Audio and minutes: NCPR Quarterly Public Meeting, 2/2/17
The quarterly public meeting of North Country Public Radio’s Executive Council, which acts as the station’s community advisory board, met Thursday, February 2 at 1:30 pm. The quarterly meeting was held as an audio phone conference.
The meeting audio was streamed live in a window below. It was also available by listening in to the conference on your telephone.
The public was invited to participate by listening in and posting questions and/or comments on this post, at the Livestream event link, or by calling toll-free: 1-877-388-6277. Or you can email questions and comments in advance of the meeting or during the meeting to Danielle LaCourse ([email protected])
Minutes of the meeting are posted below.
Upcoming 2017 Executive Council meeting dates:
- Wednesday, May 3, 2017, 1:30-3:00 pm
- Thursday, July 6, 2017, 1:30-3:00 pm
- Thursday, October 5, 2017, 1:30-3:00 pm
February and October are phone meetings, The May meeting will be held in person at Heaven Hill Farm off Bear Club Rd. in Lake Placid, NY, and the public is invited to attend. The July meeting will be held in person in Canton, NY (location TBD) and the public is invited to attend.
Members of the NCPR Executive Council in 2017:
- Rod Giltz, Plattsburgh, NY (chair)
- Cali Brooks, Lake Placid, NY
- Linda Cohen, Old Forge, NY
- Mark Dzwonczyk, Nicholville, NY
- John Ernst, North Hudson, 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
- Christopher Robinson, Potsdam, NY
- John Rosenthal, Lake Placid, NY
- Mark Scarlett, Hammond, NY
- Marion Roach Smith, Troy, NY
- Melissa Farmer Richards, Canton, NY
The governing board of North Country Public Radio is the Board of Trustees of St. Lawrence University.
Minutes of the February 2, 2017 Meeting of the NCPR Executive Council
Council Attendance: Rod Giltz, Mark Dzwonczyk, John Ernst, Hannah Hanford, Steve Hopkins, Nancy Kleet, Alan McLeod, Stephen Meier, Dale Kramer, Cathy Pircsuk, Susanna Piller, Christopher Robinson, John Rosenthal, Mark Scarlett, Marion Roach Smith, Melissa Farmer Richards
Staff Attendance: Ellen Rocco, Jon Sklaroff, Danielle LaCourse
Excused: Cali Brooks, Linda Cohen, Dick Munro, Sarah Johnson
Call to Order: 1:32 pm
Recorded by: Danielle LaCourse
Adjournment: 2:13PM
Introductions:
- Executive Council Chair, Rod Giltz, called the meeting to order.
- Rod made a brief statement about the loss of former NCPR employee June Peoples.
- Roll call taken.
Item 1: Meeting Minutes Approved
- October 20, 2016 minutes approved.
Item 2: Report on SLU
- Rod asks Melissa Farmer Richards to update Executive Council on recent meeting with SLU President Fox – future of the station, Ellen’s retirement, etc.
- Melissa Farmer Richards, SLU VP of Communications, gives update regarding Ellen’s retirement and that it is one that will require a national search. Discusses plans for upcoming 50th anniversary celebration. Melissa also states that Station Manager, Ellen Rocco, and Chief Engineer/Comptroller, Bob Sauter, have been working on the Operating budget in light of recent staffing changes.
- Marion Roach Smith gives update regarding interactions with the board. States that they are excited and that she and Melissa will meet to decide to who will give a presentation from the board regarding NCPR status updates.
- Ellen suggests that the board may want to think about NCPR 50th year recognition.
Item 3: Station Report from Ellen
- The last two years the station ran a small deficit and had to draw from reserve fund. Will give full report on finances at end of fiscal year.
- Personnel update: through attrition, decided not to replace Monique Cornett and Brit Hanson’s positions after their departure. Danielle LaCourse and Lizette Haenel have taken over Membership department at present. Will revisit at end of fiscal year to decide if a full or part-time assistant is needed.
- Fundraising update: in first half of the year, raised between $5,000 and $10,000 more each month. Trying out new campaigns and meetings to raise additional funds.
- Various members of the board gave their praise for recent NCPR reporting efforts.
Item 4: Underwriting Report from Jon Sklaroff
- Underwriting Director Jon Sklaroff is following up with underwriters daily. Rod suggests that, if possible, council members write a letter of recommendation on Jon’s behalf, could have positive impact.
Item 5: Executive Council Report
- Rod states that in July 2017 he will step down from Chair position. Mark Dzwoncyzk has offered to take over the position. Ellen states that if anyone else would like to put their name forward for position of Chair to let the council know.
