Audio and minutes: NCPR Quarterly Executive Council Meeting, May 3, 2018
Listen to archive audio of the May 3, 2018 meeting:
The quarterly public meeting of North Country Public Radio’s Executive Council, which acts as the station’s community advisory board, was held Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 1:30 pm. at Heaven Hill, 166 Bear Cub Rd., Lake Placid, NY.
The meeting was open to the public and time was provided for members of the public to participate with questions, comments and concerns.
For those unable to attend the meeting, the public could also participate by posting questions and/or comments in advance on this post, or by emailing questions and comments in advance to NCPR ([email protected])
Executive Council Meeting Minutes, May 3, 2018
Council Attendance: Mark Dzwonczyk, Linda Cohen, Rod Giltz, John Rosenthal, Nancy Keet, Cali Brooks, Hannah Hanford, Stephen Meier
Staff Attendance: Ellen Rocco, Lizette Haenel, Jon Sklaroff
Excused: John Ernst, Steve Hopkins, Sarah Johnson, Dale Kramer, Alan McLeod, Dick Munro, Suzanna Piller, Cathy Pircsuk, Paul Redfern, Christopher Robinson, Mark Scarlett
Call To Order: 1:30PM
Rcorded By: Danielle LaCourse
Adjournment: 2:40PM
Introductions:
- Acknowledgement of Press Freedom Day.
Item 1: Updates from Ellen Rocco, Station Manager
- Station recently received more awards.
- Staff update: Joel Hurd has left; search has commenced for his replacement.
Item 2: Fiscal updates from Lizette Haenel, Giving Director and Jon Sklaroff, Underwriting Director
- Made goal of $300,000 during spring 2018 fundraiser.
- On schedule to match what was brought in last year for the annual fund.
- Underwriting is also on schedule to match what was brought in in the previous fiscal year.
- Underwriting is migrating to a new software system.
Item 3: Updates regarding Station Staff
- Working on a timeline for staff who are retiring in the next two years (Jackie Sauter, Ellen Rocco, and Martha Foley) and the process through which their replacements will be found. Once decided upon, this information will be made available to the public.
- Retirement of Jonathan Brown from the station due to him moving to another position on SLU campus. Looking for a part-time announcer to fill his position.
Item 4: Executive Council Updates
- Mark Dzwonczyk will be resigning as Chair of the Executive Council due to his relocation to California. Linda Cohen has stepped up to replace him once he is gone.
- Three slots in the Executive Council are opening up; applications will be accepted until the July EC meeting. Members of the public are encouraged to apply.
Item 5: Misc.
- Introduction of Paul Redfern, Vice President of Communications at SLU.
- Linda introduces Future Fund, a plan for enlarging the endowment fund.
Item 6: 50th Anniversary
- Discussion of the Asgaard Farm 50th Anniversary celebration on August 11. The station will be welcoming all types of volunteers for it.
- Dairy Princess Parade on June 2.
- Mark and Ellen are working on a cocktail party to be hosted in early August.
- Will be starting to put lawn signs up in communities where our presence could be increased.
- Lamppost banners are also available if there are any communities interested in hanging them.
- Accepting ideas from the Executive Council about other possible locations for NCPR to have a presence for 50th events.
