February 5, 2004

Yellow Springs was caught by surprise last Friday by the announcement that Steve Spencer, the controversial general manager of WYSO, had resigned.

However, Antioch University officials said that Spencer’s resignation will not lead them to rehire Vick Mickunas, the station’s former music director, or Aileen LeBlanc, the former news director, both of whom cited difficulties with Spencer as contributing to their leaving the station.

Many who viewed Spencer’s management style and changes he made at the station as detrimental to WYSO saw his resignation as a first step in turning the station around. However, several expressed concern that unless other changes are made in the station’s governance, WYSO’s current problems will continue.

“WYSO has made a much needed personnel change, but they’ll need to make other philosophical and institutional changes as well before we can support them,” said Larry Halpern, a member of Keep WYSO Local, a group of listeners that has been critical of Spencer and other issues at WYSO. “We have not been about getting rid of one guy. We hope to see more changes than that.”

On Friday, Antioch University, which owns WYSO’s broadcasting license, announced Spencer’s resignation in a press release.

Joe Colvin, a station volunteer and member of the WYSO Resource Board, is serving as interim general manager until a permanent manager is hired.

It is unclear why Spencer resigned, though the press release said that he left WYSO “to pursue other interests.”

Antioch University Vice Chancellor Glenn Watts, who oversees WYSO, said in an interview that he could “neither confirm nor deny” whether Spencer was asked to resign.

In an interview Tuesday, Dan Kaplan, the president of the Antioch University Board of Trustees, said that the trustees did not take official action on WYSO, although he added that individual trustees might have communicated concerns to Antioch University Chancellor Jim Craiglow.

In an interview on Monday, Craiglow said, “What I can say is that it is clear that WYSO was having difficulties. Clearly we need to find a way to put its past behind it and move forward.”

Spencer did not return a phone call seeking comment.

In the press release, Spencer said, “My five years with Antioch University have been productive and fruitful, especially in terms of the profound growth in audience and influence of WYSO Public Radio.”

Spencer sparked controversy two years ago when he cut a number of volunteer-hosted programs, many of which were replaced with syndicated programs. Controversy mounted with a growing station deficit and concerns with the way WYSO was being managed, as several employees left the station, including LeBlanc, who cited difficulties with station management as the reason for her resignation a year ago.

The controversy intensified in December when Mickunas, who also hosted the “Book Nook,” was placed on leave and eventually left the station. Antioch has said that he resigned, while Mickunas said he was fired.

However, now that Spencer is gone, Antioch will not consider bringing back Mickunas or LeBlanc, both Craiglow and Watts said.

Asked if Mickunas will be rehired, Watts referred to a statement by Craiglow in the press release that said, “Former employees who have tried to damage the station should not expect to be invited back.”

In the interview, Craiglow declined to elaborate on this statement.

He did say: “If you’re to move forward and build a future you have got to do it in an environment that is not contaminated, that has little or no polarization. You have to start from a fresh place with fresh ideas and fresh people.”

Watts said that the station would not rehire LeBlanc to fill the opening left by the recent departure of news host Ryan Warner.

“We need a different set of skills than she brings,” Watts said. “Aileen is not really interested in hard news. That is not her forte.”

In a written statement about Spencer’s resignation, Mickunas said, “The Antioch Board of Trustees has taken an important step toward saving WYSO. I am confident that the board has the vision that will transform the once vibrant radio station back into a community resource that is a true asset to Antioch. I applaud this crucial first step.”

In response to Craiglow’s statement about not rehiring former employees who damaged the station, Mickunas said, “I think Jim Craiglow needs to get more information.”

LeBlanc called Spencer’s departure a “very positive first step.”

“The fat lady is in the wings but there’s still three acts to go. It’s not over,” she said.

However, LeBlanc expressed disappointment for the tone of Craiglow’s statement about former employees.

“It’s a vindictive statement,” she said. “It proves they’re not admitting there was anything amiss with the station management. I would question who’s damaging the station.”

In the press release, Craiglow also said, “We need to rebuild the staff and reinvent WYSO from a stable foundation. I continue to believe that WYSO has a bright and vibrant future, but it must be energized by the current staff and the new people hired for existing vacancies.”

Craiglow said that he would soon appoint an ad hoc group “to work with the WYSO Resource Board members on short- and long-term planning and to establish a task force that will examine ways to expand the station’s educational mission, including the possible development of a Summer Radio Institute.”

The task force will consider the station’s governance as one of its long-term issues, Craiglow said, including whether Watts will continue to oversee the station.

With Spencer’s departure, the station management will attempt to “mend fences and reestablish relationships with our listening community,” Watts said. “We’ve become a little isolated from our various communities. We want to hear what they have to say.”

Asked if those communities include Keep WYSO Local, Watts said, “In large measure that’s something they need to think about as well as us. It’s hard to characterize. Some of them were vitriolic and destructive and it would be hard for the station to work with them. Some were very concerned but constructive in their opposition and it would be easier to work with them.”

Some in Keep WYSO Local also view Spencer’s resignation as an opportunity for the group to develop a more conciliatory relationship with station management.

“It’s a time for us to try to start over,” Steven Bognar said.

“We should be considerate” about Spencer, Bognar said, “He’s still a person. He did do some good things for the station.”

No significant programming changes will be made at the station until a new general manager is hired, Watts said. The search for a new manager will not begin for three to six months, until the station is stabilized, he said.

Watts said that Colvin was hired as interim manager because “we were looking for someone who knows the station, knows the community, has an appreciation for volunteers and the ability to communicate with staff. Also, he was available on short notice.”

A retired management analyst for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and a volunteer program host at WYSO, Colvin said on Monday that his first priority is “listening to everyone. I’m here to figure out what the station’s needs are, where we are, what we need to fix first.”

Colvin described his management style as “open door.”

“I’m accessible,” he said. “People can reach me. I like that style.”

—Diane Chiddister