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Good news from WBAI, Pacifica in NY
WBAI is KPFA's Pacifica sister station in New York. Unfortunately, for several years WBAI was dominated and mismanaged by a group which called itself the "Justice & Unity Coalition" (JUC). The rule of the JUC ended this spring, when Grace Aaron became Pacifica's PNB chair and acting Executive Director; she intervened and made changes. Below is a report from WBAI by Doug Henwood.
Support WBAI, and my show [“Behind the News”]
DOUG HENWOOD
May 13, 2009
I’ve got some good news about WBAI, for a change. The station was been under a mix of toxic and ineffectual leadership since the death of Samori Marksman in 1999. Morale sank, listenership dwindled, the airwaves were filled with drivel, and fundraising sagged badly. The station fell months behind on studio and transmitter rent. It was years behind on its payments to Pacifica, the network that owns the license, and threatened to drag the whole five-station network down.
Finally, Pacifica’s new executive director, Grace Aaron, decided it was time to intervene. She fired the station manager, Tony Riddle, a likable fellow who nonetheless did next to nothing, and suspended and banned from the air the dreadful program director, Bernard White. White’s politics are a crude sort of black nationalism, and he’s been surrounded by a gang of acolytes calling itself the Justice and Unity Coalition (JUC), who’ve dismissed any criticism of White’s disastrous reign as racist. (Among its many offenses, the JUC is in tight with the Workers World Party.) White and some of his JUC cronies denounced their critics as “pieces of fecal matter” and “CIA agents” on the air. Aaron decided there’d been enough of this, and has essentially taken control of the station. The JUC hacks are on the run, and it’s a beautiful sight.
Enough internal politics. The bottom line is that this is the most hopeful thing that’s happened at WBAI in at least a decade and there’s a real chance of turning the thing around. Which is why I feel much more enthusiastic about fundraising tomorrow, and why I can urge everyone reading this to contribute generously. You can pledge online--and be sure to mention “Behind the News” as your favorite show—but it’d be best if you called in a pledge during my time slot, between 4 and 6 PM Thursday, NYC time, and tell them how much you’d like to hear more. Assuming you would, of course. The pledge line is ___ ___
May 13, 2009
Doug Henwood publishes the Left Business Observer
*******************
REPOSTER'S NOTES:
** The above article was written during the spring fund drive. That drive turned out to be the first successful fund drive at WBAI in years. $839,000 was raised. The goal for the drive was $672,000, so they beat the goal by $160,000. Competent management was what made the difference.
** The above mentioned "Justice & Unity Coalition" (JUC) which mismanaged WBAI was an ally of the Sherry Gendelman's group--"Concerned Listeners" at KPFA. Although the two groups had very different agendas, they formed an unholy alliance which allowed the JUC to continue its bad management of WBAI for several years--until this spring when a new Pacifica National Board, chaired by Grace Aaron, put a stop to the insanity at WBAI.
**FOR MORE ON WBAI
http://takeFORWARDwbai.org
http://radioactivist.net
For more information:
http://doughenwood.wordpress.com/2009/05/1...
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Pacifica Financial Crisis: Who is Responsible?
by Richard Phelps, former KPFA LSB Chair
Thursday May 14th, 2009 11:30 AM
For several years a collusion on the Pacifica National Board (PNB) allowed WBAI to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars a year with no oversight from the PNB. This put the entire Foundation at risk of bankruptcy. Who was part of the collusion and why did they do it? Read on to find out.
Recently WBAI management did not pay their rent for four months and received a Three Day Notice to pay or be subject to eviction. This was not promptly communicated to the financial or executive management of Pacifica. WBAI has been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for several years and currently owes Pacifica over $1,000,000.00 in back central services contributions.
Each station contributes 20% of its listener-generated revenue to run the Foundation. When one station isn’t making its contribution the results are that the Foundation is short on money or the other stations have to pay more. This several year problem at WBAI and the current economic downturn has caused serious financial problems for Pacifica. The current Pacifica National Board (PNB), elected in January, gives hope for the survival of Pacifica.
Why didn’t Pacifica correct this problem early on? There was collusion among some PNB members from various stations to allow WBAI to do what they wanted to do with no oversight or accountability to the Bylaws or the listener/subscribers. The major players in this collusion were from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW, with a vote or two from KPFK and KPFT and the affiliate Reps on the PNB.
The Local Station Board (LSB) majorities at KPFA and WBAI generally elected three PNB members that supported this collusion and WPFW, until recently, often sent four. There are 22 members of the PNB, four from each station and two Affiliate Representatives. An LSB majority can elect three of the four PNB members for their station. With ten votes from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW it only takes three votes from the ten from the other two stations and affiliate reps to have a majority to control the PNB and continue this collusion. Until this last January the Colluders had the majority for several years.
