WAMU 88.

5 - COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING

Minutes
Wednesday, June 24, 2020

WAMU Community Council Members Attending:

Navroz Gandhi, Susan Weiss, Michele Manatt, David Bradley, Avis Thomas-Lester, Peter Tannenwald,
Nakeisha Neal Jones, Maura Brophy, Raymond Weeden, Heather Voorman, Christy Gavitt, Dave Nemazie,
Scott Astrada, Sojin Kim, Manuel Ochoa, Matt McCormick and CC Gachet

WAMU/AU Staff Attending:

Seth Grossman, JJ Yore, Dawnita Altieri, Jeffrey Katz, Nichole McCoy, Rachel Sadon, Monna Kashfi

Members of the Public Attending: N/A

I. Welcome – Navroz Gandhi, Council Chair and Old Business

Navroz Gandhi called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m. and welcomed everyone. The Chair made a
motion to approve the February 2020 minutes. Christy indicated that she attended the February
meeting and was not on the list of attendees. Maura Brophy and Dave Nemazie seconded the motion to
approve the minutes as amended. The motion to approve the minutes as amended was passed.

The meeting moved to the General Manager’s update.

II. Manager’s Update – JJ Yore, General Manager

Seth Grossman spoke on AU’s reopening phase process and how the university will continue to work
with DC authorities and the CDC to determine the feasibility, timing and likelihood of whether students,
faculty and staff can return to campus. A team of staff members are meeting daily and communicating
with the AU community as information becomes available.

III. Feature Presentation: Discussion about local journalism and survey responses
JJ introduced Jeffrey Katz, Rachel Sadon and Monna Kashfi. He then explained that the WAMU content
teams have strategically decided to re-focus toward local journalism due the constraints of the budget
due to Covid-19. This will mean pausing the podcast Dating While Gray for the moment. Monna began
facilitating a conversation about the results of the questionnaire sent to council members in advance.
The questionnaire was a way for the Council to share ways they want WAMU to become all they need
for regional news and information.

Top ideas from the Discussion

• Creating an "ICYMI stories of the day" that DCIST has been running via Instagram for WAMU
stories.
• Hearing bylines from DCist reporters; it helps make WAMU more local.
• Offering “Breaking News” stories on WAMU more often.
• More neighborhood coverage (hyperlocal news) when possible.
IV. New Business & Announcements – Navroz Gandhi, Chair
Navroz shared that nominations for Council members would begin in the fall. Susan Weiss was
nominated to chair the Council’s Nomination’s Committee, the Council approved Susan Weiss’
nomination to chair the Nomination’s Committee. Susan requested council volunteers for the
committee. Sojin Kim volunteered to join the committee. Susan will reach out to Council Members over
the next few months for recommendations and suggestions.

V. Public Comments (Not applicable for this meeting)

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. and was seconded by Susan Weiss.

Dates for Quarterly Meetings- Updated:

o 2020: February 12, May 6, September 9, December 2
o 2021: February 10, May 5, September 8, December