Montheith and Laurenti Out at WUMB

Going back a week and a half or so, talk on the street that Pat Monteith was out as general manager of "Boston's NPR Music Station'" reached the internet last Thursday, first in "A new era?" in Fans of Former Folk Radio WUMB (Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 2:24pm). The rumor was substantiated in Steve Ide's blog entry titled "WUMB assures listeners that there are no plans to change its folk music format".


In a related development, two sources on the same day reported John Laurenti had moved from WUMB to WODS.


John Laurenti Joins Karen Blake For Mornings On WODS
May 3, 2012 at 7:55 AM (PT)
and
CBS ADDS JOHN LAURENTI TO MORNINGS IN BOSTON
5-3-2012

Due to his AAA pop background, Monteith brough Laurenti to WUMB as music director to manage the transition from "Folk Radio WUMB" to the "music mix" format it adopted when it became Boston's third NPR affiliate.


WUMB operates as a professionally managed and operated station under a broadcast licence granted to UMass Boston.


Conspicuously missing. In Sue Scheible's blog article "

Missing Pat Monteith at WUMB (Quincy Ma Patriot-Ledger, May 4, 2012) we read 

But as a folk music friend from Cambridge noted: "By coincidence, I received my printed Member Newsletter today. Previously, there has always been a message from General Manager Pat Montieth on the front page, with news and updates.  This time, the message was "from the staff."  No mention of Pat anywhere. It seems to me that if she were really retiring, there would be tributes and farewells --  not silence."

Indeed, when WUMB produced a tribute to Dick Pleasants at Sanders Theater, there was much hoopla. If Ms. Monteith's career was esteemed by the UMass administration, why was her departure veiled in secrecy and silence?


The following images of wumb.org were made Monday, May 7.


WUMB HAPPENINGS

Farewell, Levon…
Fri Apr 27, 2012

April Centenaries, 2012
Sat Apr 14, 2012

A Tribute to Lowell George
Fri Apr 13, 2012

It's baseball time!
Thu Apr 5, 2012

Earl Scruggs - The Father of Bluegrass Music
Thu Mar 29, 2012

She Exemplifies International Women’s Month!
Sat Mar 17, 2012

Stuck in Traffic
Thu Mar 15, 2012

SOMETHING FRESH FOR TUESDAY MORNING!
Join Perry Persoff for The Tuesday Morning New Music Test at 7:30 a.m. He’ll play three new songs back to back and you’ll have the chance to vote online for which one you like best! This week he’s got new music from The Nields (in photo), Darrell Scott and more! Click here for more details about these and other WUMB specials this week.

posted 5.7.12

WE'RE OFF AND RUNNING!
Tickets are now on sale for the WUMB Concert Marathon happening Sunday June 3rd at UMASS Boston. Guy Davis, Tracy Grammer, and Tish Hinojosa will each be performing, and all you need is one ticket! The good news is that WUMB members can get discounted tickets. The bad news is that seats are limited. Click here right now to get yours online, or just call 617-287-6900.

posted 5.7.12

KATE CAMPBELL MEMBER CONCERT PREMIERE!
We were lucky to have Kate Campbell as our special guest for our most recent WUMB Member Concert, and it was an amazing night of music and stories. If you were there and want to relive it, or if you missed it and want to pretend like you were there, just make sure to join us tomorrow night at 6:30! Click here to take a look at all the musical stuff this week.

posted 5.7.12

WHAT DOES MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL REALLY MEAN?
When you can get amazing deals and find things you just can't get anywhere else, PLUS it helps keep great music coming out of your radio... THAT'S mutually beneficial. And that's exactly what the WUMB Online Auction is all about! make sure to KEEP checking the auction, because we keep adding to it, 100% of the proceeds go to help us keep on keeping on. Click here to bid!

posted 4.23.12

WUMB AND PUBLIC RADIO MUSIC MONTH
WUMB and other public radio music stations nationwide are celebrating the role we play in preserving, cultivating and promoting music. You can find out more about Public Radio Music Month and the rich history WUMB has had with music discovery and preservation over the past 30 years here - including the first-ever radio interview that Tracy Chapman ever did.

posted 4.22.12

WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THAT SONG???
Have you ever heard a song on WUMB and didn't have time to write down the name of the artist or CD title? This information is now available for all locally-produced shows on our new Playlist Archives page - just minutes, or weeks after a song is played. Check out the Web page here.

posted 2.10.12

Who is selecting WUMB's played artists and songs?

An interesting discussion has started on NEFolknRoots.  It is based on this observation/question:

UMB rumor

I'm wondering if this is fact or fiction: Pat is doing all the music programming now and won't let JL have anything to do with it, even though he's the "Music Director." You can say what you will about him; however, I couldn't think of a more unqualified person than Pat to fill this role. Word is that she makes every decision regarding playlist (somewhat explain the clunkers). I'm not sure how long this has been going on, or again, if in fact it is true.

Thoughts??

Read the the original question and responses here (free registration is required).

End of the Highway

Image source: http://www.piedmontbrothersband.com/media/audiogallery/radio/wumb.jpg

View the Google cached version here.

