January 8, 2004

EDITORIAL

Power failure at WYSO

After nearly two years of controversial moves and unrest at WYSO, it is apparent that Antioch University’s handling of the station is not working. No matter how much Antioch — and WYSO, for that matter — spins and dodges, it continues to show that it has botched the public relations game involving WYSO and, if things continue down their current path, the university risks further alienating its listeners. Its approach to the departure of Vick Mickunas, the former WYSO host and music director, is just the latest in a long line of gaffes by Antioch and WYSO.

This is not just because many listeners are furious that Mr. Mickunas is no longer employed at WYSO. It’s also because the Mickunas situation — Antioch says he resigned, Mr. Mickunas says he was fired — has helped shed some light on what’s going on behind the microphone at the station. After Mr. Mickunas’s departure, several former WYSO employees have come forward claiming that they left the station, in part, due to the general manager, Steve Spencer, who, they say, is difficult to work with. Perhaps the most scathing comments have been made by Char Miller, who resigned from the WYSO Resource Board last spring in protest, and who now says that Antioch is protecting Mr. Spencer.

Antioch cannot afford to continue to support the status quo at WYSO. The comments from former WYSO employees are further evidence that Mr. Spencer is not a good manager or the right person to run the station. WYSO has spent the last two years in debt, and came up short of its financial goal in its last pledge drive. Some listeners say they will not financially support the station until changes are made in management, while others are now demanding the station cancel recent monetary pledges. How long can Antioch continue to maintain that everything is running smoothly at WYSO?

Not everyone’s favorite program can air on the radio forever. But WYSO listeners should feel like they are more than a pledge number or an Arbitron figure. WYSO should be more than a radio station, a number on the radio dial. And Antioch should be more than the holder of a radio license. It is the steward of a public trust, WYSO.

The bottom line is WYSO and Antioch should be institutions in which listeners can take pride and have a voice. Sadly, neither seems true right now. Because of this, not only this community, but the Miami Valley, is less rich.

—Robert Mihalek