2008-12-22

Kling-on Attack!

[Financial CEO Tad Piper and MPR CEO Bill Kling looking over their stock portfolio at the GlamourShots in New Hope -- img. fm. MPR.]

I will have more on this asinine story in the very near future, but for now I thought I'd pass along this public letter from former State Senator John Milton to MPR's CEO and local oligarch Bill Kling about the vain and solipsistic attempt to delay/kill the Central Corridor:

From: "John Milton"
Date: December 19, 2008 4:06:33 PM CST
To: "Bill Kling"
Subject: MPR vs Central Corridor

Bill --

I just heard your misleading appeal to listeners on KNOW, to join you in trying to derail the Central Corridor project. In this crusade you've chosen, you are not partially wrong -- you are entirely wrong. Keep reading . . .

1. I have read the relevant documents in this dispute, and to any impartial observer they do not support the conclusion that MPR must win this battle or move out of downtown St. Paul. That is just your way of throwing your weight around.

2. The documents clearly show that MPR, and everyone else who cares to read them, could and should have expected the alignment to pass down Cedar Street, as planned before you built your new palace.

3. In the rest of the world's cities, far larger and more advanced than St. Paul, radio/TV/network communications have thrived in close proximity to underground and street-level transit. Only MPR says that the line can't be built without disrupting your broadcasts.

4. So far on the Hiawatha Line, the complaint has been that the trains run so silently that people don't know they're coming. There goes your argument about "noise in the background" while you're broadcasting.

5. I find it despicable that you have fanned the fears of the church people alongside you in order to serve your interest.

6. I assume that since so few of your major donors are based in St. Paul, the delay or even killing of the Central Corridor project is not a big threat to most of them.

Rather than follow your advice (to help you pressure the Metro Council to bend over for King Kling), I will simply not contribute to your wholly-owned enterprise in the future, and I will urge my friends, one by one, to follow suit.

I hope you lose this one, Bill.. Arrogance shouldn't always prevail.

-- John W. Milton, Afton, MN
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5 comments:

  1. Radio Ann1:55 PM

    Way to go, Bill! I hadn't seen this yet. Stay warm, my brother in resistance.

    Next year in Saint Paul for a beer?

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  2. jhop5:25 PM

    No more of my money is going toward MPR and my radios have been tuned away from them.

    Shame on MPR for your selfish demands. The Cedar alignment has been on the table for years, prior to your expansion. Sure, MPR has stood at Cedar since the 70s. Mitigation of any excessive noise could have been resolved in your remodel.

    If you support transit improvements, divert your funds away from MPR.

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  3. Kristin5:46 PM

    Just sent a message to MPR protesting their actions and telling them we will not be renewing our membership. Boy that felt good!

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  4. Stephen Gross6:30 PM

    Yeah, I'm pretty amazed that MPR is fighting this so much.

    (1) Aren't there recording studios in places like NYC and Chicago? Don't they have to deal with transit issues too?

    (2) MPR should not cover its own opposition to the light rail plan. They should definitely not editorialize on the subject. They are free to voice their opposition outside their own programming, but on air is unacceptable.

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  5. Tyboty9:09 AM

    This is the first I have heard about this flap, and I find it very amusing! Especially since I worked on the design team for the new MPR facility, and every effort was made to accommodate the well-known future LRT running down Cedar. The studios in the expansion are state of the art and should perform quite well even when trains start running in front of the building.

    ReplyDelete