Tony Brandon stopped by the daily protest outside WYPR today and said to one of the protesters that WYPR Midday host Dan Rodericks is doing great, right?

There were four protesters at WYPR on this overcast Tuesday. WYPR members and listeners have been outside WYPR offices, on the 2200 block of North Charles Street in Baltimore, every day for over a month.

Max Obuszerwski, seated above, replied that Rodericks was boring. WYPR should bring back Steiner, he added.

Brandon was instrumental in firing WYPR station icon, host, and reporter Mark Steiner. Stiener's show featured interviews with everyone from community organizers to Maryland legislators, and often in an unscripted and revealing manner.

Since WYPR’s 2002 inception Steiner has been the voice of the station and public face of their fundraising drives, yet WYPR continues to argue this elimination is an internal manner.

Public radio depends upon membership donations to fund its operations. In turn public radio is suppose to be responsive to the community. According to WYPR documents handed out at a Feb. 20 public meeting of their Community Advisory Board, membership donations fund 30 percent of the station. It totaled over $1.3 million as of June 30, 2007, according to WYPR.

Brandon’s recent email responses to WYPR members upset by this programming change have argued that it all was an internal decision. He therefore implies it should not alarm the public. However since the Feb. 1 elimination of the show, WYPR has cancelled their February fundraising drive. Also, WYPR has pushed back its next board of directors meeting from March 12 to April 15, 2008.

In addition since Feb. 1, 2008 protesters have created a Web site at www.savesteinershow.com. A new blog at www.saveWYPR.wordpress.com covers this issue Monday through Friday.

On Tuesday, March 11, two African-American passers-by on Tuesday stopped by the lunch-time protest at WYPR to voice their support.

One man noted about Roderick that, “Roderick, yeah, he’s boring. Marc, he mixes it in.”