Alan S. Chartock
Alan Seth Chartock (born July 25, 1941) is the president and chief executive officer of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, a National Public Radio affiliate, a position he has held since 1981. He was professor of political science at SUNY New Paltz and is a professor emeritus of communications at the State University of New York (SUNY), and is executive publisher and project director for the Legislative Gazette, a weekly newspaper staffed by college intern reporters covering New York State government.
Alan S. Chartock | |
---|---|
Born | July 25, 1941 |
Occupation | CEO, WAMC |
Spouse(s) | Roselle Chartock |
Chartock serves in a variety of on-air roles at WAMC, including but not limited to hosting the Capitol Connection, Vox Pop, and Conversations with programs, sitting on panels for the Roundtable and Media Show, serving as a political commentator, and filling a central role in the thrice-annual fund drives. He also writes a syndicated column on politics which appears in newspapers throughout New York state.
Background
Born in New York City, Chartock worked in the state legislature for Senator Manfred Ohrenstein. He attended the New Lincoln School, graduated from Rhodes High School. Chartock is a graduate of Hunter College, received an master of arts from American University, and a doctorate from New York University. He is married to Dr. Roselle K. Chartock, an author and professor of education at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams. They reside in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and have two grown children, Jonas S. Chartock and Dr. Sarah R. Chartock.
Chartock is of European Jewish descent.[1]
Radio personality
Chartock participates in a broad swath of WAMC's radio programs.
- He is host of The Capitol Connection, a weekly program of interviews with New York State politicians.[2]
- He appears each week on The Media Project, a show in which he and other local journalism professionals discuss topical media issues.[3]
- He regularly hosts the call-in talk show Vox Pop (especially on "Medical Mondays").[4]
- He holds the title of political observer at WAMC. In this capacity, Chartock can be heard on programs produced by the station, such as The Roundtable, Midday Magazine,[5] and Northeast Report.[6]
- He hosts the Legislative Gazette.[7]
- He hosts Congressional Corner, an interview segment heard on The Roundtable[8] and at other times during the station's broadcast day.
- He hosts the morning portions of WAMC's regular fund drives.
Chartock increased his on-air presence after retiring from his full-time university teaching duties. He is now listed as a professor emeritus at SUNY Albany.
Awards
Chartock has won numerous awards at SUNY, including the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the SUNY Council of University Affairs and Development Award for Educational achievement. He was one of the first recipients of the SUNY Award for Excellence. In 2007, Chartock was chosen to receive the 2006 Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teacher from the SUNY New Paltz Alumni Association.
He is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate for public service from the Sage Colleges [9]and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Western New England College[10] and Westfield State College.
Views of WAMC news and political commentary
Chartock's political views
Chartock says he is concerned about governmental restrictions on free speech.[11] He is dismayed by what he calls the proliferation of corporate-run radio stations, which he believes express extreme right-wing views without giving opposing viewpoints.[12] He has called Pete Seeger "an American hero".[13]
According to Gadi Dechter of CityPaper.com, Chartock "publishes a blog on WAMC's web site that has featured sharp attacks on the Republican party, the Bush administration, and 'neocons' in general."[14]
Support for Chartock's programming
Stephen Yasko, manager of WTMD (89.7 FM), an NPR member station in Towson, Maryland which plays mostly adult-alternative music, contends that any quality-control challenges which might be created by NPR's decentralized nature are outweighed by the advantage of unique local programming.
"Public radio stations reflect the values and texture of the communities they serve," says Yasko, who has also worked in the NPR member services department. "If NPR or any national organization had too much control or input into every station's local personality, then you would lose the very thing that makes us what we are. So if Alan Chartock is what Albany and upstate New York created and what works for them, that's a beautiful thing, no matter what some outsiders might say."[14]
Under Chartock's leadership, WAMC has grown into a network of fourteen stations (all broadcasting identical programming) and a web-based platform serving portions of seven New England and Middle Atlantic states, bringing news, information and cultural programming to what station leaders claim is an audience of nearly 400,000 monthly listeners. The station's thrice-yearly fund drives have a goal of one million dollars each as of 2013.
References
- Chartock, Alan (January 19, 2018). "I, Publius: Taking a swing at the headlines, from hunger to the midterms". Manchester Journal. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
- http://wamc.org/programs/capitol-connection-wamc
- http://wamc.org/programs/media-project-wamc
- http://www.wamc.org/voxpop
- http://wamc.org/programs/midday-magazine-wamc
- http://wamc.org/programs/wamc-northeast-report-wamc
- http://wamc.org/programs/legislative-gazette-wamc
- http://wamc.org/programs/roundtable
- "Recipients of Honorary Degrees". Sage Graduate Schools 2010-2011 Catalog [Archived Catalog]. The Sage Colleges. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- "Honorary Degree Recipients". Western New England University. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- Alan Chartock, The Daily Freeman, "The long view on 'security'" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, 08/01/2005. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
- Alan Chartock - Blog, "Save public radio from government censors" Archived 2007-02-11 at the Wayback Machine, June 20, 2005. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
- Alan Chartock, "New York has a chance to honor an American hero", Legislative Gazette, April 24, 2009, found at Legislative Gazette website. Accessed April 29, 2009.
- "Locally Grown by Gadi Dechter, 7/13/2005". Archived from the original on 2012-11-08.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- Books written by Chartock
- Chartock, Alan S. (1995). Me and Mario Cuomo: conversations in candor. New York: Barricade Books. ISBN 1-56980-062-6.
- Chartock, Alan S. (1974). The Midtown Project. New York: (Publisher unknown). (ISBN unknown).
- Chartock, Alan S. (1970). Strengthening the Wisconsin Legislature (An Eagleton study and report). New Jersey: Published for the Eagleton Institute of Politics by Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-0612-3.
External links
- Chartock's web site
- WAMC Northeast Public Radio Network—A tax-exempt, educational broadcaster for which Alan S. Chartock is currently chief executive
- Appearances on C-SPAN