1 – Please detail your qualifications for the NPR Board.

I served for nine years on the NPR Board and was Chairman from 1988 to 1990. I also served on the boards of the Station Resource Group, Radio Research Consortium, West Coast Public Radio, and Rocky Mountain Public Radio.

2 - If elected to the NPR Board, on what Board Committee – or in connection with what issue – do you believe you have the most to offer NPR?

Strategic priorities and budget planning.

3 - What is your overall assessment of the NPR board? Is it responsive to stations? Is it sufficiently high profile?

My experience is that the Board has worked very hard to be responsive to stations in the course of carrying out its fiduciary responsibilities. Except during the financial crisis of 1983, the NPR Board has maintained a relatively low profile. Email communication (Areps) from the Board and committee Chairs has raised the profile in recent times. The profile to donors could be considerable higher.

4 - NPR does not currently have a conflict of interest policy and procedure for Board members. What sort of policy should be established in order to handle conflict of interest situations when a board member has a primary duty as an employee or officer of a competing station, network or distributor?

A conflict of interest policy was in place when I was last on the Board – I signed a statement annually. Every board should have such a policy.

5 - Since the institution of the A-Reps meeting format, NPR has not achieved a quorum for its Annual Meeting. Do you view this as a problem? Do you have any recommendations for engaging more stations in the citizenship of the annual meeting?

I propose amending Article III, Section 3.5 of the NPR Bylaws to “Thirty-five percent (35%) of the Authorized Station Representatives, in person, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business at any meeting of the Members.” The 100+ members who attend the Annual Meeting now are engaged. We’ve spent the last seven years trying to engage the rest of the membership without success.

6 - What suggestions might you have to add diverse experience and opinions to the board and management deliberative process? Would the reimplementation of working advisory committees with station staff members and others for specific topics and issues serve as a way to expand knowledge and increase awareness of station’s needs, feelings and reactions? 

In my experience I’ve found that one-on-one communication is more effective than advisory committees, both in bringing experience to and seeking opinion about the business of NPR. In my view, Board members have an obligation to regularly consult with senior management and the membership.

7 - As an NPR Board member, how would you distinguish between the types of business you believe the Board should conduct in Executive Session versus the business that should be conducted in Open Session? 

All business should be conducted in open session with the exception of personnel matters, discussion of proprietary contracts & agreements, and matters requiring protection of attorney-client privilege.