CH CH CH CH CHANGES... TURN AND FACE THE STRANGE.
By Lisa Wexler
Some people really love change. I'm not one of those people. I liken myself to a tree. I grow roots and branches and stay planted in one place. I bend with the wind, lose an occasional branch, but stay healthy in the core. I withstand storms, heat waves and the season.
But I stay rooted.
Friday will be my last day at WSTC/WNLK. For so many, those stations have been an institution in their lives, part of their regular, everyday routine. Tune in in the morning for traffic, weather, news. Tune in in the afternoon to me, if so inclined. For me, for so many years, those station signs on the Post Road beckoned like a mirage in the desert. Practicing law, I dreamed of a more interesting life, a life on the radio....
Wow! She really handled that well. I hope people complain to Sacred Heart University, the new owners of WSTC-AM 1400 and WNLK-AM 1350, which were sold by Cox Media Group. Word has it that SHU students can replace people such as Lisa for a lot less money. Terrific -- not! What can these kids possibly to have to offer? Some of them still have pipsqueak voices. Some aren't even prepared for college academically. What insight, experience, knowledge can they possibly have to offer, other than using Facebook? It turns out that the new stations will be NPR affiliates. I am a big fan of NPR, but let's not kid ourselves (no pun intended). The purpose of the change is to maximize profits (even non-profits like profits) and they can do that through syndication and cheap labor behind the scenes for the slog work that doesn't pay that well to begin with.
I don't mean to paint everyone with broad strokes, but I find this appalling because it appears so blatent. Just hire inexperienced students to do the job because they're cheap. It's almost like hiring someone who took care of her grandmother to be a caregiver for your loved one. Sorry, but I want a trained professional. I had my experience with Chabad's "morahs," who lacked formal training as educators. No wonder my son didn't learn anything at their preschool. Thank goodness I had worked with him early on so that when he started at a school that was indeed NAYEC-accredited, he was at the level he needed to be. (Gan Yeladim students are still lagging. They'll do fine at some private schools or Jewish day schools, but probably not at public school kindergartens.)
During most of my adult life, I've seen a myriad of business books on excellence, performance and success. To whom is all this really important? It certainly doesn't seem to hold true for Wall Street or for Fortune 500 companies. Look at the crappy cars produced by the Big Three automakers. There's a reason why Toyota and Honda have made so much headway in sales. The Japanese have proven that they can produce much more reliable cars. And there used to be ads that "Ford has a better idea." Sure! Then, of course, there's the MF GLobal bankruptcy and Jon Corzine's resignation. From what? The company was already kaput. The same board of directors that approved his compensation package and the $400K it shelled out to his lawyers should have thrown him feet first into the Hudson or East River (whichever was closest) when the company didn't perform. Where were the auditors? The financial problems of the firm did not happen suddenly, as if a surprise snow storm hit.
Which brings me back to SHU's takeover of Cox Radio. I'm all for a fresh perspective, but from students? I think companies need a wider base. Besides, isn't SHU supposed to be a non-profit entity? What happens if they make money? Just curious.
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