News-Letter

Marc Steiner, Tony Brandon and JHU President William Brody pose next to YPR's new logo at the ceremony. (Holly Martin) [Click to enlarge]

At a ceremony held at the Johns Hopkins Club last Thursday evening, University President William Brody turned over WJHU to representatives of the newly-formed Your Public Radio Corp. (YPR), which recently bought the National Public Radio (NPR) station from the University.

As a result of the change in ownership, the station has changed its call letters to WYPR. YPR Corp. began as a community effort, led by YPR Vice President Marc Steiner, to purchase the station when Hopkins decided to sell it.

In his speech, Brody characterized the sale as a "double success" for Hopkins and for YPR, stating that "[Hopkins'} decision to sell WJHU led to the formation of Your Public Radio," and pledging "$50,000 in additional underwriting to help WYPR get off the ground."

YPR President Tony Brandon, brought in to head the station because of his long experience in commercial radio, also spoke, thanking several people at JHU and WYPR, as well as the project's underwriters.

Last to take the stage was Steiner, longtime host of "The Marc Steiner Show" on WJHU and the chief mover of the community-based effort to buy WJHU from Hopkins.

Steiner related the long effort to find a name for the company , and emphasized that the one finally settled on is "not just a name."

He stressed the importance of community involvement in determining the character and focus of the station.

Later, after the speech, he told the News-Letter that he was grateful for the University's involvement in WJHU and in the process of the sale.

Referring to his show on WJHU, he said "If it weren't for JHU in the beginning, I wouldn't even be here."

He went on to say that the University's "commitment in selling the station to a community group shows their commitment to the community in general."

University spokesman Dennis O'Shea characterized himself as "a fan and admirer of Public Radio since high school," and said that he knew "how important it is to this town to have a great Public Radio station."

He called YPR's acquisition of the station "the end of the beginning and the beginning of a great future."

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