Item 6: Executive Council Consideration
- Rod mentions that council members should be thinking about how they can be more involved, especially in regards to brainstorming ideas for the 50th anniversary celebration. Also, what more the council can do for the station going forward. Passes it to Mark, who states that he doesn’t need ideas now, but that council members should be gathering ideas between now and July.
- Ellen suggests possibility of setting up informal meet and greets in each council members’ communities for anniversary.
- Ellen gives update about possible loss of federal funding. She will send out an attachment that gives basic facts about industry. Ellen mentions that she spoke with Mike Ripson, NPR’s legislative liaison, who indicated that public broadcasting has a lot of key Republican “friends”, however, because the current political landscape is a departure from anyone’s experience, the best approach moving forward is to just be prepared.
Item 7: 2017 Meeting Schedule
- May 3rd, July 6th, October 5th.
Note: The May meeting has been rescheduled to May 3rd and will be held in person at Heaven Hill Farm off Bear Club Rd. in Lake Placid
Item 8: Public Participation
- Rod notes comments from community members about choosing not to air Democracy Now! and the lack of an open forum for the Executive Council meetings.
- Listener Mike Owen raised concern about Ellen’s involvement in finding her replacement. Ellen assured the public that she will not be a part of the search committee working on her replacement.
- Listener Mike Owen asked whether or not all council members have listened to Democracy Now!. Nancy Keet voiced her support for Ellen and the station deciding on programming after having listened to a few episodes of Democracy Now! Council member Chris Robinson affirmed that he’s a regular listener of Democracy Now! and believes that there might be some reception to it in the academic community and beyond in the North Country.
Adjournment
Proposals
1. Identify your board as a Community Advisory Board (CAB), the vernacular used all by all other stations, which identifies your true mission and drop the name of “executive council” entirely.
2. The entire board needs a reset and needs to draw from a wider community than people associated with SLU and handpicked by Ms. Rocco. I suspect the initial handpicked board is largely intact. Almost everyone has already served over three years (limit imposed by station bylaws) and it’s time for new blood. Make available the date that new members started serving, a brief description of their standing in the community and schools attended. CPB rules state, “the CAB reasonably represents the diverse needs and interests of the communities served by the station.” (CAB Rule D Section3). But, currently, we do not know who they are or how long they have served.
3. Ms Rocco needs help with the CAB link on the website. That is, getting the minutes posted, announcing future CAB meeting dates and not interfering with submissions to the CAB by the public. Could the CAB chair aide the station manager with follow-up of these details on the website? Some of this is required by CPB regulations. It is not my job to monitor this station (although it does keep me paying attention).
4. The meeting structure (public listens-in only, and has to use email through a station management filter) cannot possibly meet the spirit of open meeting requirements of an independent CAB meeting. Call the CPB (202-879-9600) to verify that the meetings meet the federal requirements and report the findings in the minutes of the meeting.
5. The CAB chair review the CAB link on the radio station website on a monthly basis to see that it is functioning properly (Links and Posts are not working as of Jan 16, 2017) , CAB meeting dates are announced (redundant inclusion in the community calendar would be nice) and to review for errors and omissions the content and compliance with CPB rules.
More reasons to have Democracy Now! on NCPR
NPR has bizarrely announced they will not be using the word “lie” to describe any of Trumps lies. “Michael Oreskes, NPR’s senior president for news, supported the decision( to not use the word lie). In an article on the NPR website, Mr. Oreskes said that “the minute you start branding things with a word like ‘lie,’ you push people away from you.” The inherent risk, he suggested, was that news organizations would be seen as taking sides. NYT Jan 25, 2017 In a Swirl of ‘Untruths’ and ‘Falsehoods,’ Calling a Lie a Lie
Media needs to call a spade a spade ”There are no “alternative facts” just lies!
Also see “A Lie by Any Other Name” Charles M. Blow NYT Jan. 26. Stephen Bannon, Trump senior strategist and white supremacist said media should, “Keep its mouth shut” and asking to be quoted, “The media here is the opposition party” also on NYT Jan 26.
Concerning the public notice in North Country This Week Jan 25
No one knows what an “executive council meeting” is. People do know what a CAB, Community Advisory Board is. This is confusing? I hope the on air station announcements also utilize the name: Community Advisory Board.
Thanks for putting the CAB Community Advisory Board link on the website home page, but please change citizen to community in order to welcome people into the community and use the common legal term.
Considering that it is a requirement of the articles of incorporation for all public media to include a board specifically charges with acting in an advisory capacity between the public and the media outlet, this proposal that Richard is making is not just a no brianer it is in violation of the law.