Notice the changes in the first lines, from "Highway 61 Revisited brings back the spirit of the Sixties when folk-rock and protest music ruled the airwaves..." to "Highway 61 Revisited brings back the spirit of the Sixties and Seventies when folk-rock and protest music ruled the airwaves..."  
Opening up the show's mission statement allowed the possibility of playing folk-based pop.

Since WUMB went pop/AAA some two years ago, one of the few remaining programs worth listening to had been, now was, Barnes Newbury's "Highway 61 Revisited".

Barnes did not do his show yesterday morning and the substitute host, music director John Laurenti did not mention he was filling in, which is not only common broadcast radio practice, it is common courtesy. In fact, at the time of the broadcast the show's webpage carried Mr. Laurenti's, not Barnes' photograph. Something was afoot.

At the show's conclusion a prediction was posted to NEFolknRoots: "Highway 61 Revisited as we knew it since 2000 is gone. I hope I am proven wrong."

Capture of "Highway 61 Revisited" 'program description as it appeared Saturday morning:

ANNOUNCERS

Announcer: This week: John Laurenti
Show: Highway 61 Revisited
Time: Saturday 8am-12pm

Contact

Highway 61 Revisited brings back the spirit of the Sixties when folk-rock and protest music ruled the airwaves.
The show, which debuted in the summer of 2000, includes classic folk music and a smattering of classic rock from that era, including "hits" and less-familiar tracks from groups such as the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield.
The singer/songwriter genre is defined by such diverse artists from Jackson Browne to Gordon Lightfoot. Less-remembered lights such as P.F. Sloan and Tim Buckley are also tapped for the influence they left behind. We also includes folk and folk-rock from outside the US with gems from Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, to name but two.
Finally, the program also showcases covers of the music from that era by contemporary and local artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Richard Thompson, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, and Patty Larkin. And, of course, there is always plenty of music from the master himself, Bob Dylan!

Notice the "This week: John Laurenti", unusual practice for a substitute host.
Saturday's show consisted mostly of horrible pop covers of horrible 70's/80's pop songs. What these songs had to do with "...the spirit of the Sixties when folk-rock and protest music ruled the airwaves" resides only in the mind of a music director trained in AAA/pop radio.

1:58 AM	Bee Gees
	Marley Purt Drive (from Bee Gees)
11:43 AM	Alanis Morrissette
	Let's Do It(Let;s Fall In Love) (from The Collection)
11:35 AM	Rachel Sage
	Fame (from Delancey St)
11:19 AM	Tori Amos
	I'm On Fire (from VH1 Crossroads)
10:55 AM	Warren Zevon
	Exciteable Boy (from Live)
10:47 AM	The Infamous String Dusters
	In God's Country (from Things That Fly)
10:45 AM	Aslan
	New years Day (from Even Better Than The Real Things)
10:26 AM	Brandi Carlile
	All You Need Is Love (from XOBC-EP)
10:26 AM	The Hollies
	4th Of July, Asbury Park(Sandy) (from Epic Anthology)
10:11 AM	Bruce Springsteen
	Rosalita (from Live)
10:04 AM	Bruce Springsteen
	Turn, Turn, Turn (from Magic Tour Highlights)
9:31 AM	Carole King
	Will You Love Me Tomorrow/Some Kind Of W (from Carnegie Hall Concert)
9:03 AM	Heart
	Ring Them Bells (from Essential Heart)
8:48 AM	Tift Merritt
	Danny's Song (from See You On The Moon)
8:42 AM	Dire Straits
	I Think I Love You Too Much (from Knebworth Concert)
8:37 AM	Backyard Tire Fire
	Brady (from Good To Be)
8:34 AM	David Bowie
	Port Of Amsterdam (from Pin-ups)
8:24 AM	Chrissie Hynde
	My Father (from Born To The Breed)
8:17 AM	Blue Rodeo
	To Love Somebody (from Gr. Hits)

NEFolknRoots was updated later yesterday evening and this morning with additional program information. It turned out, as suspected, that Barnes' show had indeed reached the end of the highway.

Well, look at what is on the WUMB home page .....

4.24.10 | Changes with Highway 61 Revisited
After more than nine years as host of Highway 61 Revisited, we're sorry to announce that Barnes Newberry has decided to leave. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors. We're currently exploring options about what to do now on Saturday mornings from 8:00am-Noon, and we'd love to hear from our listeners. If you have any thoughts about the future of our Saturday morning programming, please write to us at wumb@umb.edu.

I have my suspicions why Highway 61 Revisited has ended but do not wish to speculate in public. But I will say happy trails, Barnes, your program will be missed and look forward to hearing you on another station.

&

How quickly do they go into the memory hole.

During yesterday's broadcast and before his "resignation" was announced on the main page, Barnes' image was removed from the "Highway 61 Revisited" program description.

