When former Penn State Harrisburg professor John Patterson moved to Vermont, he might have been excused for thinking that one of the things he would miss most would be a good public radio station. After all, Patterson had spent many years hosting a two-hour folk music show on Saturday nights for WITF, first in Hershey and then in Harrisburg, and this was only Vermont he was going to.

But the sad truth is that Patterson left a public radio station noted by many once devoted listeners and supporters for its increasingly weaker programming, and now is able to listen to Vermont Public Radio. The contrast between the two can be striking. WITF radio does not show a mission statement on its Web site, describing itself only as our station for classical music and National Public Radio (NPR) news. Vermont Public Radio says it has a mandate to inform, educate, and entertain, and offers National Public Radio programs such as Morning Edition, Car Talk, and All Things Considered, as well as Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion and great classical, jazz, folk, and alternative music.

The fact of the matter is that the diverse musical programming on the Vermont station is so strong that Patterson can’t offer to do his folk music show for them because they already have a locally-produced folk music program. (He’s now trying to develop a format that the station could consider, as well as looking at other possible outlets for a folk music show.)

If you’ve been following the controversy in the local media over the last several months, you know that many people are upset that Patterson’s show, The Chords Are Stacked, was taken off the air. Constituents of other popular shows also are upset that they no longer can hear their favorites.

The station’s response always has been that its programming is basically NPR news and classical music and it is purging its schedule of shows that don’t fit that format. Fortunately it’s not following its self-described mandate to the letter so there are still some non-classical music and news shows available, such as Car Talk, Prairie Home Companion, Thistle and Shamrock, and Echoes. Much as people appreciate the presence of those shows, however, they are a reminder that WITF is not true to what it says and thus the question remains: why do some shows leave the airways here while others stay.

In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a roll call of just some of the shows (in addition to Chords Are Stacked) that once graced WITF and now are gone: Mountain Stage, The Grateful Dead Hour, Afro-Pop Worldwide, Blues Before Sunrise, Pipe Dreams, Performance Today, and This American Life. Also no longer heard are many of the evening concerts by groups such as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and live concerts broadcasts obtained through National Public Radio.

Whereas WITF used to be responsible for its own evening programming, at least to the extent that it purchased concerts and other shows, now the public radio evenings in south central Pennsylvania belong to Minnesota Public Radio. WITF staff disappear from the air as of 9:06 p.m., never to be heard from again until 5 the next morning. And we hear Music Through the Night programmed by the folks in Minnesota, with no news and no weather at all. (Despite being our station for NPR news, WITF has dropped NPR’s 11 p.m. newscast.)

Yes it’s true that WITF records some local concerts for re-broadcast and is trying to do more to promote the local performance scene. But that’s not enough to appease people who appreciated the broader range of programming the station once had.

Is WITF merely following good broadcasting strategy in identifying a core audience and appealing only to that group? That’s what they claim. But the success of such a strategy is yet to be seen, and it doesn’t seem to be what a lot of other public radio stations are doing.

The two other public radio stations that reach our area, WRTI (WJAZ) and WXPN (WXPH), seem to take a different approach than WITF. While Temple University’s WRTI has a heavy emphasis on classical music, it also broadcasts many hours of jazz. And it has shown an innovation that pleases listeners with its half-hour Crossover program from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. That time slot used to be used for public affairs programs but now it bridges the WRTI daily programming schedule from classical to jazz, showing how the two forms relate to each other and teaching listeners about the music. The station also has a number of ethnic and community-based programs in addition to Temple sports.

And the playlist at the University of Pennsylvania’s WXPN has to be one of the broadest of any station available, not only between shows but also within shows. XPN’s goal is to expose people to all kinds of music and they do a tremendous job of meeting that goal.

A cursory examination of Web sites for a number of other public radio stations chosen at random confirms the notion that diverse programming is alive and well in many corners. How about South Dakota Public Radio programming classical music, jazz, Echoes, Mountain Stage, Rider’s Radio Theater, This American Life, The Cultivated Gardener, Riverwalk, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, River City, Thistle and Shamrock, Hearts of Space, and WoodSongs Old–Time Radio Hour? And there’s Atlantic Public Media (Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard) offering World Radio News; On the Media; Savvy Traveler; Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me; Whad’ Ya Know; Car Talk; This American Life; Says You!; Prairie Home Companion; Splendid Table; Beyond Computers; and on and on.

Absent of any other information, one has to assume that these stations are attracting a diverse audience that is intelligent enough to tune in when it wants to and tune out when there’s something it’s not interested in — all the while maintaining memberships and income. So why can’t WITF do the same thing?

Probably as disturbing as WITF’s programming strategy and decisions is the response it has given to those who complain. In public comments and letters to listeners, the station management’s position essentially is that they know the right way to run a radio station and while they appreciate hearing from listeners (and members), the views and opinions they hear will have no bearing on management’s decisions.

It may be true, as some have speculated, that the cancellation of Patterson’s show was as much due to personality conflicts as anything else. But that doesn’t explain the departure of so many other programs that other stations still find useful and that had a following here.

While it has not yet been explored, there is a growing notion that the radio station is on the low end, financially, of the media empire that WITF is becoming. Clearly a lot of money is being poured into the television station, magazine, and web site. Does this mean that the radio station is being short-changed? It seems to be a likely explanation since almost all of the programming changes should have resulted in saving money.

If the corporation doesn’t want to adequately support its radio service and make it the kind of station that a diverse community has a right to expect from something that uses the term "public radio," perhaps it should consider selling the license to an organization that would be more in harmony with the idea of appealing to a wider audience.

Penn State University comes to mind as a possible buyer. It operates an active station at WPSU in State College (with a program director, Christine Allen, who used to be on–air at WITF) and has a significant presence in this area with its Penn State Harrisburg campuses.

Or perhaps Pacifica Foundation would like to come in. Now there would be a wakeup cup of Starbucks for Central Pennsylvania! How about a radio service with a mission statement from 1946 that says: "To promote cultural diversity and pluralistic community expression … To contribute to a lasting understanding between individuals of all nations, races, creeds, and colors … To promote freedom of the press and serve as a forum for various viewpoints … To maintain an independent funding base."