Interim GM Mike Dunn did something today on the air of KWMU that we're not sure Patty ever did: he had a conversation (instead of a guilt-ridden, horn-honking rant during a pledge drive) and lived up to the station's promise of 'intelligent talk.'Mr. Dunn did very well to keep the healing going Wednesday with his cool, calm demeanor on KWMU's "St. Louis on the Air." Many callers voiced their hesitancy to pledge during Patty's reign, if for no other reason than her condescending aura when she spoke on air during the pledge drives.
You can listen to Mr. Dunn on the show here.
Also:
* - The public radio newspaper Current came out with a follow-up article, where Patty again defends herself -- read that article here.
* - If you haven't yet read Mr. Dunn's letter to the community on the KWMU website, you can do so here.
* - Chad Garrison, the RFT writer who broke the Wente story, blogged about the recent discussion of KWMU on Donnybrook - read that blog post here. (Go Chad!)
* - The RFT printed some of its letters to the editor in response to Patty's firing.
4 comments:
As a listener, I was offended several times during the pledge drives (I'm sure I am not alone) when she actually sounded drunk. She was slurring her words during All Things Considered and then her vocal mood swings become like a roller coaster. I met Patty at a RCGA dinner and she was so stuck on herself. Making sexual inneudo's that had no bearing on the conversation...laughing loud...being rude..the list goes on and on.
And I agree with Mr. Dunn's assessment, there are several quality on-air pitch hosts who do make sense and connect with me as a listener. Thank goodness for those sane folks. Maybe during the next pledge drive, I will tune-in and listen more often.
Mike Dunn is a kind and astute professional and the perfect balm for these troubled waters.
Yes, it took too long for the recent changes to happen, but I also hope that Ms. Wente will get the professional help she needs--it's too bad she did not get that level of support from her employer long ago.
KWMU is a great station with great people and great listeners--onward!
I was really glad to hear Mr. Dunn yesterday and to hear the calls from all over St. Louis. Regular listeners who can't afford a lot -$50 a year like myself- were probably tired to hear her whiney "call-me" fake Jersey accent on-air. By the way, I am from New Jersey and we all don't talk like that.
So I read what happened behind the microphone so to speak and I am very happy that she will no longer be on the air. My ears were hurting when I tuned in to the fund drive especially all the horn honking and that witchy-type-of-laugh. If I have time, I may volunteer to answer phones during the drive even. Thank you.
Wonder if UM System will ever finish their investigation and if so, will they have the information available to the public? She is still prancing around acting like she is an innocent victim (the St. Louis Journalism Review for example) when the reality is DOZENS of people including current employees came forward with documented proof of her mismanagement. Has she filed suit against the university yet? They would be absolute fools to give her one red cent. Then again, Driemeier, Krueger, and Schuster are still on the payroll, so....
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