Today, in the "announcers" list, his name remains with the others'

Bob Cannon
Gail Gilmore
Meg Griffin
John Laurenti
Jay Moberg
Barnes Newberry
Albert O
Joan Orr
Dave Palmater
Marcia Palmater
Dick Pleasants
Sandy Sheehan
Dana Westover

....but the hyperlink leads to this image/page

Announcer: This week: John Laurenti
Show: Highway 61 Revisited
Time: Saturday 8am-12pm

Contact

Highway 61 Revisited brings back the spirit of the Sixties when folk-rock and protest music ruled the airwaves.
The show, which debuted in the summer of 2000, includes classic folk music and a smattering of classic rock from that era, including "hits" and less-familiar tracks from groups such as the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield.
The singer/songwriter genre is defined by such diverse artists from Jackson Browne to Gordon Lightfoot. Less-remembered lights such as P.F. Sloan and Tim Buckley are also tapped for the influence they left behind. We also includes folk and folk-rock from outside the US with gems from Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, to name but two.
Finally, the program also showcases covers of the music from that era by contemporary and local artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Richard Thompson, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, and Patty Larkin. And, of course, there is always plenty of music from the master himself, Bob Dylan!

...and some few hours later "Barnes Newbury" was replaced with "Highway 61 Revisited"

Gail Gilmore
Meg Griffin
John Laurenti
Jay Moberg
Highway 61 Revisited
Albert O
Joan Orr
Dave Palmater
Marcia Palmater
Dick Pleasants
Sandy Sheehan
Dana Westover

We have seen this immediate "scrubbing" before, to wit when Brian Quinn was "laid off " last November.

Fare thee well, Barnes, you produced and hosted a quality program that did not fit WUMB's AAA/pop format. I am sure we'll hear you again very soon on a station that appreciates your talents.


Related posts

From WUMB:

WUMB Radio - Press

"Our station has tried so hard to keep this going," said Barnes Newberry, whose WUMB show, "Highway 61 Revisited" features Bob Dylan and the Byrds. ...
www.wumb.org/about/press.php - Cached - Similar

From this blog:

notloB Music: Brian Quinn, WUMB program director, "laid off"

Nov 12, 2009

This past Tuesday, Brian Quinn, WUMB program director for 20 years, posted to NortheastFolknRoots he had been "laid off". I have extracted several press releases going back over the years relevant to Brian's work at WUMB, mostly before ...

http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/

notloB Music: WGBH drops folk and blues programs

Nov 07, 2009

Received 10/11 from Brian Quinn: "Brian Quinn WUMB's Program Director for 20 plus years has been laid off" Read Brian's post at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NorthEastFolknRoots/message/8608. What the hell is going on with Boston folk ...

http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/

Wahlberg and gang take over oyster house

Jan 02, 2009

WUMB certainly was not the only radio station in the area playing folk music, what set it apart was that it played more hours per week than any other station, and veterans Marilyn Rae Beyer, Brian Quinn, Dave Palmeter, Dick Pleasants ...

http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/

Jack Who? Or the gang who couldn't shoot straight

Oct 28, 2008

Quinn Administration, 03, 0054A 100 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA 02125-3393 p. 617-287-6800. 5. And since WUMB is operating outside the community interest, file a complaint with the FCC! FCC.gov > CGB > Filing a Complaint > Form 2000 ...

http://notlobmusic.blogspot.com/

===================

Updated 4/26.

If WUMB management is sincere in its feelings related to the departure of Barnes Newbury and call for listener input how to program Saturday mornings, why was the announcement...

4.24.10 | Changes with Highway 61 Revisited
After more than nine years as host of Highway 61 Revisited, we're sorry to announce that Barnes Newberry has decided to leave. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors. We're currently exploring options about what to do now on Saturday mornings from 8:00am-Noon, and we'd love to hear from our listeners. If you have any thoughts about the future of our Saturday morning programming, please write to us at wumb@umb.edu.

removed?

===============

Updated 5/7/10

WUMB's website has been edited, here is new Highway 61 Revisited program description - short version

Highway 61 Revisited
Hosted by Albert O this week
Saturday 8:00 am

Highway 61 Revisited is a fond look back at the classic folk and folk rock of the 60's and 70's that defined a generation, with contemporary artists contributing to the spirit of that era.
Program Web Site

....and the new Highway 61 Revisited program description - long version.

ANNOUNCERS

Announcer this week:
Albert O

Show:
Highway 61 Revisited

Time:
Saturday 8am-12pm

Contact

Highway 61 Revisited brings back the spirit of the Sixties and Seventies when folk-rock and protest music ruled the airwaves.
The show includes classic folk music and a smattering of classic rock from that era, including "hits" and less-familiar tracks from groups such as the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield.
The singer/songwriter genre is defined by such diverse artists from Jackson Browne to Gordon Lightfoot. Less-remembered lights such as P.F. Sloan and Tim Buckley are also tapped for the influence they left behind. We also includes folk and folk-rock from outside the US with gems from Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, to name but two.
Finally, the program also showcases covers of the music from that era by contemporary and local artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Richard Thompson, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, and Patty Larkin. And, of course, there is always plenty of music from the master himself, Bob Dylan!

Here is the Barnes Newbury-era program description: