Riverfront Times reporter Chad Garrison has written a
lengthy and detailed expose of KWMU General Mismanager Patricia Wente (photo by a Sarasota Co. Sheriff's Deputy) and her 19-year reign of terror.
Despite their quotes to the contrary, officials at the University of Missouri St. Louis, of which KWMU is part, have known about Wente's abuse of staff and misuse of station funds and resources for years, but they've done nothing. UMSL will continue to cover Wente's corruption as long as they can. A similar Riverfront Times article in 1999 was met with zero action by the UMSL administration.
But there's hope.
UM-St. Louis is part of the University of Missouri's four-campus system, and the system's attorneys and auditors are conducting a management review of KWMU, thanks to the action of the new system president Gary Forsee.
Make your voice heard!
If you're a fan of, and especially a contributor to KWMU, the station needs your support more than ever. Please contact Mr. Forsee and demand immediate, positive change at KWMU!
While you're at it, be sure to ask UMSL Chancellor Thomas George why he did nothing even after he was repeatedly told of Wente's unacceptable behavior.
12 comments:
As a former KWMU manager, I can assure that that the allegations are very real and there is even more than what was cited in the article. This is not just a bunch of whiney employees who don't like the strong female boss, this is about misuse of public funds, breach of public trust and potentially fraud. Why is it that Ms. Wente has not been placed on administrative leave given the seriousness of the allegations? Not only should she be suspended, she should hope that she doesn't land in jail over this. I hope that all citizens and lovers of public radio will stand in solidarity with the station and the institution of public radio and insist that Wente and any senior managers who have enabled her over the years be outsted.
I'm a longtime listener and donated over a number of years. I've heard rumors about her behavior at events, but the extent of her mismanagement is appalling. What's more appalling is how this was handled... or more accurately not handled. I'll not give another cent until I hear that this situation has been remedied. Shame on UMSL for their lack of stewardship.
Given how vengeful and unbalanced Wente is, I'm not going to say more than this: I once worked for her and can attest to the fact that she's completely unethical. I believe every word of the recent articles.
The University - Dreimeier, Samples, Peter Heithaus in HR (and a few underlings there) - and the board (particularly those members whose businesses were underwriters) have all helped keep her corruption, no matter who it harmed. And it harmed a LOT of people. The University stooped to trashing the many good employees and former employees who sounded the alarm again and again and again because they cared about public radio, the public good, and plain decency.
What you are about to see below will come as a shock to you: Patty may actually survive this storm and remain at the top at KWMU. This is a possibility but in the end, it's going to take the entire community and corporate world to send a clear message that she needs to go. Therefore, here are a few options based on my experiences in the corporate and non-profit sector.
1. UM President Forsee is flooded with numerous emails and phone calls. Members of the public not affiliated with the station but who are current donors will be heard the most.
2. She's placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. An interim is named and eventually all the interviews result in her being slowly pushed out the door. Now this option sounds odd, but think about it: She gets a severance package of 6-12 months (sorry to say but that's the way it going to happen in a severance package deal with an individual who has been there for almost 20 yrs). From a PR perspective for the University, this is one of many viable options.
The only way a difference can be made is from people/companies who highly consider pulling time and bucks from the station and email the UM President and also let your Congress and Senators know. After all, public broadcasting does receive a slight percentage from the government. To all former employees, I feel for you but be happy where you are at. To all current employees, keep your head up. To everyone else reading this, you MUST email the UM President or your elected official for her to resign. Based on my experience in the general workforce, she won't just step down because of what is being written. She will hold on for dear life until someone else takes control of the matter. The odds of her staying at KWMU are still in play so take action today!
While I don't dispute the fact that the General Manager of KWMU is an alcoholic (she really needs to check into an alcohol rehab clinic), much of the discussion needs to center on her dealings with Capital Campaign consultant Michael Ostroff. Facts don't lie and billing records, according to RFT, show in July 2006 "the station put the consulting contract out for bid for a third time and awarded the work to Florida-based consultant Michael Ostroff, who charges the station a monthly fee of $19,500 — not including expenses. The author writes that those same billing records "show that in the months and weeks prior to Ostroff winning the bid, Wente approved at least three separate contracts, paying his firm $22,500 to review the capital campaign."