Who are the Colluders and why did they do this? Local tyrannical majorities wanted to run their stations without regard to the Bylaws and with no oversight from the Foundation. At KPFA the “KPFAForward” (2004) and “Concerned Listener” (CL) (2006 & 2007) slates represented the same management/staff faction and generally endorsed majorities that sent three PNB members who consistently voted to protect and continue the collusion. This group included William Walker, Sarv Randhawa, Rosalinda Palacios, Mary Berg, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons and Andrea Turner. They consistently vote/voted with the Justice & Unity majority from WBAI and the WPFW majority. They generally sit together at the PNB meetings and are regularly seen privately caucusing together at lunch and before and after meetings sometimes, with GM Lemlem Rijio when in Berkeley.
Prior to this year’s PNB, Bob Lederer was the Justice & Unity leader on the PNB. I have attended many PNB meetings and listened to most of the others on line. During those meetings if KPFA Colluder PNB members were not sure how to vote they often passed if Bob Lederer hadn’t voted or passed. When he voted they would follow. If you don’t believe me go to the archives of the meetings and listen. Rosalinda Palacios (2006) was especially consistent with following Lederer’s votes.
Whenever there was a move to correct the problems at WBAI the KPFA Colluders always voted with the others to protect the LSB majority at WBAI. Patty Heffley, the minority PNB Rep from WBAI, made a motion to have the PNB order the WBAI LSB to do a performance review of the general manager (GM) and the program director. The Bylaws require these to be done annually. At WBAI they had never been done, despite complaints from the LSB minority. The PNB Colluder majority refused to order the WBAI LSB to follow the Bylaws. Many others complained about WBAI being out of control and losing money and the Colluder PNB majority did NOTHING as the red ink continued to flow.
At KPFA the CL slate and the Rijio/Lilley management work together to make sure they maintain a majority on the LSB to elect three PNB members from their group. One of their methods was to have no election information on the air when the ballots went out and at the same time the CL sent a slate mailer. After the first time this happened I wrote a motion on the PNB Election Committee requiring election information to be on the air during the election. It passed out of the election committee by a 10-2 vote. The Colluder majority on the PNB voted it down. When they finally ran some candidate information they ran 22 candidate statements in a row, always with Sherry Gendelman first! At the April 2009 PNB meeting in Berkeley the new non-Colluder PNB majority passed a motion requiring broad election coverage on the air.
The Colluder majority was consistently against transparency. The Bylaws and California law allow Directors, PNB members, the “absolute right” to inspect all documents and facilities at any reasonable time. For years the Colluders fought to stop or hinder Directors’ Inspections. When inspections were finally allowed due to potential lawsuits it was discovered that $65,000 worth of equipment had been sent to a WBAI former GM’s father’s house and was not accounted for. As recently as 2008 a Director was ordered out of WBAI in the middle of a lawful inspection without any justification. Who gave the order? Dan Siegel, interim Executive Director, hired by the Colluder majority.
So when you hear Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons, Conn or Matthew Hallinan, Warren Mar or any of the CL allies complain about KPFA money going to shore up WBAI, they and their allies are responsible for this crisis for trading fiscal responsibility for their power to ignore the Bylaws, transparency and accountability.
To save Pacifica we must vote out the CL Colluders in the next election so they will not be able to send three Colluders to the PNB to ignore the Bylaws and progressive principles in favor of uncontrolled tyranny of the local majorities. KPFA is a Commons that belong to all of us and it must be protected and preserved above the CL/Rijio group’s desire for unrestrained and unaccountable power.
Richard Phelps, former Chair, KPFA LSB, 35 year listener/subscriber and former AM & FM Radio Announcer
by Richard Phelps, former KPFA LSB Chair
Thursday May 14th, 2009 11:30 AM
For several years a collusion on the Pacifica National Board (PNB) allowed WBAI to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars a year with no oversight from the PNB. This put the entire Foundation at risk of bankruptcy. Who was part of the collusion and why did they do it? Read on to find out.
Recently WBAI management did not pay their rent for four months and received a Three Day Notice to pay or be subject to eviction. This was not promptly communicated to the financial or executive management of Pacifica. WBAI has been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for several years and currently owes Pacifica over $1,000,000.00 in back central services contributions.
