RIP, WPVM. The station essentially ceased to exist on Thursday, 21 May, 2009. On that day, Wally Bowen, "Executive Director" of the license holder, effectively canceled all local programming, and turned the station over to its automation software.
I would like to end my posting (for now) on a positive note. One thing I noticed over the past week is the amazingly artistic way many of the on-air personalities were able to take music and sculpt it into a form that fortified their message. While many radio stations typically do this on major holidays, I have never experienced this level of craftsmanship. This speaks volumes about both the volunteers, and the library of music they have built over the years. It was an amazing thing to experience.
This is why WPVM is my only radio station. My heartfelt admiration goes out to these artist.
David L. Rickman
Edward wrote at 9:33am on February 21st, 2009
I was there before MAIN was MAIN. When it was 20 people meeting in the basement of the Pack Library. I have been a MAIN volunteer and subscriber over the years. I have supported WPVM for several years as well. I'm disappointed and disillusioned by all this turmoil. I'm confused by what has happened. The MAIN board asks the WPVM folks to come up with a structure for itself and they do. It looks good and in the spirit of MAIN's goals and democratic media. It doesn't take control away from MAIN or its executive director. MAIN's board rejects it. I haven't seen an alternative plan other than WPVM being under the sole control of MAIN's executive director. Is there a more democratic plan in the MAIN 2.0 plan that I haven't seen yet?
Laura is correct. What I am seeing in these postings (as well as the blogspot) is hate, anger, bickering. Facts no longer carry any value. This has gone WAY past the credibility one would normally find in a baaaaad episode of "Reality TV". It would seem, especially with the mysterious Dead Air yesterday, that the audience no longer matters.
Who besides Laura and Wally is calling for a peaceful resolution? You have a new Interim Manager. Who is working with her? Who is trying to schedule a new mediation, rather than airing your dirty laundry publicly with "We tried, he didn't" Here's a news flash: There's REAL things happening in Asheville, The country, and the World. Your internal squabbles just aren't that important to the listener. Captivating at first, but gone on too long now. I'm starting to lose respect for some incredibly talented personalities.
The real truth is Nothing can be done about the past. Everything can be done about the future.
Mediate and move forward.
David
Gregory wrote at 6:42am on February 20th, 2009
Laura, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your perspective. But your statement that the target here is one human being is unfair. Lies are incredibly hurtful--not just to me and those I work with, but to the entire organization. Language is about more than tone. Truth is also a tool for change. Your story is beautiful and is about interpersonal helping and letting go. But letting go here means an acquiescence to injustice to more than myself. It is about the harm to a greater organization. This is not about personal relations. It's not about me. And the issue is greater than Wally Bowen. It is about social justice and the abuse of power--at the least. I ask you to hear me when I say that, believe it or not, the volunteers have been remarkably restrained as a group over the last 6 months. We have carried the wounded organization on our backs over much water--and in fact we continue to do so. But we must now speak truth to power.
One quick p.s.: if anyone reads that little note I posted and jumps to the conclusion that any one person or group in the WPVM scenario is the grumpy woman, they sort of miss the point... the danger w/ zen tales: everything is everything.
There is a way to use language to heal a situation, not to worsen it. There's a Zen tale: two monks were walking and they came to river. Standing next to the river, a woman was upset because she could not cross. The first monk picked her up and carried on his shoulder. The woman shouted at him the whole way but the monk kept walking. When they had crossed, the woman stormed away, not thanking the monk. The two monks walked on in silence. After an hour had passed, the second monk said, " How can you be so calm. That woman was so rude to you." To this the first monk replied, "I let that woman go her own way miles back. I see you are still carrying her."
As long the language of this discussion continues in the vector of blame and hate (for it does read like hate--the posts are violent and horrendous in their tone and target one human being), everyone will continue to carry the grumpy woman across the river, long after the river is far behind. Consider language as the tool for change.
Bunk wrote at 10:03pm on February 19th, 2009
In an email dated 1/29/09 6:48pm from Edwin Shealy (WPVM Mangerial Board chair):
"Laura coordinated with Wally today, and came back with a day and time: February 9th, 6 PM to 7:30 PM. Place to be determined (neutral site). She said Wally added the following to our list of attendees: Veronika Gunter, Greg Lyon, Francois Manavit, Stephanie Biziewski, Steven Howard, Jason Holland, and George Perry."
Obviously, before February 3rd, Wally had the knowledge of who was on the list of attendees and had already requested 7 attendees himself, which did not include the full MAIN board or any staff. Yes, that does seem odd.
Gregory wrote at 9:30pm on February 19th, 2009
6. I will leave it to others to discuss the onair listserv. If at any point Wally Bowen had anything constructive to say, e.g. a call for a special meeting of the organization to discuss and constructively work through differences in an open forum, I believe I would have heard of it. There were other channels of communication. Did your own Board prohibit you from reaching out positively? If not, who else is to blame?
Gregory wrote at 9:30pm on February 19th, 2009
5. I have personally discussed the exciting news regarding the FCC rulings and other Washington developments MANY MANY times in depth on my radio show without any prompting by the Executive Director. Plus, all the Executive Director would have had to do was to write a radio-friendly (i.e. not overly long) press release and ask the Managerial Board to have it read on the air, and I have no doubt that this would have been done. I heard MAIN PSAs discussing the upcoming FCC vote on election day MANY times on the air, and I read it myself numerous times, extemporaneously elaborating the importance of it. I discussed the results of the FCC vote as well. The volunteers have continuously been characterized as not caring about MAIN's endeavors, and this is a complete distortion of reality. The accusation is one of many tactics on behalf of the Executive Director to make the volunteers look bad. I hope the public sees through it.
Gregory wrote at 9:30pm on February 19th, 2009
4. The volunteers were tasked with coming up with a station structure by the Subcommitte of the MAIN Board in charge of the radio station almost immediately after the Sep. 8 resolution. Months of hard work went into that proposal. Mediation was scheduled for before the presentation of the proposal and was cancelled by Wally Bowen. We were told explicitly by Robin Smith that Wally and the majority of his NEW Board would not be at all receptive to the volunteer proposal. He was right. It should be noted that the Board lost 3 of its members since the Sep. 8 resolution (including half of the WPVM Subcommittee), not to mention that it currently has no full set of officers.
Gregory wrote at 9:30pm on February 19th, 2009
3. Doubts about mediation were well-founded. Why shouldn't people have doubts about mediation, and why should they be excoriated for vocalizing those doubts? Mediation, in order to be meaningful, has to have clear goals. Additionally, it has been my personal experience since I first came to WPVM that Wally Bowen is extraordinarily deficient in his capacity for dialogic listening, which I believe was notably displayed in the onair staff meeting Wednesday night. That said, we were willing to try mediation, and it was postponed indefinitely by Wally Bowen. Edwin Shealy will have plenty of information to refute Wally's assertion regarding who all should be involved in the mediation. I was told that you, Wally, added my name and others (including Steven Howard), for instance. I certainly did not ask to be involved in the mediation, as I was not serving on the WPVM Managerial Board at the time. But I was willing to go once I was invited. Your version of events regarding mediation bears no re
