Media

There has been a lot of discussion about the unfortunate treatment by the America Idol judges to the ‘cattle parade’ of contestants.  Thirty five million people bear witness to what seems to be a  rash of misdirected private citizens all vying for a drink at the trough of success, fame and fortune. Long before reality TV, there was reality (talk) radio.  I considered callers to any talk show I was hosting over the years as a guest. Even if things went bad, as it were, I was the host and they were my guest, not fodder.  I consistently felt somewhat responsible for that person who would now be off of the phone, left to deal with whatever was going on, now alone.  (I know that sounds a bit over-ripe, but….) Likewise, broadcasters (remember those?) need to remember that the cattle parades that line up for reality TV are invited guests.  And how we treat our guests says more about us than other measures of success or power.

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Today’s Lowell Sun www.lowellsun.com is reporting that “Radio personality” Christopher Lydon’s $12,500 monthly contract for his four (4) one hour shows per week, Open Source, which is produced entirely at WGBH, is being dropped by UMass Lowell at the end of the year. The SUN story notes that the $150,000 per year that Bay State taxpayers sent to Lydon did not include payroll and state benefits provided to four of his staff including his producer, Mary McGrath. Although the Lydon hour aired daily on WUML (91.5 Lowell) it originated and was distributed via WGBH radio in Boston to around 30 other stations. Throughout the contract, Lydon had no involvement with WUML at UMass Lowell. File under: Nice work if you can get it.

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