>> THE FACE OF PUBLIC MEDIA IN WESTERN NEW ENGLAND IS CHANGING
AND WGBY PUBLIC TELEVISION AND NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC RADIO
ANNOUNCE PLANS TO JOIN TO FORM A NEW MULTIMEDIA ORGANIZATION, NEW
ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA.
RAY HERSHEL SAT DOWN WITH WGBY GENERAL MANAGER ANTHONY V. HAYS,
AND MARTIN MILLER TO FIND OUT MORE.
>> WE'RE FORMING IT NOW BECAUSE WE SEE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO
WORK CLOSELY TOGETHER TO PRIMARILY INCREASE OUR
JOURNALISM.
THAT'S A PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS PARTNERSHIP.
BUT WE ALSO SEE OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE OUR MUSIC, OUR CULTURAL
PROGRAMMING, OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, TO REACH MORE
DIVERSE AUDIENCES, A YOUNGER AUDIENCE, AND TO LOOK AT
DIGITAL, ESPECIALLY DIGITAL.
WE'VE COME INTO A WORLD WHERE THERE IS A LOT OF COMPETITION IN
A LOT OF PLACES AND WE FEEL COMING TOGETHER MEANS WE CAN
ACCELERATE THE PACE OF GROWTH SO THAT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH SOME OF
THESE GOALS BUT JOURNALISM IS A PRIMARY GOAL BEHIND IT.
>> MAYBE I CAN GET COMMENTS FROM EACH OF YOU ON THIS NEXT
QUESTION.
THAT IS, FOR LISTENERS OR VIEWERS, WHEN THEY HEAR
SOMETHING OF A MERGER, THEIR FIRST QUESTION WILL BE, IS THIS
GOING TO IMPACT THE PROGRAMS I SEE ON WGBY OR THE PROGRAMS I
HEAR ON NPR?
SO WHAT'S ANSWER THERE?
WHAT CAN PEOPLE EXPECT AS VIEWERS OF WGBY, THESE PROGRAMS?
>> OKAY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT QUESTION.
TECHNICALLY, THIS IS NOT A MERGER.
THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP.
IT'S TWO ENTITIES GETTING TOGETHER.
WE BOTH DO A VERY GOOD JOB OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY.
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE I THINK WE'RE BETTER TOGETHER.
THIS WILL ALLOW US AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THE
LISTENERS AND VIEWERS WITH MORE WHAT THEY HAVE COME TO EXPECT
FROM THEIR PUBLIC MEDIA SOURCE.
THE PROGRAMMING THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY WE'LL CONTINUE TO
HAVE.
WE PLAN TO DO MORE ON A DIGITAL BASIS, IN TERMS OF PROVIDING
QUALITY CONTENT THAT OUR AUDIENCES CAN RELY ON.
>> AND, MR.
MILLER, HOW ABOUT THE RADIO END OF THIS
PARTNERSHIP?
>> YEAH, WELL, AS YOUR VIEWERS MAY KNOW, WE HAVE TWO NETWORKS.
WE HAVE A NEWS NETWORK AND WE HAVE A NEWS AND MUSIC NETWORK,
AND THOSE WILL CONTINUE TO GO ON THE WAY THEY ARE, MEANING, WE'LL
CONTINUE TO PRESENT CLASSICAL MUSIC, JAZZ, SOME WORLD MUSIC,
OUR SIGNATURE PROGRAMS, OUR MORNING EDITION OF "ALL THINGS
CONSIDERED," WE'RE COMMITTED TO THOSE FORMATS, MUSIC, AND
CULTURE, AND AS ANTHONY POINTED OUT, INCREASING OUR CONTENT THAT
PEOPLE ALREADY DEPEND ON, AND MAKING IT MORE AVAILABLE TO
PEOPLE THROUGH DIGITAL AND OTHER WAYS, EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SO WE REALLY ARE COMMITTED TO WHAT
WE'RE DOING.
WE WANT TO EXPAND ON WHAT WE'RE DOING.
>> I'M SORRY.
