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Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > October > 26 > Entry
Rep. Naishtat “inadvertently stepped into” KUT controversy
Like several local notables, State Rep. Elliott Naishtat recorded a spot with KUT announcing his support for KUT and public radio.
According to the dissident SaveKUTAustin group, formed in protest of the downsizing of longtime deejays Paul Ray and Larry Monroe, an unnamed person “informed Rep. Naishtat about the programming controversy, and he is now concerned that his pre-recorded comments have been used by KUT to defend management’s position, without their alerting him to the existing controversy.”
The SaveKUTAustin site has reprinted the following letter which Naishtat wrote to a citizen he identified as Pamela Daggett:
“Thank you for writing to me and advising me that, in recording a spot promoting KUT public radio in Austin, I had inadvertently “stepped into a controversy.”
On September 18th, I was interviewed by Rebecca McInroy of KUT about why I’d become a member of KUT, why I listen to KUT, why it’s important to support KUT and why I think KUT is important to Austin. We visited for half an hour in my Capitol office and I responded to her questions.
I told her about my “connections” to the station, focusing on my friendships and relationships over the years with Ray Magliozzi (Car Talk), Robert Siegel (All Things Considered), John Aielli (Eklektikos), Jay Trachtenberg (Music, Jazz), John Burnett (Morning Edition), and Garrison Keillor (Prairie Home Companion). I told her that I’ve been listening to KUT and public radio for more than 35 years and that my favorite programs include Morning Edition, On the Media, This American Life, Fresh Air, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition and, most recently, Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me. I told her that KUT “is a part of Austin.”
We did not discuss the eroding of local programming or replacement of local programs with syndicated programming.
I fully support local programming and am sorry that KUT has decided to cut or eliminate some of the best that KUT has to offer. I am more than willing to work with you to encourage KUT’s management to reconsider the changes, stop the erosion of local programming and develop a citizens’ input process so that the public may be meaningfully involved in decision-making at the programmatic level.
Again, Rebecca McInroy and I spoke for 30 minutes and I did not know which of my statements would end up being aired on KUT. My only purpose in doing the taping was to indicate my long-standing support of public radio.
If you wish, you may share this response with anyone you want, including the 1600-plus people on Facebook you referenced.
I look forward to talking with you about how I might get involved with what you are trying to accomplish.”
Thank you very much. Sincerely, Elliott Naishtat
Rep. Naishtat received a call from KUT general manager Stewart Vanderwilt after his letter was posted, asking “do we have a problem?,” Naishtat recalled. “I said, no we don’t have a problem at all,” he said. “He offered to remove my spots from the air and I said ‘absolutely not.’ I’ve always supported KUT and I continue to.”
The SaveKUTAustin group, led by former Austin mayor Lee Cooke, met with Naishtat for about 45 minutes Friday. They left him with a copy of 14 questions they’ve asked KUT heads to answer.
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