 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
Back
|
WMNF director finds change slow in coming
By KATHRYN WEXLER, Times Staff Writer
When Wynne tried to move WMNF's Jewish show from Sunday to Tuesday, his voicemail and e-mail account were flooded with hundreds of messages of disapproval. When an African-American host thought her show was in jeopardy, her supporters accused Wynne of racism. Wynne, 50, backed down on all those fronts. But he's still looking for ways to attract younger listeners. "We want more youth at the station," Wynne said while leading a 25-year-old down a hall at WMNF-FM 88.5 for a tryout as disk jockey. "It's kind of a threat to the older guard." Can this be happening at a station created 23 years ago by liberal activists eager to take aim at the status quo? Apparently so. An entrenched establishment has taken root at WMNF that would make the Daughters of the American Revolution proud. "It's just really hard," Wynne says. "Nobody wants to give an inch." WMNF is housed in a concrete block building on a modest stretch of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. "RADIO FREE TAMPA," reads an outdoor mural with a dove painted overhead. A notice in the library cautions against lit incense and candles. This is ground zero for leftist politics, a homey hang-out for persisting hippies. The place is crammed with 50,000 CDs, three recording studios and a few offices. High-tech recording devices are stacked in the hall. A vacuum cleaner is stored in the bathroom. The bathroom sink is broken. Luster may be lacking at WMNF, but opinions are abundant. And they stick to Wynne, a natural lightning rod for controversy because he decides what gets on the air and what gets booted. At a meeting last month, one of the station's most rancorous ever, critics shouted and called him names. A few intimated that he should be fired. "It's a tough position, and he's up against it," said Arlene Engelhardt, president of WMNF's board of directors. For 17 years, Wynne has weathered the station's storms and rotations of managers. When he was hired in 1985, the budget at WMNF was $200,000. Today, it is $1-million, mostly drawn from donations. It is still commercial-free and run mainly by 150 volunteers. Listeners have essentially held constant, at 90,000. For the most part, Wynne has charted a safe and steady course. WMNF plays much the same music as it did when he arrived. But Wynne, a Seminole Heights resident and father of two young children, wants things to change. Even if it hurts. "It's excruciating to pull yourself out of a really comfortable situation," he said. He notes that the station's 80 or so program hosts are aging. So are listeners, who tend to be educated, middle-aged whites. Wynne has carved out a weeknight show for DJs as young as 18. He also dreams of winning back African-American listeners, who tuned out in the early 1990s with the rise of black-oriented stations. For now, though, he's taking what he calls "the gradual approach." Station manager Vicki Santa says she gives Wynne free reign -- so long as he takes other viewpoints into account. But there are so many viewpoints. Said Wynne, sounding mildly deflated, "The more you listen, the less you can change. That's the conundrum." Supporters call him flexible. "Randy has always taken the high road," said Bill Dudley, 57, longtime host of WMNF's Celtic music show. "I know it's not politically correct to say, but Randy Wynne was very fair with us," says Mike Eisenstadt, host of Sunday Simcha. After Wynne was bombarded with complaints, he scrubbed his attempt to move Simcha to Tuesdays to make way for more programming geared toward African-Americans. Others are less laudatory. Wynne's comments that Latinos were never on the station's radar, and still aren't, caused considerable anger. But with the reinstatement of Oye Latino, that blister appears healed. What's now raising hairs is Wynne's new requirement that hosts reapply for their jobs. Some have been at the station for two decades. That, he said, has drawn a procession of tearful hosts to his office. "People's whole identities are tied up with their shows," he said. Deciding the fate of old friends can be difficult, Wynne said. "I've heard people say they wouldn't take this job for a million dollars." Wynne is paid $41,000 a year. He says he loves his work. "The job is totally consistent with my values of community, progressive politics, music," he says. "That's all the stuff I care about." More rough patches lie ahead. Plans to nix a two-hour folk music show on Sundays have acoustic lovers up in arms. So far, Wynne is holding firm -- not an easy task, given the pervasive culture at the station. John Dubrule's show, Sound Safari, broadcast for 13 years, was marked for elimination in January. Wynne, of course, was approached. "We were happy at the result," Debrule says. "We were saved." -- Kathryn Wexler can be reached at wexler@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3383.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Headlines From the Times local news desks |
