"WBUR felt that this proposal was incompatible with the station's mandate as a non-profit institution and incompatible with its reliance on individual contributions for half its financial support," the management said in a statement at the time.

WBUR also offered Lydon a salary raise to $330,000 in an unsuccessful attempt to keep him at the station.

Lydon developed a devoted following for the show in Boston, and its supporters praise his insightfulness and intellect.

"He's a very good person and a very bright guy," says Henry J. Steiner, director of the law school's human rights program.

But Lydon has been faced criticism from listeners who claimed that he was arrogant in demanding a larger salary and thus severing his ties with WBUR.

Lydon says he is currently unsure of his future, although he wants to stay in public radio.

"[The show is] a public radio entity more than commercial, although we don't rule out that possibility," he says.

Lydon speculates that the Web will play an important role in the continuation of his show, and says that modern life is increasingly geared toward the Internet.