NYC Radio: Leonard Lopate Debuts On WBAI Amid Controversy

Leonard Lopate

Radio host Leonard Lopate has found a new home—but not all of his neighbors are happy to have him. Lopate, who was suspended and later terminated by WNYC last December after allegations of “inappropriate conduct,” launched his maiden show on the Brooklyn-based station, WBAI 99.5 FM this week,  the Columbia Journalism Review reports.

The show, “Lopate At Large,” is an hour-long format and promises to resemble his old two-hour program, “The Leonard Lopate Show.” The first episode did not mention his misconduct.

His new studio is far from glamorous. The Columbia Journalism Review reports, “The station, which is located in a small office in Brooklyn, uses four bath mats tacked to the walls to dampen the sound. A cluster of red Christmas lights serves as the signal for when shows are ‘on-air.’”

The Columbia Journalism Review interviewed several producers and hosts who objected to Lopate’s hiring.

“I felt a great sense of betrayal of what my interests are in the #MeToo movement,” Fran Luck told the Columbia Journalism Review. Luck is a producer of a multicultural feminist show on WBAI called “Joy of Resistance.”

WBAI, is a “progressive” station the Journalism Review reports, making their pitch to Lopate to return on their airwaves a bit of a political crossed signal.

The general manager of the station, Berthold Reimers defended Lopate’s hiring on the basis of reaching a larger audience. “You know at WBAI, I don’t think we have 5,000 people listening for the whole week,” he told the Columbia Journalism Review. “Once we have all these people listening to us for him, this is ultimately an easy form of marketing. There should be no question that our numbers go up for all the other shows because of their quality that no one knew about.”

However, Mimi Rosenberg, a producer at WBAI doesn’t see the appeal of Lopate for their core listeners. “I don’t believe for one second our audiences of beleaguered, impoverished, discriminated communities, who we should be representing the voices of, are crying for Mr. Lopate to come on the station,” she told CJR.

Currently producers at WBAI are not paid for their work. Lopate and his producer, who Reimers hopes will bring on more listeners to the struggling station.

Reimers noted to CJR that the WBAI and its parent company, the Pacifica Foundation, have a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment and assault.