WJJF Radio Catskill, a public radio station located in Jeffersonville, New York, exhibited its heavy-handed bias when it took umbrage at even mentioning the good deeds of natural gas companies. Some attitude for a public community radio station!

Several months ago, I had a talk with the station manager of WJFF radio in Jeffersonville, New York, near where I reside. I wanted to know why there was not a more balanced approach to the gas drilling issue. It all started with a little seven minute discussion, on one of their Saturday Farms and Country shows. The discussion was about Cabot Oil and Gas and the $1 million dollar matching grant money that gas company gave to help build a new hospital for the Endless Mountains Health Care System, in Montrose, Pennsylvania hospital. It was part of larger discussion that had nothing to do with natural gas or hydraulic fracturing, and involved only a casual mention of the donation.

This was enough, however, to generate a not so friendly email from the natural gas opposition and a little tempest in a teapot over whether or not it was permissible to say anything positive at all regarding natural gas on WJFF. I was deeply disappointed with the manner the station manager handled the matter. He suggested the fill-in host (well known farm radio personality Dave Williams) shouldn’t have said anything about natural gas because “it wasn’t in his contract.” Williams, though didn’t have a contract, and it became quite apparent the manager was more concerned about his board’s reaction than any contract, the station being in a state of turmoil at the time.

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