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UPDATE: Schaefer Credits Public Outcry And WNYC Staff Intervention With Saving New Sounds

Elizabeth Kim

Published Oct 21, 2019

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John Schaefer

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Elizabeth Kim

Published Oct 21, 2019

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In a complete reversal, WNYC will no longer go through with its controversial decision to cancel the music program New Sounds. Instead, the 37-year-old eclectic music program, which has since its inception been hosted by John Schaefer, will continue to air seven nights a week on the radio and through its online stream.

Goli Sheikholeslami, the president and CEO of New York Public Radio (which owns both WNYC and Gothamist), made the announcement in an internal email to staff on Monday morning. The news did not come as a complete surprise. On Friday, following a tense meeting with a packed room of WNYC and WQXR employees who protested the decision, Sheikholeslami said that she would take the weekend to think about the decision announced more than a week ago to drop the show. [UPDATE: Schaefer told Gothamist that he was informed on late Friday by Sheikholeslami that she had decided to keep him at WNYC. Read more of his comments below.]

Along with Schaefer, Caryn Havlik, the producer of New Sounds, were set to be let go at the end of year; they will now both remain at the station.

**“**It has become clear to me that John and Caryn Havlik’s work is distinct, inimitable, and intrinsically New York—and that this beloved team must stay with us. A show like New Sounds can only be produced by public radio, and specifically at NYPR,” Sheikholeslami wrote in her email.

She also delivered the news in an informal meeting, upon which the crowd of journalists and producers burst into cheers. According to a source who attended the meeting, Sheikholeslami told those in attendance that she felt it was important for the station to respond to its community.

Schaefer's other contributions, his podcast Soundcheck, a mix of interviews and live performances, and Gig Alerts, his daily concert previews for Morning Edition, will also continue as before.

After the initial announcement, many musicians, including Laurie Anderson, and music critics bemoaned the news.

“It’s hard to imagine New York without it,” Bryce Dessner, of The National, told Gothamist. “John’s show is one of the only avenues and formats in the world that was really able to defy genre and put all music on the same level.”

Music fans last week launched a campaign to save Schaefer and his show.

At WNYC’s community advisory board meeting last week, roughly 70 people, including several musicians, criticized the station for cutting what they said amounted to a New York City institution that had launched the career of many artists and kept New Yorkers inspired amid what many said was a steady drip of depressing news. A few days later, the New York Times Opinion section published an essay, widely circulated on social media, from musician and writer Dan Kaufman, who said Schaefer was a brilliant and necessary human curator in the era of algorithmic-run streaming services. An online petition has since garnered nearly 3,000 signatures. Some fans had already made plans to stage a protest on Tuesday, when WNYC is set to kick off its fall fundraising drive.

A message written by Schaefer was posted to New Sounds' Twitter account, proclaiming, "We did it! Or more accurately, YOU DID IT! And if we sound incredulous, it’s because we never expected to be able to make this announcement."

UPDATE:

Schaefer later told Gothamist that he had kept the knowledge of the decision a secret, not even telling his two daughters, one of whom had been passionately tweeting on behalf of her father. The only person he told was his wife, he said.

He said that he believed that it was the WNYC staff's intervention on Friday morning that made the difference. Schaefer was not there but he learned about the impassioned pleas from Havlik, who was there. "There were people there who I couldn't pick out of a lineup who were going to the wall for our show," he said. "It was one of the greatest moments in my life. And I wasn't even there."

But he also said that he viewed the outcry as about more than the show. Rather it was a debate over the "soul" of WNYC and public radio.

Asked if the experience of nearly being canceled would make him rethink his approach for the show, Schaefer said, "I was just beginning to wonder that myself."

However, in the end, he said the show has always been constantly evolving.

Fellow staffers made sure Schaefer was present on Monday when Sheikholeslami made the "pop-up" announcement inside WNYC's offices in downtown Manhattan. He held up his phone so that Havlik, who was still en route to the office, could hear the news and response.

On witnessing the cries of joy from his colleagues, he said, "It almost made the last two weeks worth it."

Tagged

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new sounds

John Schaefer

Elizabeth Kim

Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]

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