I was once fired by WGBH.
I say that only to establish my credentials to comment on the accelerating collapse of Boston NPR – National Panhandler Radio.
A couple of days ago, it was WBUR announcing buyouts, which are inevitably followed by layoffs.
Now it’s WGBH declaring that it too is facing “headwinds,” and here are two facts that illustrate just how dire their financial jeopardy is.
WGBH has 850 employees – 850!
Jim Braude, the “executive editor” and talk-show host, made $470,855 in 2021.
And Braude was only the fifth highest-paid employee at the station that year.
What’s happening at the local whine-and-cheese outlets was described perfectly in one of Ernest Hemingway’s early novels:
“How did you go bankrupt?”
“Two ways,” Hemingway’s hero replied. “Gradually, then suddenly.”
WBUR and WGBH appear to be entering phase two.
Panhandler radio…
