Does WYPR have a death wish? Nothing else explains the public radio station’s incompetent firing of Marc Steiner, its most identifiable local voice.

None of it makes sense. The six-year-old station is overextended and needs generous listener support more than ever because the worsening economy is likely to shrink corporate pledges. But instead of solidifying its financial base, the board fired Steiner, who commanded a considerable following as host of a popular noontime talk show on the air on WYPR and its predecessor station for 15 years.

WYPR is now in the midst of a listener revolt. The situation already has forced the station to delay its usual winter fund drive.

WYPR President Anthony Brandon was after Steiner’s scalp for a long time. Their personalities and style conflicted. But Steiner’s popularity prevented Brandon from acting. Why he designated Jan. 31 as the axing day is unknown, as are his justifications for the firing. But once Brandon presented his case to the board, it acceded to the president’s wish with hardly a murmur, according to a knowledgeable source.

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At that point things went awry. The victorious Brandon jerked Steiner off the air abruptly with no Plan B in place. It was pathetic. In days before Maryland’s momentous presidential primary, the station’s most relevant local programming bloc suddenly disappeared. Instead, WYPR filled two hours with canned NPR stuff from Los Angeles, making a mockery of claims that the station wanted to improve local programming.

Dan Rodricks will take over Steiner’s noontime slot, starting Feb. 25. He is an amusing and capable fellow. He has championed such social causes as finding jobs for ex-offenders, but his forte are Baltimoreana and the city’s countless oddballs. I know him, he is my friend, but he is no Marc Steiner, who made his mark by provocatively examining complicated social forces shaping Baltimore and the nation.

Steiner often devoted his first hour to the causes of all kinds of downtrodden. The second hour was much weaker, too often consisting of the same authors who had already peddled their books on Diane Rehm and Terry Gross. One thing is indisputable, however: “The Marc Steiner Show” was an important positive factor in Baltimore life, a call for reason, change and hope.

The last thing WYPR needs is a self-inflicted crisis like this. The station is overburdened with debt after acquiring transmitters in Frederick and Ocean City. As a long-term strategy, that expansion would have made perfect sense even as recently as five years ago. Since then, however, people’s media consumption and usage habits have drastically changed. Not only have newspapers fallen on hard times, but new gizmos have also splintered radio (and television) audiences in unpredictable ways.

The forthcoming changeover to digital high-definition broadcasting will make things even tougher. Because listeners must buy brand-new sets, they may bolt altogether. Mass radio may disappear. Successful commercial and public radio stations will have to become masters of niche targeting. They must serve audiences that no one has previously even thought of serving because the new digital broadcasting technology will allow an unprecedented explosion of alternative programming.

If you want to see WYPR’s future challenge, look at WAMU, a public radio station belonging to the American University in Washington. Digital technology has so increased its frequency spectrum that instead of one format, it now can broadcast distinctly different programs on three channels, including a simulcast of Towson University’s WTMD.

In times like these, a fertile mind like Marc Steiner’s is sorely needed.

Antero Pietila is a Baltimore Examiner columnist. He can be reached at hap5905@hotmail.com.