WAMU going under?

[Anonymous]

Sure sounds like it. Check out this email that went out to staffers this afternoon.



*****

Izadi: Ominous email sent to WAMU staff this afternoon about a “new strategic framework” to be announced Friday morning. Their offices will be closed to have the “time and space” to have these convos– WAMU won’t publish anything online, and they’re automating starting 8pm.

Email:

Dear Team,

Tomorrow, we will announce WAMU’s new strategic framework during a virtual all-staff Zoom meeting at 9 a.m., followed later in the day by virtual team meetings to discuss next steps.

To provide the time and space to have these conversations, our office will be closed tomorrow, Friday, February 23 and any scheduled meetings or activities should be postponed. As of now, our social and digital platforms will not publish and WAMU has taken the steps necessary to temporarily automate beginning at 8 p.m. tonight. Access to some of our systems has been temporarily frozen for all staff. We ask that our entire staff, including those deemed essential, stay home as we spend time meeting with teams across WAMU.

Please use the Zoom link below to join the mandatory staff meeting tomorrow, Friday, February 23 at 9 a.m.

I appreciate the journey we have taken together and thank you for your patience as we have diligently and deliberately approached this process to move WAMU into the future.





That’s pretty ominous sounding. If I got that I’d be blasting resumes out like spam.

[Anonymous]

Oh my, agree it does not sound good.
Love Esther C, 1A, and weather guy Matthew C!

[Anonymous]

sucks that they locked staff out of systems and programs; if this turns out to be another media purge with a huge wave of layoffs, I'm no longer donating to them again. I've already donated multiple cars. Not loving how employees are being communicated with.

[Anonymous]

It really doesn't sound good. I too have donated vehicles. I have to confess I don't listen nearly as much these days. Hope everyone can find a good job to land at.

[Anonymous]

Not sure if this is a troll or real.


Time will tell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if this is a troll or real.


Time will tell.

I don’t think you should be allowed to use the internet again until you can demonstrate to all of us what a “troll” is.

[Anonymous]

“Time and space to have these conversations”

Translated from corporate-speak:

“We’re keeping all of you out of the office and locked out of the computer networks so none of you will shoot us in a fit of rage or copy a bunch of embarrassing or incriminating data that might make us look really bad later, because we raised tons of money over the years, kept it for our own compensation packages, and then fired you without warning”.

-WAMU management team.






That’s what time and space means.

[Anonymous]

Ugh what a horrible way to do whatever it is that they are doing

[Anonymous]

I stopped listening long ago when they couldn't ease up on their "angle"

[Anonymous]

I must admit that I listen less and less because I just get so annoyed. They attach race to almost every single story they cover. It could be the most innocuous story, and then they'll throw in some sort of race angle at the end. Every. Single. Time.

[Anonymous]

Whatever it is they're doing I agree with PP that they couldn't have messaged this more ominously or poorly. And it's gonna really turn off sustaining donors who will probably go online today and cancel their monthly donation, amplifying what I assume or financial challenges that have prompted this whole thing.

[Anonymous]

If they go all syndicated, there is no reason to donate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I stopped listening long ago when they couldn't ease up on their "angle"

I love WAMU local news coverage, politics hour, etc. but the agenda that the replacements for Kojo and Diane Rehm had was just too much. Everything had to talk about trans or race or social justice. I’m fine with insightful discussions of those topics, even if I disagree with the views discussed - but it was constant and to the exclusion of other interesting topics that used to only be covered (well) by WAMU and then didn’t get covered at all. I was so happy when they restarted dcist but they didn’t pull much of that work through to be on the air.

[Anonymous]

They alienated the consumer base and the advertising revenue dried up. You could see this from a mile away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped listening long ago when they couldn't ease up on their "angle"

I love WAMU local news coverage, politics hour, etc. but the agenda that the replacements for Kojo and Diane Rehm had was just too much. Everything had to talk about trans or race or social justice. I’m fine with insightful discussions of those topics, even if I disagree with the views discussed - but it was constant and to the exclusion of other interesting topics that used to only be covered (well) by WAMU and then didn’t get covered at all. I was so happy when they restarted dcist but they didn’t pull much of that work through to be on the air.

+1.

I started noticing it when they dropped (or dramatically reduced) coverage of 'conventional' sports like the Nats and Redskins in favor of women's basketball and European soccer. It was like they gave the reins to a queer college student. Sure, a queer college student's perspective is as valid as any other person's, but they speak to a much smaller audience.