© 2024 90.7 WMFE. All Rights Reserved.
Public Media News for Central Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Letter to our listeners

img_9755

President and General Manager LaFontaine E. Oliver sent a letter to the 90.7 WMFE email list on Tuesday, June 14, in response to the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Here's what he wrote:

Good morning, WMFE Family,

It’s Day 3, and the reality of what has happened here, in our beloved community, still hasn’t sunk in for me.

Orlando is mourning the loss of 49 lives in what is now the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Orlando will never forget what happened at Pulse Nightclub. The nation and the world will not forget.

I want you to know that you are not alone. WMFE stands with you, Orlando. We are grieving with you. We are marveling at the incredible strength and unity you are showing to the world in the face of this atrocity.

As your public radio station, we pledge to continue to support you and your need for reliable and timely coverage of this tragic event. Our reporters are pounding the pavement to bring you live updates on air, on our website and on our social media feeds throughout the week.

We will have special editions of Intersection today through Friday’s weekly news roundup at 9:00 a.m. This morning we’ll be taking calls during the Tuesday special live edition of Intersection. Please share your thoughts and stories with us: call 1-866-338-5252, email intersection@wmfe.org or tweet us (@wmfeorlando). We’ll look to the future and together explore what can be done to prevent future violent acts.

NPR quickly responded to the tragedy Sunday, dispatching reporters, producers and hosts to Orlando to be by our side and to provide the in-depth reporting on the situation that you have come to expect from our station. Many of you heard Morning Edition host David Greene broadcasting live from the 90.7 WMFE studios yesterday morning.

Through this relationship, your friends and family throughout the country will have access to timely updates and analysis direct from officials working on this case here in Central Florida. This relationship also offers us vast reporting power and the ability to call in national and international experts and thought leaders as we grapple with not only what has happened in our community, but also how we rise from it and grow stronger.

In times like these, access to timely, accurate and well-sourced information is paramount. As a community station, we see our role as larger than just providing news and information. We are a community institution and partner committed to improving Central Florida.

I’ll leave you this morning with a thought from the Chair of our Community Advisory Board, Dr. Joshua Corsa. He’s been tending to the 54 injured people rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center after the shooting. On Tuesday, he posted a photo of his blood-soaked shoes along with a poignant message on his Facebook page. Here’s an excerpt:

"There is still an enormous amount of work to be done. Some of that work will never end. And while I work I will continue to wear these shoes. And when the last patient leaves our hospital, I will take them off, and I will keep them in my office. I want to see them in front of me every time I go to work. For on June 12, after the worst of humanity reared its evil head, I saw the best of humanity come fighting right back.”

We stand with our community during this difficult time. #OrlandoUnited

Sincerely,
LaFontaine E. Oliver
President and General Manager
90.7 WMFE