Each station contributes 20% of its listener-generated revenue to run the Foundation. When one station isn’t making its contribution the results are that the Foundation is short on money or the other stations have to pay more. This several year problem at WBAI and the current economic downturn has caused serious financial problems for Pacifica. The current Pacifica National Board (PNB), elected in January, gives hope for the survival of Pacifica.
Why didn’t Pacifica correct this problem early on? There was collusion among some PNB members from various stations to allow WBAI to do what they wanted to do with no oversight or accountability to the Bylaws or the listener/subscribers. The major players in this collusion were from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW, with a vote or two from KPFK and KPFT and the affiliate Reps on the PNB.
The Local Station Board (LSB) majorities at KPFA and WBAI generally elected three PNB members that supported this collusion and WPFW, until recently, often sent four. There are 22 members of the PNB, four from each station and two Affiliate Representatives. An LSB majority can elect three of the four PNB members for their station. With ten votes from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW it only takes three votes from the ten from the other two stations and affiliate reps to have a majority to control the PNB and continue this collusion. Until this last January the Colluders had the majority for several years.
Who are the Colluders and why did they do this? Local tyrannical majorities wanted to run their stations without regard to the Bylaws and with no oversight from the Foundation. At KPFA the “KPFAForward” (2004) and “Concerned Listener” (CL) (2006 & 2007) slates represented the same management/staff faction and generally endorsed majorities that sent three PNB members who consistently voted to protect and continue the collusion. This group included William Walker, Sarv Randhawa, Rosalinda Palacios, Mary Berg, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons and Andrea Turner. They consistently vote/voted with the Justice & Unity majority from WBAI and the WPFW majority. They generally sit together at the PNB meetings and are regularly seen privately caucusing together at lunch and before and after meetings sometimes, with GM Lemlem Rijio when in Berkeley.
Prior to this year’s PNB, Bob Lederer was the Justice & Unity leader on the PNB. I have attended many PNB meetings and listened to most of the others on line. During those meetings if KPFA Colluder PNB members were not sure how to vote they often passed if Bob Lederer hadn’t voted or passed. When he voted they would follow. If you don’t believe me go to the archives of the meetings and listen. Rosalinda Palacios (2006) was especially consistent with following Lederer’s votes.
Whenever there was a move to correct the problems at WBAI the KPFA Colluders always voted with the others to protect the LSB majority at WBAI. Patty Heffley, the minority PNB Rep from WBAI, made a motion to have the PNB order the WBAI LSB to do a performance review of the general manager (GM) and the program director. The Bylaws require these to be done annually. At WBAI they had never been done, despite complaints from the LSB minority. The PNB Colluder majority refused to order the WBAI LSB to follow the Bylaws. Many others complained about WBAI being out of control and losing money and the Colluder PNB majority did NOTHING as the red ink continued to flow.
At KPFA the CL slate and the Rijio/Lilley management work together to make sure they maintain a majority on the LSB to elect three PNB members from their group. One of their methods was to have no election information on the air when the ballots went out and at the same time the CL sent a slate mailer. After the first time this happened I wrote a motion on the PNB Election Committee requiring election information to be on the air during the election. It passed out of the election committee by a 10-2 vote. The Colluder majority on the PNB voted it down. When they finally ran some candidate information they ran 22 candidate statements in a row, always with Sherry Gendelman first! At the April 2009 PNB meeting in Berkeley the new non-Colluder PNB majority passed a motion requiring broad election coverage on the air.
The Colluder majority was consistently against transparency. The Bylaws and California law allow Directors, PNB members, the “absolute right” to inspect all documents and facilities at any reasonable time. For years the Colluders fought to stop or hinder Directors’ Inspections. When inspections were finally allowed due to potential lawsuits it was discovered that $65,000 worth of equipment had been sent to a WBAI former GM’s father’s house and was not accounted for. As recently as 2008 a Director was ordered out of WBAI in the middle of a lawful inspection without any justification. Who gave the order? Dan Siegel, interim Executive Director, hired by the Colluder majority.
So when you hear Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons, Conn or Matthew Hallinan, Warren Mar or any of the CL allies complain about KPFA money going to shore up WBAI, they and their allies are responsible for this crisis for trading fiscal responsibility for their power to ignore the Bylaws, transparency and accountability.
To save Pacifica we must vote out the CL Colluders in the next election so they will not be able to send three Colluders to the PNB to ignore the Bylaws and progressive principles in favor of uncontrolled tyranny of the local majorities. KPFA is a Commons that belong to all of us and it must be protected and preserved above the CL/Rijio group’s desire for unrestrained and unaccountable power.
