Last Friday, staff here at CAI learned that our parent company, GBH, is selling the building that we broadcast from in Woods Hole. It’s an historic building that has been the station’s home since CAI first went on the air in 2000.
GBH has asked that staff send press inquiries to the GBH marketing department, which is normal GBH procedure.
Sam Houghton of the Martha’s Vineyard Times reported this story for his newspaper.
Because CAI is closely involved, we asked Catherine Shen of Connecticut Public to talk to Sam about the story. Here’s a transcript of their conversation, which you can listen to above.
The Boston Globe has also reported on this story.
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Catherine Shen So, Sam, this announcement seems to have come as a pretty big surprise to the station staff on Cape Cod. What is GBH saying about the reasons behind the sale?
Sam Houghton Yeah. So they released a statement to me saying that the station is operating in a deficit, much like many, you know, radio stations and newspapers around the country. And, basically, they're saying that this would be done as a money saver, that with the profit of the sale of the building, they could support their journalism going forward. And that was kind of the extent of their comment, I guess. Also, they were saying that they'll be looking for a new location, but otherwise saying that they are in a deficit with this location and the proceeds of the sale were going to support kind of their efforts going forward.
Catherine Shen And do you have any idea if GBH involved CAI in the decision-making process?
Sam Houghton So we spoke with Jay Allison, who is the founder of CAI, also the founder of many programs listeners know — the Moth, things like that. And what he told me was, no, they really got caught by surprise by this.
Catherine Shen Wow.
Sam Houghton Yeah. And, you know, I think the point that he wanted to make is: had they been warned and given, you know, a heads up, they might have tried to reach a different agreement, maybe go out to the community and say, 'We're facing this problem. Could we come up with some kind of solution?' And yeah, I was somewhat surprised how candid he was with me, saying he's really disappointed. And he's also saying this is kind of a bad decision in that, you know, having to rent a space, another place, that is going to incur more and more costs. So he was very surprised by it. I think ‘saddened’ is a good way to put it as well. This is such an important building, he says, for the station. I thought it's interesting that it's an historic building. There are intangibles there that you can't necessarily describe — but that translates to what’s going on air.
Catherine Shen You mentioned you were surprised at how candid he was. What else did he tell you? You know, it sounds like he has a lot of strong feelings about this decision.
Sam Houghton Well, right. I mean, I think there was a lot of community effort — you know, not just at the radio station, but in the community as well, in Falmouth and Woods Hole — to get the money [originally] to buy the facility. And, you know, I think with that the feeling is that this goes beyond just the radio station. There's real community buy-in. It's more than just the radio station, I guess — that the community is going to feel this impact, as well. And I should say, full transparency: I did work at CAI two years ago, but I also grew up in Woods Hole. And, you know, that's a really special area. Water Street, you know, there's science institutions there. There's a library there. My favorite spot is Pie in the Sky, [the bakery] right across the street. But, you know, it has this really special feel to that area. And I think one of their goals in picking that location [originally] is you have that, but you also are really close to the ferry that goes to Martha's Vineyard. It's kind of a hub that allows them to be in touch with the community that they report on.
Catherine Shen I do want to get back to the feelings that you're talking about, in terms of it being such a community space, and so much history with it. And you've also touched on this a little bit earlier, too. But now talk about this decision fitting into some of the bigger shake-ups within public media. You know, this is a tough time for local media.
Sam Houghton Right. Jay spoke to this, too. He understands the decision. But I think any of us that are reporting for local papers or on the radio can feel — you know, I don't know the stat—but there are papers closing every few weeks, or days, even. And people are looking to make cuts where they can, to save money. And obviously, that's such a prime location. You can make a lot of money selling that building. You know, it's just... it's sad. It's unfortunate that these institutions are really having a hard time. And GBH, you know, one of the biggest in the game, to see that struggle, it's just — it's too bad. I work at a small paper on the Vineyard. We've had our struggles, but, you know, we're pushing through. But you can't help but feel kind of a camaraderie with other institutions that are struggling as well.
Catherine Shen No, absolutely. I was a newspaper reporter before, as well. So I definitely I feel that pain very hard. And when you mentioned earlier, that there's this possibility of finding a new location — do you have any word on where that new location might be?
Sam Houghton No, GBH hasn't said anything. Yeah, it might be too much to speculate on where it might go. But, you know, I think it would be somewhere where they have less of an upkeep at that facility. And, you know, maybe not the same high-profile location.
Catherine Shen And then one more thing here, because the story has been getting a lot of attention and a lot of comments on the website. And what have you been hearing from people in the station's listening area?
Sam Houghton Yeah, that's a good question. I think right now people are surprised that this is happening. I would say, on the Vineyard, I haven't heard a ton. Folks are, I guess, a little upset that they feel like GBH did this quietly. I think there's some folks upset about that. But I know, in the Woods Hole community, it's such an important area, a historic area, that some are frustrated that that might go to — I don't know who, but it could be a private developer. And I think there's lots of speculation of what could happen with that building.
Catherine Shen Sam Houghton of the Martha's Vineyard Times. Thanks so much for your time.
Sam Houghton Thank you.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Clarification: This post was altered on Friday, 11/8, to reflect GBH's standard procedure of comment being referred to its marketing department. The byline on this post has been altered to reflect that this clarification is directed by GBH.
