Thanks to Raymond Fontaine for his wonderful recollections of public radio past from WGBH and WFCR 88.5FM [”Memories of public radio past still glow,” Gazette, Dec. 21]. I was at GBH when most of those shows were produced. And I’m proud of those programs and the national programs of years past. But what of the present from NEPM (WFCR/WGBY-TV)? The Fabulous 413, The Rundown with Carrie Saldo, the News Network (with Jazz and international music of course), Classical NEPM 24/7, Valley Voices, NEPM’s (youth) Media Lab, A Very 413 Christmas Carol, and the extremely important NEPM Newsroom, plus community engagement, local specials and podcasts, and the new national programs.

NEPM is more than audio, and a website. It’s the PBS Newshour, Morning Edition, and All Things Considered, some of the most trusted sources for facts and important information and analysis. And more recently on NEPM-TV Legacies: Stories of Black History in the 413. There’s so much more. Check it out at nepm.org.

And what of the future? Hundreds of cities and towns in of our country are now news deserts. Public media as a whole has had to lay-off hundreds of employees. Our local newspapers struggle as well. The future therefore, is in our hands. It’s great to remember the past, but now is the time to support the present for our communities of today and of the future. I hope you’ll join me in that effort. You know what to do!

Martin Miller, former president, New England Public Media

Amherst