Daino reflects on 13-year tenure as WCNY leader

SYRACUSE — Robert Daino, president and CEO of public broadcaster WCNY since 2005, never understood pledge-a-thons. So he got rid of them.

Chatting with CNYBJ in his sunlit office at the station’s LEED-certified headquarters on Syracuse’s near west side on July 9, Daino reflected on that decision and other initiatives during his 13-year stint at the helm. He explains that in his mind people in the Central New York community own WCNY and doesn’t think it right to ask shareholders for more money. Instead, he says, “we want to bring value to shareholders.”

Scrapping the pledge breaks meant finding other ways to do things, other methods to replace revenue that would come from three-hour stretches when special programming would be interrupted by pleas to call and become members of the station.

Last year marked a decade since the last pledge drive on WCNY television. It was also the start of pledge-free WCNY radio.

Daino, 54, announced July 5 he is stepping down from the position of president and CEO at WCNY at the end of the month. But he is not done with the public broadcaster.

 “We are thrilled to have Bob serve as the very first director emeritus of the WCNY board, where he will be deeply engaged and continue to provide leadership, vision, and wisdom to ensure WCNY’s long-term growth and success,” Jeffrey Scheer, WCNY’s board chairman, said in a release.

Discussing his tenure, Daino recalls a speech he gave at a gathering of nonprofit executives. He told them the difference between a for-profit business and a not-for-profit organization wasn’t much. “There’s nothing to stop you from using excess income to cover expansion,” he told them.

“I never wanted to use the word nonprofit,” he says. “It’s like someone had to take care of us.”

Changes during Daino’s time as leader were many. The most visible may be the station’s new home, complete with rooftop solar panels, rain gardens, and a cooling system designed to protect the station’s high-tech equipment. Including a converted warehouse, it was completed in 2013.

The building has helped attract more résumés, he says, from people who want to be part of something exciting. Today, the organization has 88 employees.

Less visible is the Joint Master Control Operation Co., Inc., an operation within the WCNY building that delivers content to public-broadcast stations serving more than 40 percent of PBS viewers nationwide. The operation, with another 21 employees, helps support WCNY financially while also saving stations around the country from having to buy costly equipment, Daino says.

Likewise, WCNY’s Network Operating Center connects with all nine PBS stations in New York state, allowing them to work as a network and leverage programming and other assets.

Daino says he looks at problems and asks people to think about what the perfect answer would be. Only when they have that “utopian solution” in mind do they begin to look at how it would need to be altered to work in reality. The goal, he says, “is true entrepreneurship — unleash people’s ability to invent.”

WCNY appointed Daino a member of the transition committee, to help with the changeover to Caroline Basso, who has been named interim president and CEO.

Basso, with WCNY since last year, has 16 years’ experience in public broadcasting and currently serves as VP, development and engagement.

“I’ve always been a consumer of PBS,” she says. Even as a child? “Absolutely, Sesame Street,” she says, then onto National Public Radio and now, “much of the dramatic programming on PBS.”

“I’m eager to continue to lead the initiatives, projects, and key revenue strategies he has established while developing additional strategies for WCNY’s ongoing success,” Basso said of Daino in a release.

In a phone interview Basso expresses confidence she is the right person to lead the station, not just on an interim basis, but also more permanently.

She says she will work side-by-side with Daino to continue the innovation that has marked his tenure. “I am confident I’m the right person for that job,” she adds. “Yes. Absolutely. I can’t be more certain than that.”       

SYRACUSE — Robert Daino, president and CEO of public broadcaster WCNY since 2005, never understood pledge-a-thons. So he got rid of them.

Chatting with CNYBJ in his sunlit office at the station’s LEED-certified headquarters on Syracuse’s near west side on July 9, Daino reflected on that decision and other initiatives during his 13-year stint at the helm. He explains that in his mind people in the Central New York community own WCNY and doesn’t think it right to ask shareholders for more money. Instead, he says, “we want to bring value to shareholders.”

Scrapping the pledge breaks meant finding other ways to do things, other methods to replace revenue that would come from three-hour stretches when special programming would be interrupted by pleas to call and become members of the station.

Last year marked a decade since the last pledge drive on WCNY television. It was also the start of pledge-free WCNY radio.

Daino, 54, announced July 5 he is stepping down from the position of president and CEO at WCNY at the end of the month. But he is not done with the public broadcaster.

 “We are thrilled to have Bob serve as the very first director emeritus of the WCNY board, where he will be deeply engaged and continue to provide leadership, vision, and wisdom to ensure WCNY’s long-term growth and success,” Jeffrey Scheer, WCNY’s board chairman, said in a release.

Discussing his tenure, Daino recalls a speech he gave at a gathering of nonprofit executives. He told them the difference between a for-profit business and a not-for-profit organization wasn’t much. “There’s nothing to stop you from using excess income to cover expansion,” he told them.

“I never wanted to use the word nonprofit,” he says. “It’s like someone had to take care of us.”

Changes during Daino’s time as leader were many. The most visible may be the station’s new home, complete with rooftop solar panels, rain gardens, and a cooling system designed to protect the station’s high-tech equipment. Including a converted warehouse, it was completed in 2013.

The building has helped attract more résumés, he says, from people who want to be part of something exciting. Today, the organization has 88 employees.

Less visible is the Joint Master Control Operation Co., Inc., an operation within the WCNY building that delivers content to public-broadcast stations serving more than 40 percent of PBS viewers nationwide. The operation, with another 21 employees, helps support WCNY financially while also saving stations around the country from having to buy costly equipment, Daino says.

Likewise, WCNY’s Network Operating Center connects with all nine PBS stations in New York state, allowing them to work as a network and leverage programming and other assets.

Daino says he looks at problems and asks people to think about what the perfect answer would be. Only when they have that “utopian solution” in mind do they begin to look at how it would need to be altered to work in reality. The goal, he says, “is true entrepreneurship — unleash people’s ability to invent.”

WCNY appointed Daino a member of the transition committee, to help with the changeover to Caroline Basso, who has been named interim president and CEO.

Basso, with WCNY since last year, has 16 years’ experience in public broadcasting and currently serves as VP, development and engagement.

“I’ve always been a consumer of PBS,” she says. Even as a child? “Absolutely, Sesame Street,” she says, then onto National Public Radio and now, “much of the dramatic programming on PBS.”

“I’m eager to continue to lead the initiatives, projects, and key revenue strategies he has established while developing additional strategies for WCNY’s ongoing success,” Basso said of Daino in a release.

In a phone interview Basso expresses confidence she is the right person to lead the station, not just on an interim basis, but also more permanently.

She says she will work side-by-side with Daino to continue the innovation that has marked his tenure. “I am confident I’m the right person for that job,” she adds. “Yes. Absolutely. I can’t be more certain than that.”