>> AND WITH THE PROGRAM THAT YOU CAN RELY ON AS FAR AS WGBY IS
CONCERNED, "CONNECTING POINT," THIS PROGRAM HERE, THEY WILL ALL
REMAIN CONTACT.
>> I'M SURE OUR VIEWERS ARE GLAD TO HEAR THAT BIT OF NEWS.
STAFF-WISE, I THINK BOTH STATIONS EMPLOY SOMETHING LIKE
78 EMPLOYEES.
HOW WILL THIS IMPACT THE STAFF?
>> THERE WILL BE NO LOSS OF JOBS.
EVERYONE WILL BE UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF THE GROUP MOVING
FORWARD.
IN TOTAL, I THINK, AT PRESENT, IT'S ABOUT 21 INDIVIDUALS, AND
WITHIN THE NEXT THREE YEARS WE HOPE TO GET THAT NUMBER CLOSER
TO 30 IF NOT MORE, SO OUR OTHER MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS ARE REDUCING
THE SIZE OF THEIR NEWSROOM AND WE'RE ACTUALLY EXPANDING SHOWING
OUR COMMITMENT TO JOURNALISM IN THIS AREA.
>> ONE OF THE PLACES FOR EXPANSION, RAY, IS HAVING A
DAILY RADIO PROGRAM THAT WE WILL PRODUCE.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO COME.
IT MAY TAKE ANOTHER YEAR BEFORE PEO
PEOPLE HEAR IT, BUT IT'S NOT AREA WE WANT TO EXPAND OUR
PROGRAMMING.
>> UNDERSTAND THAT WGBY WILL BE INVESTING SOMETHING TO THE TUNE
OF $6 MILLION OVER THE NEXT SIX YEARS, HOW IS THAT INVESTMENT
GOING TO BE UTILIZED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL?
>> IT WILL BE SPREAD OUT OVER SIX YEARS, THROUGH I.T.,
TECHNOLOGY, PROGRAMMING, CONTENT, PERSONNEL, TO HELP US
GET A GOOD SOLID START AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS NEW
INITIATIVE.
>> AND FROM THE RADIO POINT OF VIEW, U MASS AMHERST HOLDS THE
BROADCAST LICENSE.
WHAT WILL U MASS'S ROLE BE IN THIS PARTNERSHIP?
>> THE U MASS ROLE WILL CONTINUE TO BE WHAT IT'S BEEN.
WE'RE NOW GOING TO HAVE REALLY THREE FACILITIES.
1525 MAIN STREET WHICH IS ACTUALLY OWNED BY OUR
FOUNDATION.
THIS BUILDING, AND WE HAVE STUDIOS ON THE U MASS AMHERST
CAMPUS, FIVE COLLEGE STUDIOS.
U MASS VICE CHANCELLOR FOR OUTREACH WILL HAVE A SEAT ON THE
BOARD.
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FIVE COLLEGES, INC., WILL HAVE A SEAT
ON THE BOARD.
SO THE CONTRIBUTION AND SOME OF THE CASH CONTRIBUTIONS WE GET
FROM THE UNIVERSITY WILL CONTINUE.
AND YOU'RE CORRECT.
U MASS WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD THE LICENSES FOR FIVE TRANSLATORS.
>> SO THOSE BOARDS WILL COME TOGETHER UNDER ONE BOARD?
>> YES.
THE FOUNDATION BOARD AND THE WGBY BOARD OF TRIBUNES WILL COME
TOGETHER TO FORM A NEW BOARD.
>> UNDERSTANDING THAT EACH OF YOU WILL HAVE YOUR OWN
INDIVIDUAL TITLES.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY WILL BE UNDER THIS PARTNERSHIP
AND HOW YOU WORK TOGETHER IN UNISON WILL MOVE THIS
PARTNERSHIP FORWARD?
>> SO I'LL BECOME THE PRESIDENT OF NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA.
ANTHONY WILL BECOME THE COO AND GENERAL MANAGER OF NEW ENGLAND
PUBLIC MEDIA.
WE'LL BE WORKING TO THE TO BRING THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS IN THE
ORGANIZATIONS TOGETHER.
