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Home / Philadelphia Magazine / Dead Air

Dead Air

By Steve Volk

Page 8 of 8

Marrazzo works the crowd, absorbing guests into the small clutch of people gathered around him. Even in this arena, he can’t seem to escape Karen Heller. “Oh, that Karen Heller article!” says Pete Hoskins, the former president of the Philadelphia Zoo. “How awful! Just awful!”

Hearing him, the CEO turns red, smiles over at me, and warns Hoskins about my presence. Not that Hoskins cares. He took a beating over his salary of $340,000 while director of the Zoo, including a long whipping in the pages of this magazine. So now he sees an opportunity to make something clear. “Do you know why they have to pay people so much money to take these jobs?” he asks. “Because nobody wants them.”

He cites his own experience: After he announced his retirement from the Zoo in June 2005, it took 13 months to find a replacement: “Not a single zoo director in the United States called about this job.”

Toward the end of the evening, I wander over to where Marrazzo nurses a glass of white wine. Together, we look over the crowd. “This is a great group of people,” he says, “a special group.”

In the afterglow of these words, he looks happier than he has all day — standing in an Old City high-rise, welcoming a new banking executive to town, and enjoying a drink in the company of his peers.

E-mail: svolk@phillymag.com

Originally published in Philadelphia magazine, October 2007

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Where is the money going?
Posted by Frank N. | Sep. 28, 2007 at 11:00 PM

COMMENT:

So, WHYY has kept debt at an arms length and Mr. Marazzo has a surplus. But at what cost? Are there old camera's, are they producing local programming? Are they making sure that jobs and positions are filled by competent people? Ask M. Walter D'Alessio, the former Chairman of the Board at the Independence Seaport Museum. Seems that disgraced ex-President John Carter was stealing while Mr. D'Alessio was supposed to be guarding the cookie jar. Oh, Mr. D'Alessio is also on the board at WHYY.......

On Target message
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 28, 2007 at 11:09 PM

COMMENT:

There is a noticable fear for one's job at WHYY, due to the corporate environment Mr. Marrazzo has created. Executives play mind games and hire "yes" men to implement their pet projects. They exercise power and and at times abuse it and treat staff poorly, as if we where inexperienced children. It shouldn't matter what the CEO makes, if the employees were working at fulfilling a public expectation and didn't have to constantly massage an executive's ego and quest for power. Challenge the boss, and you suffer for it. Most people won't bother to fight for what they believe in and roll over to placate the boss to keep their jobs. This article will make the job harder still if people change their WHYY giving habits, time will tell. Thanks for telling the story.

WLVT is better!
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 1, 2007 at 9:43 AM

COMMENT:

Of the two PBS stations I get via cable, I find myself watching WLVT out of the Lehigh Valley more often, since it is a much better station and the people on it don't seem like a bunch of Main Line stuffed shirts who are doing you this tremendous favor by broadcasting. On occasion I have rigged the antenna to get WNET out of New York, which actually does lots of local programs as well as scores of national programs. I have decided to give my PBS money to them, since they are the ones getting a lot of the national stuff on air. The local stuff WHYY produces is a joke and basically is these cheesey lets remember shows that air at pledge time. Oh, the station is licensed to Wilmington, Delaware and they really don't serve the community other than with a half assed newscast that when you compare it with NJN's news looks like a bad joke. Someone in Delaware really needs to have the FCC revoke the stations license for not serving Delaware. Two and a half hours a week is really nothing.

Marrazo works for PUBLIC Broadcasting
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 1, 2007 at 3:21 PM

COMMENT:

Marrazo is grossly overpaid. This is PUBLIC radio and TV, not the private sector. Consequently, holding such a position that he does implies giving to the common good is more important than $$$. I NEVER have given nor will give a penny to WHYY. They do play ads and are not commercial-free ('HYY not cleverly calls them "support") and they have no local programming. I read that Terry Gross makes $200K a year. I find that amount obscene as well. Let's put the public back in public TV!

Change will have to come from the public.
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 1, 2007 at 6:51 PM

COMMENT:

The injustice and outrageousness of this self-dealing CEO will only come to an end if the Board of Directors is pressured to change. Only this CEO has gone and recruited the people who sit on this Board (which is probably the case with most non-profit boards). click here click here click here

Who are you kidding?
Posted by Justin | Oct. 1, 2007 at 7:02 PM

COMMENT:

Bill Marrazzo is the best thing to happen to this region, the guy raises money like nobodies business. When all the other public stations have disappeared because they didn't stop doing televison the 20th century way, Marrazzo will be in the catbird seat when WHYY is still around and meeting the needs of the 21st Century. click here +Marrazzo,+$443031+forbes&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 Even Forbes magazine has a profile of him and all his his business connections. The employees should be fearful for their jobs even after they've left WHYY because of all his connections in the region. He can reach out to his friends to handle those ex-employees in their employ. This foresight and vision is worth the amount he gets paid. I'm doubling my contibution to them, right now because I want my Public TV.

