In fact, fuck you. I mean, what kind of morality do you think you're propagating with that line of thought?

That the only people who deserve to get paid are the ones doing evil? Sounds like exactly the kind of incentive system that's going to produce lots of evil. (Ahem).

Also, there is precisely zero economic difference between soliciting donations and charging fees (like, say, HBO). Both produce the same result - diversification of revenue streams beyond advertising, which is a win for just about everyone involved, from people who don't like an excess of ads polluting their media to program managers whose (professional) lives aren't completely dominated by Nielsen ratings.

Alternately, you can go back to Hot 97, if that's what you prefer.

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But then I'm a huge cynic when it comes to executive "talent." Also, WNYC is decidedly not a business.

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Perhaps she's taking an unpaid month off to save her station money. That would go a long way toward paying an employee's salary.

But if we're going to get our economy back in line for whatever is next, one of the things we should look at is either getting executive pay back in line with the rest of the grunts, or ridding the workplace of heirarchicical structures that encourage competition in which top slots are seen as automatic lottery wins.

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In fact, you'll hear (say on a Pacifica forum), that NPR's lost its community roots because it only caters to the main cities' news, views and opinions in its coverage (not to mention, you're better off as a WNYC reporter trying to get on ATC or ME than if you're working for WVTF.)

So if she's bringing in the bucks, via donations, corporate underwriting, what have you, for both her station and the network, you won't hear a peep about it from the gang at 635 Mass. Avenue, NW.

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Also, for the sake of completeness, her professional background is this:

"Ms. Walker began her professional career as a journalist and producer at National Public Radio, where she received a prestigious Peabody Award for Broadcast Excellence. In 1983 she joined the staff of Carnegie Hall where she launched the award-winning series, AT&T Presents Carnegie Hall Tonight. She joined the Sesame Workshop (formerly Children's Television Workshop) in 1987, where for eight years helped launch the acclaimed children's television series, Ghost Writer, lead the organization's efforts to establish a cable television channel (now Noggin), and headed the development efforts to fund these initiatives as well as other priorities of the organization."

It's not like she came over from AIG, for god's sake. Lay off her, why don't you.

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As someone axed from a big media company (along with three others) to make room for a Chief Revenue Officers (another half-mil rain maker) who then proceeded to preside over a $10 million+ revenue drop.

I know that executive compensation is out of whack with reality, especially the reality that most executives just aren't the good.

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"rich" isn't exactly a scientific term. but here, i think 500k constitutes an upper middle class salary (particularly after taxes). walker's yearly income probably doesn't amount to half the value of her apartment. that kind of dependence on the home as central asset is essentially middle class. a "rich" new yorker would be able to count the value of one or more homes as fractions of a net worth. also, a gander at the wnyc site reveals she has two teenage kids with, i assume, ever more astronomical tuition payments.

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