Richard Phelps, former Chair, KPFA LSB, 35 year listener/subscriber and former AM & FM Radio Announcer
BAI certainly did have problems with fundraising and publicity, but the programming has been great. Pacifica's intervention did help those issues, but the current board majority and the Pacific national office is starting to trash the programming because of issues of racism, and yes, racism is a real problem at Pacifica.
If this continues, I will limit myself to $25 memberships and vote exclusively for Justice and Unity candidates until the programming is restored.
If this continues, I will limit myself to $25 memberships and vote exclusively for Justice and Unity candidates until the programming is restored.
"If this continues, I will limit myself to $25 memberships and vote exclusively for Justice and Unity candidates until the programming is restored."
"Justice and Unity" destroyed that station and ran it into the ground.
"Justice and Unity" destroyed that station and ran it into the ground.
i agree with Doug Henwood's support for the neccesary actions taken by Grace Aaron and Acting GM La Varn Williams have taken to literally save WBAI . But Henwood has a contradiction . He also backs the so called '' Concerned Listeners'' group at KPFA . *The CL was founded upon an initative taken by a key KPFA management figure .
So what does this have to do with the Justice and Unity group at WBAI ? Plently . Because despite their idelogicial differences on other issues they , the CL and the JUC , have united vis a vis Pacifica matters. As Phelps documents they have voted together on practicially every motion before the Pacifica National Board.
So Doug, to be consistent you have to go a big step further and break with your friends in KPFA mgmt. and not endorse the mgmt. allied CL slate this time .
* One more thing . In the 2005 election you smeared a candidate opposed to the CL as a ''anti semite ''. That accursation was baseless. You should apologize to that candidate privately and publicly .
So what does this have to do with the Justice and Unity group at WBAI ? Plently . Because despite their idelogicial differences on other issues they , the CL and the JUC , have united vis a vis Pacifica matters. As Phelps documents they have voted together on practicially every motion before the Pacifica National Board.
So Doug, to be consistent you have to go a big step further and break with your friends in KPFA mgmt. and not endorse the mgmt. allied CL slate this time .
* One more thing . In the 2005 election you smeared a candidate opposed to the CL as a ''anti semite ''. That accursation was baseless. You should apologize to that candidate privately and publicly .
"NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE BAI LISTENER" SAYS: "BAI certainly did have problems with fundraising and publicity..."
That's like saying the US economy had problems during the Great Depression. Fundraising declined even when (or because) on-air fund-raising days were extended to intolerable levels. "Problems with publicity" = NO publicity. NO mechanism for generating publicity, NO budget for advertising. When I first started work in the Finance Committee, it was allotted a token $3,000 out of a $3,000,000 budget -- and none of THAT spent for advertising so far as I could see.
I suggested a couple of low-budget or no-cost publicity schemes, at least one of which was endorsed by every GM and iGM from the time of the first LSB meeting onward (including Riddle), but never implemented.
One advertising campaign proposed by Steve Brown and launched by GM Don Rojas was shot down when the JUC complained it would recruit too many of the "wrong kind" of listeners. Of course, they did not make up for this by placing ads where the"right kind" of listeners might read them.
"NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE BAI LISTENER" SAYS: "...but the programming has been great..."
Not great enough to retain old listeners or to attract enough new listeners to make up for the loss of old listeners: http://www.takeforwardwbai.org/downwardtrend.html
"NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE BAI LISTENER" SAYS: "...I will limit myself to $25 memberships and vote exclusively for Justice and Unity candidates until the programming is restored."
Can "Not Entirely Accurate" tell us what programs have been cut? Does he/she know of even ONE?
The complaint I hear most often is "Big deal, we have a new management but there have not been any changes in programming!"
That's like saying the US economy had problems during the Great Depression. Fundraising declined even when (or because) on-air fund-raising days were extended to intolerable levels. "Problems with publicity" = NO publicity. NO mechanism for generating publicity, NO budget for advertising. When I first started work in the Finance Committee, it was allotted a token $3,000 out of a $3,000,000 budget -- and none of THAT spent for advertising so far as I could see.
I suggested a couple of low-budget or no-cost publicity schemes, at least one of which was endorsed by every GM and iGM from the time of the first LSB meeting onward (including Riddle), but never implemented.
One advertising campaign proposed by Steve Brown and launched by GM Don Rojas was shot down when the JUC complained it would recruit too many of the "wrong kind" of listeners. Of course, they did not make up for this by placing ads where the"right kind" of listeners might read them.
"NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE BAI LISTENER" SAYS: "...but the programming has been great..."