WHYY linked to the Independence Seaport Museum?
Posted by J. | Oct. 2, 2007 at 5:22 AM

COMMENT:

click here The Board Chair of the Independence Seaport Musuem when that president was stealing from that institution was Walter D'Alessio? He is the Board Secretary listed on the Board at WHYY! What is it, the same small group of elites who run all non-profit boards? This gives me pause when I think of how exclusive the boards on the public institutions are, what are they country clubs?! This is America where d'Tocqueville wrote about associations and how ordinary people got together to get things needed done. I'll bet this really shines some light on how the powerful meet to run things. It's ok when things are going well but watch out when somethings goes out of whack.... I'm not sure that I'll be giving any more to WHYY until the board shines some light on their process. They never say what skills and experiences Marrazzo brings to his position that made him so desireable as CEO (and that salary), I think it's just that he's so darn co

Clearer Benchmarks
Posted by Cheesesteak | Oct. 2, 2007 at 2:21 PM

COMMENT:

Volk may have done better than yet another "omg, look at this man's salary!" piece had he better situated WHYY in its Public broadcasting league, and Marazzo’s standing among his peers in public broadcasting. I know there’s a litany of stations allegedly sock full of localism, but maybe some word on what those stations management thought of Marazzo, and what exactly all that great local content is, would have given this article some substance beyond a vague feeling that something smells funny and your subject was trying to manage its representation in your profile. This isn’t substantial journalism and contributes little to the public’s understanding of this issue. It’s basically an uninspired offering of recycled info, dependent upon “truisms” targeting Philly’s back slapping elites. I pray Mr. Volk isn’t in the top decks of the magazine staffer salary pyramid. And please, enough of the Seaport and WHYY conspiracy theories among the commentators.

At the core of the article
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 2, 2007 at 7:54 PM

COMMENT:

Whether you think Mr. Volk is being fair or not, the question remains: Is WHYY doing its job? When it comes to TV, the station contributes next to nothing in the way of interesting or meaningful local programming. I'll grant them that the children's programming is good and useful. But otherwise, I find Channel 12 to be tedious; this article is more interesting than two-thirds of its programming.

Is Moly Shepheard shallow?
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 3, 2007 at 5:33 AM

COMMENT:

Steve, I thought your article less a balanced profile of WHYY than a (medium)heavy-handed swipe at a rich non-profit CEO. C'mon, who follows a CEO for a couple of days and talks to all his friends and co-workers in order to write a "glowing" profile about him. Did they buy your "schtick" when you proposed a story about Bill Marrazzo? Was this the school where they say that there isn't such a thing as "bad" publicity. I wanted to know a little more about the people and the programs that actually go on at WHYY which was sorely missing in this article. I like the station but I don't think I like the way that Board operates and that CEO's salary. I want to know who you know there to be able to get access, did you lie to them?

whyy
Posted by Christina | Oct. 3, 2007 at 9:34 AM

COMMENT:

I'm not sure what Mr. Marrazzo does for his salary, but frankly, how many times can you show "Young Frankenstein"?

Cronyism
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 3, 2007 at 2:59 PM

COMMENT:

Marazzo's salary is unjustified. The Board that decides his salary is insane. Would it be such a hardship for Mr. Marazzo to make a paltry 273K ?? - from the sound of other salaries of actual journalists there - it would seem that you could hire at least 5 more award winning journalists and have quality content NOW, not 3-5 years out. The bottom line is that the Board and Mr. Marazzo are in cahoots - they're self-congratulating - self-important plutocrats. If I did continue giving to WHYY where would that money go?? Obviously not to purchase cameras for what is still a Television Station... perhaps directly into Mr. Marazzo's salary - or at least his benefits package...

big bill
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 3, 2007 at 6:43 PM

COMMENT:

Perhaps, the folks who selected Big Bill might have considered paring him with a great program chief. They lost Paul Gluck who was one and chased him away.Great PBS leaders have vision, not about money raising, but the raising of the bar of valuable local programs. They can pay Big Bill whatever they wish, but then devote themselves to localism. Look at Al Jerome at KCET or anyone at WGBH. What a shame the "old " boys network took another Philly gem into the dark hole populated by the ruling elite of the town. Mediaman

WHYY has been and still is a mediocre, middling TV station
Posted by Echo | Oct. 4, 2007 at 4:17 AM

COMMENT:

Why is this guy the highest paid Public Broadcasting boss? This station has been a middling station at best (for years), there are nice programs that came out of it once in a while but it was never in the same league as the national power players, WNET, WGBH, KQED. It will never be in the same league as the national gems, how come this guy deserves that kind of pay level? This Board is out of whack and shines light onto why Philly is "Philly," those in the know help those they know, and it hurts the rest of us who aren't in their circle. Bottom line.

