We were firmly directed to keep all station business under our hats. We were forbidden to tell our listeners anything. Most of us, those in fear of losing our shows, kept our mouths shut. We felt angry and intimidated. We felt helpless.
Rumors spread, but little information from the secret meetings filtered down to the on-air staff.
The lid was shut tightly. The death knell for me came one early Monday morning in July. That's how they fired me. The management had no intention of calling me in to substitute for anyone, something that became obvious to me over the ensuing months of not a single call, in spite of the fact that world music shows ran five mornings a week and there were regular no-shows of the programmers. I applied three times for a world music show, each time submitting formal, written applications.