If the station wants an Executive Council in addition to a Community Advisory Board I see nothing stopping it. However the two boards must be separated.
And while we are at it, why not set the comments up so the author can edit after posting like Facebook does? This would save people like me a lot of trouble when asked for clarification.
OK one ore to think about. This one concerning the New York Times’ use of the word “lie” when responding to Donald Trump’s assertions:
“Michael Oreskes, NPR’s senior president for news, supported the decision( to not use the word lie). In an article on the NPR website, Mr. Oreskes said that “the minute you start branding things with a word like ‘lie,’ you push people away from you.” The inherent risk, he suggested, was that news organizations would be seen as taking sides.”
The risk of being SEEN as taking sides. A convenient sidestepping of the factual content of a statement into political subservience for popularity. This is not what news is supposed to be about. So there it is CAB members, right from the top. Fund raising works best if you let it Trump all other considerations.
I wish to see one more change to promote democracy at NCPR.
Get rid of the listen only approach to these Community Advisory Board meetings. I listened to the discussion last meeting and politely waited to speak so as not to interrupt the discussion. When a pause opened I spoke. This is when I discovered that I could not be heard. The discussion drifted into an easy dismissal of the only public input that was going on. If You want to ascribe a time limit go ahead. That’s how public input is handled almost universally. Complex ideas can be presented in five minutes. Email takes time to produce and whie that time goes by the discussion get’s off the point the comment is intended to address. You probably instituted this format out of fear of disruption. The result though is exclusionary.
The proposal to carry Democracy Now! is just an easy way to address the problem of the bias that underpins the reluctance.
Style of reporting.
One of the methods used to reinforce the bias the station broadcasts is to mention an idea, in many cases an idea worth reporting, but instead of reporting the idea from the source, a third party is interviewed about how they interpret the idea.
One example of the problem was just aired as King Day just past a week or so ago. Many people were interviewed on NCPR about where they were during the civil rights movement, If we contrast this with Democracy Now! They ran a complete newly discovered speech by MLK himself. London December 7th 1964 just days before he was awarded the Nobel Peace prize
This difference is important because as you listen to the speech King links racism to capitalism.
One of the most difficult problems with perception is hearing what in not said. We easily anticipate a voice we want to hear, but have difficulty forming the questions we would ask if we were doing the interview. The legitimacy of wealth itself is something that is never questioned at NCPR. This is an example of an editing policy. It’s too consistent to be anything else.
This spills over into local stories when the station decides what and what not to cover.
A sophisticated and protracted permitting process is going on in Parishville concerning development of wind power right now. The station has yet to assign any reporters to the attend even one meeting. No story could be more important, as Global Warming consumes the polar ice shelf. The implications range from flooding Florida and Louisiana to a total collapse and the overnight destruction of the lives of 80% of the human race. This is not a story to ignore.
Don’t like that one? I have seen Black people bound in chains in Canton NY. I have attended an unreported public prayer in Canton to honor those brave souls who are fighting the pipeline at Standing Rock. How about the leaking drums of agent orange buried at Fort Drum back when it was Camp Drum. Doesn’t anyone wonder why Watertown is a big red dot on the cancer map? I have submitted evidence with names to the station. NCPR did not even respond to my email.
This goes beyond laziness. Only an editorial bias can explain it.
Oh OK. so the review process is apparently unnecessary. Here goes: Once again we are back to thinking about why NCPR refuses to air Democracy Now! What is it that the station doesn’t want their listeners to hear?
Is it the story I’m hearing right now about women and children being held in detention centers in South Texas while they await hearings? Many for years, appearing without representation, and in 90% of those cases deported. This is another broken pledge made during the Obama administration. There is a consistent pattern here. NCPR supports the Democratic party at every turn. If Trump gets mentioned it’s with obvious derision. I’m a person who derides Trump at every turn myself, but I don’t claim to be an impartial news outlet. It was also very late to broadcast anything that Bernie Sanders said. This, according to many polls, probably elected Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Goodman reported that more time was spent airing pictures of Trump’s idling bus than was spent interviewing Jill Stein. If there are political parties in the US other than Republican and Democrat we would never know it from NCPR. Reporters have a job description that mandates saying what people don’t want to hear said, not courting power.
The station defends itself various ways. I have been told if I want to hear Democracy Now! I should just hear it on my device. True enough. But I’m not trying to hear it myself, I already do, I’m trying to get the station to get past the bias internalized by the station’s management. NCPR has an ethical duty to round out the news with by incorporation the idea that ALL things ARE worth considering.