Here are a few questions that need answers because the relationship between her and the capital campaign consultant should be the real meat-and-bones of the investigation:
1. How did she meet Michael Ostroff and what is his background to Saint Louis?
2. Why pay his firm $22,500 to review the capital campaign before he won the bid? He's based in Boca Raton Florida and New York City. (also why is Florida a popular destination for her anyways...see the DUI charges from November 2007).
3. Capital campaigns seem not to be new to the station considering she authorized two separate consultants to be paid $100K in past years, so why then did she need someone to review the campaign again?
4. Will the legal team ultimately investigate the dealings between the General Manager of KWMU and the campaign consultant?
In my opinion, it sounds like the dealings between Patty and this capital campaign consultant are real fishy and follows a pattern of nepotism or some favor was exchanged in return for services and/or cash. If this is true, then bye-bye Patty and future fundraising mega-buck endeavors. The donors who committed the millions of dollars to the campaign should be furious as well as the general public & UM higher ups.
Wow. Five anonymous postings.
Post your real name. I am.
Scott Simon
Not the NPR guy
I've never worked for KWMU but I have worked in non-commercial radio and in commercial radio both in and outside of the St. Louis Market.
I can remember attending a Public Radio Program Director's convention in New Orleans where Ms. Wente's cackle could be heard frequently.
That's not the point though. She has had this reputation of being an unstable, abusive person inside the radio station for nearly two decades.
She has produced some results with the help of the people she has worked into the ground.
Bob Hyland was considered a taskmaster and things were done his way but nobody worked harder at KMOX than Bob Hyland. He was there at 3:00 a.m.
Ms. Wente's mantra seems to be to work your tail off take my abuse and I'll get the credit.
Hyland got the credit. He was hard to work for but he was much more visionary and would trust enough people around him that you could actually talk him out of things.
A tough taskmaster can work but not one who takes too much advantage of the situation for their own personal gain. This is especially true when my membership money and tax money is on the table.
Thank you for starting this blog. I have written to both KWMU and to Mr. Forsee (thanks for the e-mail address!) and am withholding donations until this issue is resolved - which sounds like will not happen until Ms. Wente is gone.
UMSL should be ashamed of itself.
The only reason I am not completely infuriated at being suckered into donations all these years is because it sounds like many hard-working and talented employees at KWMU suffered mightily to continue producing quality programming. Kudos to them for carrying on under a despotic regime.
Unbelievable.
~Listener in U City
Hey Scott Simon:
If you knew a thing about the situation there, you wouldn't feel the need to question anyone's need for anonymity.
As a long time supporter and a non-profit Executive Director. I have had many dealings with Patty Wente, she is clearly unethincal, a wildcard, shifty and a liar. That being said, I have a few comments for the board and Liz Green. Come on, staying in $350-$400 hotels IS NOT THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS, especially when you are a nonprofit and your nonchalant attitude is quite concerning. I do consulting for nonprofits ALL OVER THE COUNTRY and I have NEVER EVER worked with an ETHICAL non-profit that CONSISTENTLY spends money for dinners and self-fufilling items such as this. WAKE UP!
KWMU has gotten my last dollar and I will personally alert everyone I know to this. See what happened to the Catholic Churchs funding when they stopped being good stewards of money. Nice Job UMSL. Hope it was worth it.
"If you knew a thing about the situation there, you wouldn't feel the need to question anyone's need for anonymity."
HEY - If they are former employees, why the need for anonymity?
And what makes you assume I don't know what's going on there? I'm active at stlmedia.net and we reported her DUI before anyone else.
Most of the criticism about her are generic with no specifics. Dull drama.
Scott Simon
Scott:
The more you post, the more ignorant and out-of-touch you appear.
It's been explained to you that Wente's vindictiveness has extended to ex-employees, who remain in the public radio system, before.
Also? STLmedia? Not really helping your reputation there. Leave this issue to people who know something about it. These are not vague, generic concerns. There are serious problems here, about which it's abundantly clear that you know absolutely nothing.
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