It’s becoming clear from the outpouring of letters that the management at Maine Public Radio has made what may prove to be a fatal mistake (for them) by arbitrarily making programming changes that go completely counter to the precepts and raison d’etre of public radio.

It may be that the MPR management is so worried about their jobs and the money for next year’s budget that they have gone commercial in an attempt to appeal to the broadest possible audience. If so, this strategy is the opposite of the precepts of National Educational Television (its predecessor) which began to broadcast programming (narrowcasting if you will) that would not appeal to the mass audience. There was something for everyone; no one was expected to be interested in all of the programming. It was programming that listeners could not get on commercial radio.

To drop the opera because of a one-year drop of 1,000 listeners flies in the face of these historic beginnings as well as to the interests of most regular listeners to MPR. (One wonders where the board of directors were when all this was decided.)

Turns out the members were flimflammed by MPR who collected our annual donations before surprising everyone with their massive changes. But that ends our contributions to MPR. My family will rely mostly on CDs for our opera and serious music – like the many members who have already gone on record here.

But there is another alternative for Down East Mainers. There is the strong signal (even stronger than MPR which has a transmitter just 12 miles away from us in Calais) coming from CBC-2’s transmitter in Saint John, New Brunswick. No problem in getting the opera from this outstanding station, which for years has broadcast more hours of serious music than Maine Public Radio. Hurrah for the Canadians!

Robert and Barbara Henkel

Robbinston