What I’m not trying to do is some kind of personnel change, or house cleaning. Simply put I think the station owes it to the listeners Amy Goodman. They would have the great advantage of being able to judge the statements that come out of established power structures.
So let’s start fresh. Everybody on the Community Advisory Board pledges to listen to Goodman’s show every day for one week. Then meet and make a recommendation.
I have every confidence that you will advocate for the station carrying the show.
Thank you, Michael Owen
I don’t see my comments Jackie. How long does it take to review a couple paragraphs?
NCPR Community Advisory Board (CAB) 2-2-17
Not to be altered or interpreted in any way by Ms. Rocco or any station agent.
Dear Chairman Giltz
Please discuss the following and answer with specific actions and plans for action.
Would the board also provide position statements with names?
Please address and answer each issue separately.
I question the legality, structure and proceedings of the stations CAB.
How can the meeting structure of “listen-in only public meetings,” held three times a year, meet the spirit of open public meetings? How can the CAB truly have discussions among themselves, listen to public input, and function as an advisory board to the management of the station? I have read the station’s bylaws, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) rules for stations and CABs and all the minutes of all your meetings from the beginning.
Proposals
1. Identify your board as a Community Advisory Board (CAB), the vernacular used all by all other stations, which identifies your true mission and drop the name of “executive council” entirely.
2. The entire board needs a reset and needs to draw from a wider community than people associated with SLU and handpicked by Ms. Rocco. I suspect the initial handpicked board is largely intact. Almost everyone has already served over three years (limit imposed by station bylaws) and it’s time for new blood. Make available the date that new members started serving, a brief description of their standing in the community and schools attended. CPB rules state, “the CAB reasonably represents the diverse needs and interests of the communities served by the station.” (CAB Rule D Section3). But, currently, we do not know who they are or how long they have served.
3. Ms Rocco needs help with the CAB link on the website. That is, getting the minutes posted, announcing future CAB meeting dates and not interfering with submissions to the CAB by the public. Could the CAB chair aide the station manager with follow-up of these details on the website? Some of this is required by CPB regulations. It is not my job to monitor this station (although it does keep me paying attention).
4. The meeting structure (public listens-in only, and has to use email through a station management filter) cannot possibly meet the spirit of open meeting requirements of an independent CAB meeting. Call the CPB (202-879-9600) to verify that the meetings meet the federal requirements and report the findings in the minutes of the meeting.
5. The CAB chair review the CAB link on the radio station website on a monthly basis to see that it is functioning properly (Links and Posts are not working as of Jan 16, 2017) , CAB meeting dates are announced (redundant inclusion in the community calendar would be nice) and to review for errors and omissions the content and compliance with CPB rules.
CAB Chair, please name several actions in which the Board advised the station management and SLU Board of Trustees with advice regarding the duties of a CAB under Corporation for Public Broadcasting Rules. The minutes of all past meetings do not reflect any review, deliberation, advisement or fulfillment of any obligations set forth under CPB rules. Past meetings appear under the complete control of station management. Has this board exercised any of its rights and obligations listed below required under CPB rules section E? If not, then it is not functioning as a board and needs to be replaced. An advisory board is not an advisory board unless it functions as such.
Right and obligations:
1) the right to review the station’s programming goals
2) the right to review the service provided by the station
3) the right to review significant policy decisions rendered by the station and
4) the obligation to advise the station’s governing body on whether the station’s programming and other significant policies are meeting the specialized educational and cultural needs of the communities served by the station and to make recommendations the CAB deems appropriate to meet such needs. (CPB rules section E)
My previous communication to the board was overlooked.
The request below was addressed to the CAB Chair at the last meeting in October 2016 but was mostly ignored or overlooked by Ms. Rocco. There was some discussion, but no follow through. I submit my request again as it did not even get posted (along with the minutes of the October 2016 meeting) until Jan 12, 2017.
Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations. –George Orwell
I request that the CAB take the following actions:
• Each member listen to Democracy Now! for several weeks and then have a deliberation
• cost analysis (free for first year)
• solicit listener feedback
• advise Ms. Rocco and the SLU Trustees at or before the July annual meeting
Democracy Now! is available on over 1,000 NPR, Pacifica, PBS, Dish Network, college and community radio stations. Democracy Now! is “Public Media” and accepted on all CPB stations. Additionally, DN is on 47 NPR, 200 Pacifica and 66 PBS stations.
