After much agitation on the part of community activists in Central Florida, WFME in Orlando will soon have a new president and general manager, LaFontaine Oliver.
Oliver, who is currently the general manager of Morgan State University at Baltimore’s WEAA-FM, was selected following a nation-wide search. He will assume his duties at a very tumultuous time in the history of WMFE, where calls for greater ethnic and cultural diversity in the station’s programming and journalistic staff have gone largely unaddressed.
Recently, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) wrote a strongly worded letter to Derek Blakeslee, chair of the WMFE board of directors, expressing her dismay with the lack of progress that had been made on diversity issues, particularly as regards local programming.
“For more than three years through public initiation, meetings have been attended and proposals have been offered. Unfortunately, little progress has been seen,” Brown declared.
Jonathan Blount, co-founder of Essence magazine and a member of the Central Florida Association of Black Journalists, who has been out front on this issue, concurred with Brown. He said, WFME “didn’t pay any attention to black culture and didn’t have any relationship with the black community.” Others went as far as calling the WMFE Community Advisory Board “a sham and meaningless.”
Meanwhile, Blakeslee rejected the notion that the station is not diverse or inclusive, saying only that the organization was in flux on account of the absence of a general manager.
Oliver will surely have his hands full when he takes the helm as president and general manager of WFME, later this month.
I think you mean WMFE. WFME is a religious station in New York State.