6. Letter from Ann Porotti to Marian Anderfuren

Marion Anderfuren

Office of Public Affairs

Dear Marion:

I cannot believe what is happening at WTJU. After working with the Office of Public Affairs in good faith, all winter and spring, to ensure a smooth transition from Chuck to Burr, the 100 -plus DJ’s at TJU--many of them prominent citizens in the community-- are finding themselves summarily deprived of the shows they have built over decades. Many of these shows have developed a listener base on which the contributions to the station operating budget largely depends.

We do not blame Burr for this; we know that he is under intense pressure from the University of Virginia to somehow “improve” WTJU. But why were none of these ambitions to change the station shared with any of us who worked with you along the way? Instead an edict has simply come down that drastic schedule changes are now in place.

Of course, we all anticipated “some change” with the new Station Manager. But what you have done strikes many of us as using Burr as a stalking horse for some ambition that the University seems to have for the station, an ambition which it has not chosen to share with those of us who are the station.

I am also copying English Professor Jahan Ramazani, with whom I recently I had a conversation about his fond memories of working at the station as its first Jazz Director and about how much he enjoys its current programming.

Sincerely yours,

Ann Porotti