Democracy Now! has been found compatible with many NPR stations surrounding the NCPR listening area. This is contrary to Ms. Rocco’s opinion, that Democracy Now! is not compatible with NPR. Whether compatible at this station or not, the CAB has the obligation to advise Ms. Rocco and the SLU Trustees to explore the cost/benefits of the station becoming a Pacifica Network and/or an independent Community Radio Station. I believe this would enable the station to slash costs, reinvigorate listeners and supporters, begin a return to the station’s grass roots, bring the station more in line with its mission statement and most importantly bring back ex-supporters and ex-listeners.
Times are changing; many of the listeners I have interviewed have given up listening to NCPR and pursue Democracy Now! online and listen to any radio station in the world online. As you know, online competition is huge. Millennials we hear so much about are getting all their news online and through social media. NCPR has a multiplatform web presence, but it cannot compete with Facebook feeds with Democracy Now! and with thousands of other websites.
Quoting New York Times June 18: New Hits Needed; Apply to NPR, “If public radio sticks with its current franchises and sound, it will leave us open to other vulnerabilities, as the next generation audience goes elsewhere for its content.”
Industrialization of our rural landscape needs better coverage by NCPR
The station needs to send more reporters to stories like that one. The proposed industrial wind farm for the center of St. Lawrence County is also a huge story. Yes, NCPR has done stories on industrial wind farms in the past. NCPR needs to cover the growing organization, education and protestation of the proposal BEFORE it is a done deal. If a reporter cannot make a particular meeting, there is often complete YouTube documentation. Pull in and utilize citizens that are increasingly covering local stories on their own and bypassing mainstream media entirely.
I hope this CAB can see the urgent need for special coverage of this industrialization of the rural landscape of this county. Coverage as the NCPR Mission Statement itself states: “NCPR informs, enriches and connects the region on-air, online and in our communities.” The opposition to industrial wind, so close to college-educated activists with means, will be an entirely different battle for industrial wind. Sixty people showing up in Parishville is HUGE. It is a battle that NCPR needs to cover exhaustively and frequently–to inform and connect the people with detailed, in-depth interviews of the entities involved. David Sommerstien replied to this request and linked me to a story on wind farms from five years ago. The other industrial wind stories covered by NCPR are often offshore and not the current one now proposed in the heart of Hopkinton and Parishville. That does not help us now! What are the reporters covering? What about the current state of the wind farms?
Sincerely,
Richard Paolillo
Appendix
“NCPR Complete Coverage of Wind Power”
New York, roughly NCPR listening area Industrial Wind stories.
2016 3 stories; 2015 one, 2014; one, 2013 3 stories; 2012 2stories; 2011 6 stories; 2010 7 stories; 2009 4 stories; 2008 14 stories; 2007 9 stories.
There appears to be a decrease in stories over time. Most have two sides but, in my opinion, the few I sampled, have a pro wind bias including spokesperson for a national wind organization but no one from local wind opponents like Ann Britton, Luke D., the Martin Food and Roofing Clan along route 11B and folks from Concerned Citizens for Rural Preservation (facebook).
This is local bias and censorship by omission.
NCPR Bylaws file: http://blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org/executivecouncil/files/2011/05/NCPR_EC_Bylaws.pdf
NCPR CAB Blog: http://blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org/executivecouncil/?_ga=1.267288006.977484919.1484332048
Corporation for Public Broadcasting CAB Requirements: http://www.cpb.org/stations/certification/cert3
2016 CAB for NCPR
Rod Giltz, Plattsburgh, NY (chair) Alan McLeod, Kingston, ON
Cali Brooks, Lake Placid, NY Stephen Meier, Queensbury, NY
Linda Cohen, Old Forge, NY Dick Munro, Clayton, NY
Mark Dzwonczyk, Nicholville, NY Cathy Pircsuk, Watertown, NY
John Ernst, North Hudson, NY Susanna Piller, Plattsburgh
Hannah Hanford, Saranac Lake, NY Christopher Robinson, Potsdam, NY
Steve Hopkins, Keene Valley, NY John Rosenthal, Lake Placid, NY
Sarah Johnson, Canton, NY Mark Scarlett, Hammond, NY
Nancy Keet, Saranac Lake, NY Marion Roach Smith, Troy, NY
Dale Kramer, Massena, NY Melissa Farmer Richards, Canton, NY
The following were 9 or ten members were also council members on the NCPR website “updated May 2011” and may very well be the initial hand picked board to get the CAB started. The station may have operated without a board for decades. Why are SLU Trustees no longer identified? Why are they on a CAB to begin with?
Stephen Hopkins, Lee Keet, Nancy Keet, John Rosenthal, Mark Scarlet, Linds Cohen, Rod Giltz, Dick Munro, John Ernst, and Marion Smith (ex officio as member of SLU Board of Trustees)