Ummm... have all you WNYC fans taken a look at that CEO salary?
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 4, 2007 at 2:53 PM

COMMENT:

Hold the phone... the CEO of WNYC (which is just a radio station) made something like $440,000 on their 2006 990. While Marrazzo does make a boat load of money, his salary isn't really that out of like with other Pub. broadcasting CEOs. How can you prove that he is the highest paid? I'd like to see his salary compared to other execs.

WNYC
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 4, 2007 at 10:20 PM

COMMENT:

WNYC is indeed a radio station with total revenue of $34Mil vs WHYY's $28Mil and a surplus of over $6.8Mil compared to the Y's $1.9Mil. Visit Charity Navigator and look at both stations revenue and expense numbers. No comparison, WNYC is a more financially and creatively successful entity. So half the WHYY numbers for radio and it is less than half the station that WNYC is, imagine if the success at WNYC could be applied to WHYY TV. It shouldn't matter what the CEO makes, if mission objectives are being met and staff are happy and productive. I don't think the staff at whyy are happy from my read of this article and the mission is imperiled by this distraction.

Who let Steve Volk In?
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 5, 2007 at 5:35 AM

COMMENT:

Who at WHYY allowed Steve Volk access to hang out with Bill Marrazzo?

pbs station CEO comaprison
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 8, 2007 at 7:22 PM

COMMENT:

Here's a link to a google search result with a Forbes magazine comparision of PBS station chiefs click here +Marrazzo,+$443031+forbes&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 or you can search "Marrazzo", "forbes" and "$443031" in Google and come up with the Forbes comparison, it's about 3/4 down on that Forbes page in a chart.

Saw this on the Arts Watch blog
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 11, 2007 at 5:22 AM

COMMENT:

I think that Public Television is on a downward spiral and that fewer and fewer people will be watching it regularly in the near future. I wonder how long they'll be able to stave off the impending change when TV in general is no longer an important force in this culture. Too bad this CEO hasn't done a better job at selling his version of the future. Does this matter, I haven't watched PBS or TV regularly in such a long time that I don't know (don't care) what's on TV.

Dead Air - Really
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 17, 2007 at 10:03 PM

COMMENT:

I have a history with Public Radio over the last 30 years. As an undergrad I was an engineer at WDUQ at Duquesne University. I have been an active supporter of public broadcasting everywhere that I've lived except here. WRVO Oswego, NY was WONDERFUL - great programming. Northwest Public Radio, serving the Inland Empire of eastern WA and ID was scrappy and innovative. WHYY suffers from the same grievance I have with some other tired old line big city public stations - the celebrity Board of Directors runs things rather than a Citizens Advisory Board used by NWPR and WRVO. The Main Line cocktail circuiit is out of touch. The programming, especially weekday mornings utterly stinks. Dan Gottlieb wants make me to lose my lunch and I am just so sick and tired of all of the interviews with self-involved artists and all of the other parochial crap that's served up. How about some REAL news and public affairs programming. I'm no fan of either Radio Times or Fresh Air, except that Fres

Getting around
Posted by Anonymous | Oct. 29, 2007 at 5:40 AM

COMMENT:

click here another blog picks this up, will it never end?

"nobody wants this job"
Posted by nun | Nov. 2, 2007 at 9:07 PM

COMMENT:

shit, I have years of experience and can't get a decent paying nonprofit ED job in this city. Tell ya what, I'll do it for half the salary, and you can have my parking space. i need the exercise anyhow. "special group", indeed. who's giving this guy advice? take the pay cut and be a hero, you schmuck!

whyy is terrible
Posted by Anonymous | Nov. 16, 2007 at 9:36 PM

COMMENT:

Local programming - non existent - Alliances with community groups and producers - non existent Local Children's programming - non existent I really don't see how WHYY fulfills it's mandate Where's the local accountability? Production values will not suffer, there's so much talent here, it seems to be entirely a matter of vision, fat cats eyes are clouded by too many self congratulatory events. Philadelphia needs, deserves, and can do better. I only contribute for radio, WHYY TV is inexcusably terrible.

Public TV's Irresponsible Salary CEO
Posted by Barbara | Aug. 28, 2009 at 3:50 PM

COMMENT:

I responded in writing several times when contacted for WHYY donation, that the irresponsible salary paid to Mr. Mazzarro was the reason that WHYY would no longer get my contribution. Last contribution was $200 because I believe in public television and appreciate the shows viewed here.