, Chris spun like the lying spider he is and told everyone ALL about his "dreams for WUML" and it appeared this might actually be a vehicle to assist with student learning. His assist by the now infamous Lou DiNatale ensured there'd be lots of money and publicity available for the venture. In reality, all Chris was interested in was acquiring deep pockets to fund yet another PRI talk radio show so he could try and relive his WBUR days again. And for a VERY short time, it appeared he had succeeded.

But after a year on the beat, it was clear to everyone that he had no interest in helping U Mass Lowell, WUML or the students. In fact, he hadn't even stepped foot in Lowell! He was working entirely out of WGBH facilities and had to suffer the indignity of being "rebroadcast" on WUML the day AFTER his original broadcast in a time slot normally reserved for nearly departed listeners.

His ego wrote MASSIVE checks that his production could never cash. Mind you, the initial concept behind Open Source had great possibilities! My own brother listened to the show regularly and commented on how good it was....for 3 months. He soon realized he could hear the same jazz on any number of stations under a variety of one hour show names.

Open Source was/is a train wreck. It's good intentions gone tragically bad. When you do the math and find nearly half a MILLION dollars were poured into this money pit and you think about all of the other possibilities that money had, it's a god-damned Greek tragedy.

Everyone's talking a good game now. The very exclusive gentleman's club that created this monster is engaged in a playful game of grab-ass (see recent allegations against Lou DiNatale for more titillating info) and everyone has nothing but good things to say about each other (except the poor woman who was allegedly sexually harassed by Lou) and the notable notables that came out of the project. The truth is, the students of U Mass Lowell were robbed blind by a flim flam man that talks the talk...but appears incapable of walking the walk.

Open Sores indeed.

[Jean S]

To be clear...WUML is NOT funded by taxpayers. It us funded via a general pool of money paid into by students, donors, the government and other sources.

Bold is mine.

[Dont Mention the War]

Lydon, a renowned former host of The Connection, on National Public Radio,

There's a reason he's the former host of The Connection (which continued for another four years after he left in 2001). The guy's got an ego the size of Alaska.

[Mad_as_heck]

Its important that no opportunity is ever lost to divert money to fund left-wing propaganda and subsidize the activism of rich limo liberals. Its for the children.

Letting the students actually run the student radio station might be educational but how does that advance the cause of world wide proletarian revolution? I guess Lydon's is just one more job lost since Haliburton ordered the supreme court to appoint Bush dictator.

[lactoseintolerant]

I just wanted to drive that stake in a little further, put an extra nail in the coffin, twist that knife in his back:

http://www.radioopensource.org/we-interrupt-this-program/

[Beckwith]

WUML is NOT funded by taxpayers. It us funded via a general pool of money paid into by students, donors, the government and other sources.

The government has no money -- it's taxpayer money.

And the students?

Either their parents (taxpayers), themselves (taxpayers) or federally funded (taxpayers) student programs fund this station.

This statement is demonstrably false.