Downsizing at American Public Media

In the last couple of weeks American Public Media has tightened its belt and laid off people from several departments and shows, including three from the classical music unit.  Senior Producer/on-air host Melissa Ousley, Producer Karl Gehrke, and Managing Producer Silvester Vicic have all been let go from their classical music jobs.

I spoke with Vicic and he was philosophical about it, saying the cutbacks were purely for financial reasons, and all the departments had to make cuts, including Weekend America and the News Department.  He says

With the general decline of the economy, nonprofits were hit, too. The one thing that’s for sure is that nobody was let go because of being a bad employee. We were reorganized to maximize productivity with fewer resources.  The company is figuring out its priorities, aligning the money they have with what they want to do, and preparing for the next generation of distribution – radio is still their core, but they’re looking at other distribution platforms.  You’ve always got to reinvent yourself.

Vicic has been with the company 16 1/2 years.  This was his sixth job within the company.  He was overseeing the production of the top classical music show in the business, Performance Today and also the orchestra show SymphonyCast.

This week — Wednesday through Saturday — is the big Public Radio Program Directors’ (PRPD) annual conference.  It’s being held in Los Angeles this year, and I’ll be reporting from there.

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