Item 7: Council Introductions to Paul Redfern, VP of Communications
Item 8: Adjournment
Upcoming Executive Council meeting dates:
- Thursday, July 19, 2018, 1:30-3:00 pm
- Thursday, October 25, 2018, time and location TDB
- Thursday, February 7, 2019, 1:30-3:00 pm, internet meeting
- Thursday, May 2, 2019, 1:30-3:00 pm at location in Adirondacks TBD
- Thursday, July 18, 2019, 1:30-3:00 pm in Canton (annual meeting), location TDB
- Thursday, October 3, 2019 – 1:30 pm or evening, time and location TBD
Members of the NCPR Executive Council:
- Mark Dzwonczyk, Nicholville, NY (chair)
- Cali Brooks, Lake Placid, NY
- Linda Cohen, Old Forge, NY
- John Ernst, North Hudson, NY
- Rod Giltz, Plattsburgh, NY
- Hannah Hanford, Saranac Lake, NY
- Steve Hopkins, Keene Valley, NY
- Sarah Johnson, Canton, NY
- Nancy Keet, Saranac Lake, NY
- Dale Kramer, Massena, NY
- Alan McLeod, Kingston, ON
- Stephen Meier, Queensbury, NY
- Dick Munro, Clayton, NY
- Cathy Pircsuk, Watertown, NY
- Susanna Piller, Plattsburgh
- Paul Redfern, Canton, NY
- Christopher Robinson, Potsdam, NY
- John Rosenthal, Lake Placid, NY
- Mark Scarlett, Hammond, NY
- Marion Roach Smith, Troy, NY
The governing board of North Country Public Radio is the Board of Trustees of St. Lawrence University.
I grew up in Canton and have been a longtime listener of NCPR when I am in the North Country and away from it. A segment by Brian Mann entitled “Skiing Uphill” left me concerned with the direction of the station. As a listener I know being authentic, impartial and objective are important attributes to NCPR’s longtime success. That is why I thought seeing your ADK Bureau Chief chumming around with a former Congressional candidate flew in the face of your record of independent reporting.
I remember the campaign stories NCPR ran being pretty light on hard-hitting questions unless it related to third party candidate Matt Funiciello. I felt seeing Aaron Woolf featured in a current story was revealing of your station’s priorities, both then and now. I expect to see future Brian Mann pieces on “Sno-yaking with Stefanik”, “Freestyle skiing with Funiciello” and “All the Democratic candidates pulled a dogsled around Mirror Lake”.
My point is that by abandoning the principles that have made the station such a community asset over the years for a puff-piece does a real disservice to the people who rely on you for information. Apparently we cannot stem the tide of commercialization in public radio but the public’s reasonable expectation is that your reporting on stories will illuminate the dark corners of half-truths and remind all that the fourth estate’s role should be to care less about access and more about authentic fact telling.
Also, please consider airing the daily show Democracy Now!. It is woman founded and run and unmarked by #metoo (unlike NPR). Instead of running shows that are increasing designed to entertain instead of inform and constantly lament only being able to scratch the surface of stories before cutting to messages from corporate sponsors, D.N is a breath of fresh air in the static, going in-depth on stories covering inequality, direct community action and the daily struggle of those without a voice.
Democracy Now! has editorial independence that is never compromised as it does not take government or corporate funding. As a lover of public radio, it allows me to learn more about current events and global news than I would learn in a whole day of NCPR programming. The world really does not need two hours of “On Point” does it?
Ideas for stories not including former congressional candidates skijoring:
Retention in the North Country – literally 90% of the people I went to school with at Canton Central and SLU have left and never come back. What is the village doing to attract and retain talent. This is a hollowing out of a whole generation of potential leaders who have taken their talent elsewhere. I eventually had to migrate to Vermont to get work even though my heart is still in Canton and its future. Why does a town with two colleges, abundant nature and cheap real estate have such a desire to resemble Arsenal Street and not Church Street?
Trash in the North Country – there is a culture of littering here that lines the roadways, hiking trails and coats river banks with garbage. Why can’t the town adopt a “Green Up” initiative as they do in Vermont? There are many people who have pride in the North Country and would volunteer for programs like this.
Rampant Herbicide Use – As a cyclist it is alarming to see the widespread use of glyphosate based treatments increase over the last 5 years. People care about contaminants in their food and water and a story needs to be done to help people make informed decisions about allowing this practice to continue. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen in 2015.
Related to this story is the rise of commercial agriculture in the North Country. Why are these farmers not being connected to their counter-parts in other states who have learned the economic and environmental benefits of cover cropping? Our clean air and water are under threat and remain two big reasons anyone would even consider staying or relocating here.
Thank you for your time and consideration of these points.
All the best,
Dustin
Please post this comment and include for the Community Advisory Board’s next meeting of station: management, license holders, Trustees, alumni, plutocrats and staff all packing the board of community advisors.
He missed the meeting by one day. Hope he will contribute again.
Would you please publish contact information for the individual board members and the agenda they will be voting on at a given meeting? Thanks.
I agree, is there a reason why board members contact info is not published
seems like if there was someone represented an area a listener lived in, they might lobby for the area…
Chair of the Community Advisory Board of WSLU May 3, 2018
The Eight o’ Clock Hour coverage of our Congresswoman Stefanik is unacceptable. Stefanik has just recently had her first open town hall meeting after four years in office. NCPR coverage of the town hall started with several comments by Stefanik, and two or three insightful questions by Stefanik constituents (Trump’s crazy, liar, misogyny etc) but DID NOT INCLUDE STEFANIKS ANSWERS TO THESE CONCERNS. Story over. That was it, that was NCPR’s coverage of our Congresswoman.
A few days prior, the station reporter David Summerstein, talked about the lack of town hall meetings and indicated the station would be doing a series of stories on the issues concerning a lack of in person town hall meetings. This did not happen, there was only the partial introduction of a story on town halls mentioned above. Who killed the series of investigative journalism into “No town hall Congresswoman Stefanik?” Who ended the story so that we do not hear Stefanik’s answer to the three questions? Could the Eight o’ Clock hour could spare a few more minutes to the story?
Martha Foley said the station would post the Town Hall meetings on the NCPR website, despite poor audio, but this has not happened. For the next town hall, if there is one, NCPR needs to put the microphone on Elise Stefanik’s lapel, get several microphones in the audience, and cover the story! A major part of the story missing from NCPR is the fact that Stefanik’s website only posts “schedule” of past events, after events occurred! Do you see the negligence and dereliction of duty here? I have written Stefanik’s communication director and Martha Foley concerning this matter, but no response.
*Community Advisory Board, please discuss and advise this NCPR station as to how to reconcile and rectify this demeaning reporting of such an essential high consequence event as an absent Congresswoman and a citizenry that wants to know what the hell is going on with their representatives amid the chaos in the oval office! Go to the NCPR LINK!
* Advise the station to redo the town hall reporting AND do the series on the missing Congresswoman’s in person open town halls that was initially promised.
*Advise the station that the coverage of the battle of industrial wind by hundreds of people in Parishville and Hopkinton is getting the same treatment as the coverage of the Stefanik town hall. The last NCPR story “Despite local Outcry, Hopkinton Rejects Local Wind Law” is about a mumbling town board member who “flip flops” on how she will vote, and NOTHING of the people’s OUTCRY! Go to the NCPR link! Note: The town voted again and the law passed with two “flip flop” board members (See North Country This Week for details).
* My letter, received at the last meeting, was held for “review” by station management. Will you address the issues?
* Advise the station that excluding People from local coverage of local political events will drive more people and money from NCPR. Do you see a pattern here? It must be corporate and government power/money over issues that matter to the People. Fine, then stop taking peoples’ money and go private.
Sincerely
Richard Paolillo
Community Advisory Board Meets today at 1:30, This time NOT open to calls or webcast
https://blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org/executivecouncil/2018/04/20/ncpr-quarterly-executive-council-meeting-may-3-2018/?_ga=2.104743872.1962673166.1525356421-1786495012.1525356421
The Stefanik town hall meetings are posted here:
https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/36134/20180503/listen-to-full-audio-from-rep-stefanik-town-hall-meetings-in-south-glens-falls-and-moriah
We love ncpr.org and have been members since 77. However, we miss classical music. We don’t get cbc very well, it is from Novia Scotia after all. Years ago you had a wonderful classical program announcer, Lamar Bliss, who is still in the area.
You have many types of music on your station, and way too many talk shows. How how about a classical music program during the day, not late at night?
Sincerely,
James and Sally Lynch, Potsdam