CAB SUMMARY REPORT: APRIL 2015

SUMMARY REPORT:

CAB meeting on April 23 at the Bronx Library Center:

• Brian Lehrer, WNYC host and Peabody Award-winning interviewer, answered questions from CAB members and the public about his program and reporting in general.  He mentioned ways the listening public can encourage neglected topics to receive coverage and felt that the recent explosion in diverse forms of coverage is a positive development.
• The CAB voted to hold one meeting in 2016 at NJ PAC in Newark, New Jersey.
• Lue Ann Eldar, Chair of the Recruiting Committee, reported receiving 18 applications for next year, seven of whom attended the meeting.  Six candidates will be selected. 
• Sarah Lenigan, Chair of the Digital Committee, discussed creating a CAB Twitter feed.  CAB members had differing views on the helpfulness of Twitter.
• The participation of Brian Lehrer brought more public attendees than usual, about 23.  Public commentary could be summarized in 4 topics: 

o   The encroachment of advertising into sponsorship messages continues to be the most frequent public complaint.  One member of the public who frequently attends CAB meetings cited a sponsorship message from Forest City Ratner that he disliked.

o   Several attendees mentioned that they no longer find news summaries on the hour and sometimes hear them several minutes before the hour.  They preferred reliably knowing when the news would be broadcast.

o   Two comments focused on the use of overly casual language on the part of interviewers (including some on NPR, which listeners don’t necessarily separate from WNYC), citing overuse of the word “hey.”

o   One listener was very irritated by the new hourly tagline “Just keep listening” on WNYC, which she found insulting.