EACH OF US WILL HAVE DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION, AND I'LL REPORT DIRECTLY TO OUR NEW
BOARD.
>> SINCE I ARRIVED, I ARRIVED HERE AT WGBY IN JULY 2017 AND
ONE OF THE FIRST INDIVIDUALS I READ OUT TO UPON MY ARRIVAL WAS
MARTIN MILLER.
SO THROUGH THAT TIME, WE'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW
EACH OTHER.
WE BELIEVE OUR MANAGEMENT STYLES ARE QUITE COMPATIBLE SO THUS FAR
WE'VE FORMED A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP, AND SO WITH MARTIN
BEING THE PRESIDENT AND ME HOLDING A POSITION OF COO AND
GENERAL MANAGER, I BELIEVE THAT THAT WILL ALLOW US TO HELP
ELEVATE THIS ORGANIZATION.
I BELIEVE THE TEAM AS A WHOLE WILL FOLLOW SUIT AS WE CONTINUE
TO MOVE FORWARD.
>> I KNOW YOU BOTH HAVE A PASSION FOR PUBLIC TELEVISION,
PUBLIC RADIO, AND THE KIND OF INFORMATION THAT PEOPLE RECEIVE,
WHETHER IT'S NEWS, INFORMATION, ENTERTAINMENT, CAN YOU TALK A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY WITH REGARD TO
THAT PASSION.
IS THERE ANYTHING WE HAVEN'T COVERED DURING THIS SEGMENT THAT
YOU CARE TO ADD TO, OR WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR THE
COMMUNITY AS WE MOVE FORWARD UNDER THIS PARTNERSHIP?
I'LL GIVE YOU EACH A CHANCE TO ANSWER IT.
>> I'M COMMITTED TO MAKING A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE AND A
LASTING IMPACT AND THAT'S WHAT WIFE BEEN TRYING TO DO HERE AS
THE MANAGER OF WGBY.
IN ADDITION TO OUR CONTENT WE DO MUCH IN THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS
OF ENGAGEMENT AND EVENT BUT ALSO WITH THE ROBUST EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE SO COMBINING WHAT WE HAVE
IN TERMS OF STAFFING AND INITIATIVES, PARTICULARLY WITH
THE EDUCATION STUDENT, COMBINING THAT WITH MEDIA LAB, WHICH
MARTIN HAS AT NPR THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY
AND HELP REALLY JUST TRY TO HELP SERVE THE COMMUNITY.
>> YOUR THOUGHTS?
>> MY TWO MAJOR THOUGHTS ARE, WE'RE AT A CRITICAL POINT IN OUR
COUNTRY WHERE PEOPLE FEEL OUR DEMOCRACY IS -- MAYBE FADING
AWAY IN SOME WAY, AND PART OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH RECEIVING
FACT-BASED INFORMATION, GOOD INFORMATION, NEWS THAT IS EDITED
AND PUT THROUGH A PROCESS SO IT'S NEWS THEY CAN TRUST.
SO I THINK EXPANDING THAT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AT THIS TIME
IN OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY, WHEN JOURNALISM IS UNDER ATTACK.
JOURNALISTS HAVE BEEN ATTACKED IN THIS COUNTRY SO WE NEED TO DO
SOMETHING ABOUT THAT ON THE LOCAL LEVEL.
WE'VE SEEN REALLY, UNFORTUNATELY, A SHRINKAGE MEDIA
OF REPORTING AND IN DEPTH ENTERPRISE NEWS COVERAGE, SO WE
SEE A BIG OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY BETTER.
THE OTHER MESSAGE I WOULD LIKE TO BRING TO THE COMMUNITY IS
THAT THIS OPERATION, NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA, IS
SELF-SUFFICIENT.
WE'RE GETTING A VERY GENEROUS GRANT FROM THE WGBY EDUCATIONAL
FOUNDATION BUT OUR GOAL IS TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT SO WE STILL RELY
ON COMMUNITY SUPPORT.
WE'LL BE REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY FOR SUPPORT, AND IT'S
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO HELP US TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS THAT
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.