Boston University has agreed to share direct oversight of Public News/Talk 90.9 WBUR Boston to its previous power-less Board of Overseers.
A new WBUR Executive Committee will be created that will consist of 5-7 members of the current board as well as a BU staff member and a member of the University’s Board of Trustees appointed by the president of Boston University, whom the committee will report to. Board of Overseers Chairman Paul Gannon will be the first Chairman of the WBUR Executive Committee and lead the search for a new General Manager. The committee will also have authority to oversee the station’s finances, which the previous incarnation lacked.
WBUR reports that the new agreement came from discussions led by Gannon to turn WBUR into an independent nonprofit following the resignation of General Manager Charlie Kravetz in March as the staff of the station was threatening to unionize. Staffers did not want to split from the university and lost their current benefits package leading to the new agreement.
Upon completion of the new agreement, the committee will commence a search for a new General Manager.