Not great enough to retain old listeners or to attract enough new listeners to make up for the loss of old listeners: http://www.takeforwardwbai.org/downwardtrend.html
"NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE BAI LISTENER" SAYS: "...I will limit myself to $25 memberships and vote exclusively for Justice and Unity candidates until the programming is restored."
Can "Not Entirely Accurate" tell us what programs have been cut? Does he/she know of even ONE?
The complaint I hear most often is "Big deal, we have a new management but there have not been any changes in programming!"
For more information:
http://takeFORWARDwbai.org
"NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE BAI LISTENER" SAID: "...I will limit myself to $25 memberships and vote exclusively for Justice and Unity candidates until the programming is restored."
One week ago, I posted this question: Can "Not Entirely Accurate" tell us what programs have been cut? Does he/she know of even ONE?
I'm still waiting for an answer.
One week ago, I posted this question: Can "Not Entirely Accurate" tell us what programs have been cut? Does he/she know of even ONE?
I'm still waiting for an answer.
For more information:
http://takeFORWARDwbai.org
Citywatch . Crime : speaking truth to power.
Wakeup Call . Yet to be explained ...
Talk of bringing celebrities such as Roseanne Barr (Hitler cookies anyone?) and Chuck D onto the airwaves suggests programs will be removed from prime time slots in the near future.
Wakeup Call . Yet to be explained ...
Talk of bringing celebrities such as Roseanne Barr (Hitler cookies anyone?) and Chuck D onto the airwaves suggests programs will be removed from prime time slots in the near future.
Wake Up Call has been cut back by an hour.
Also, some of the things that have happened during the latest pledge drive suggest that we won't be able to hear Democracy Now at 9 AM anymore. Putting it on at 8 means people who depend on public transportation to go to work won't hear it anymore.
Also, some of the things that have happened during the latest pledge drive suggest that we won't be able to hear Democracy Now at 9 AM anymore. Putting it on at 8 means people who depend on public transportation to go to work won't hear it anymore.
Frank LeFever: I checked your numbers, and you are using the same trick the people who deny global warming are using. You are cherry picking years. Listenership at Pacifica stations always spikes at the start of a major war and gradually levels off. I saw the same thing happen with the L.A. station after the first US Iraq War.
Are you tied in any way to Gary Null?
Are you tied in any way to Gary Null?
If you have "checked" my numbers with the same level of sophistication that Lisa Davis apparently has (I think she's just repeating what someone else told her, as well as she can remember it), of course you'll parrot the same line.
If anybody "cherry-picked" it was Tony, who is embarrassingly amateurish in his understanding of how to analyze sample data and trends -- and amateurish even in his graph-making.
For some discussion of this, see my comments (reply to agitprop JUC videomaker John Riley):
http://pacificana.org/2009/05/02/wbai-cume-and-aqh-trends-2004-2008
[bytheway: don't bother trying to tell me anything about "data selection" before you have read and understood what I wrote there.]
As for Gary Null, if you had been at all attentive to what I have publicly said over the years, you would know that (1) I find SOME of his diet & exercise & supplement stuff worthwhile, (2) regard him as a populariser of those ideas, not a scientist who has contributed to any of what is known about them (and indeed may not understand them very well), and (3) consider his AIDS/HIV denial to be very dangerous; his crusade against vaccination is also harmful, I think, but probably not to the same degree, and his "ADD is a myth" theme is dishonest but (I think) with less potential for harm.
My chief "connection" with Null is my including his Whole Foods Uptown store among the three "health-food" stores in that neighborhood at which I shop rather regularly. However, I rarely buy vitamins or "supplements" at ANY of them, finding a better selection and better prices at Vitamin Shoppe, 3 blocks north of Null's place.
Of course, I do collaborate on some WBAI efforts with people who do have some kind of relationship and/or strong faith in Null, but this is one among many issues that independents differ about, even though we are united in our belief that Bernard White and his "take-over" crew are responsible for the decline that occurred DURING THEIR CONTROL, and our belief that rescuing WBAI and turning it around -- reversing its downward trend -- is URGENT BUSINESS if we are to preserve an independent voice for progressive thought and dialogue in a listening area of 18,000,000 potential listeners.
If anybody "cherry-picked" it was Tony, who is embarrassingly amateurish in his understanding of how to analyze sample data and trends -- and amateurish even in his graph-making.
For some discussion of this, see my comments (reply to agitprop JUC videomaker John Riley):
http://pacificana.org/2009/05/02/wbai-cume-and-aqh-trends-2004-2008
[bytheway: don't bother trying to tell me anything about "data selection" before you have read and understood what I wrote there.]
As for Gary Null, if you had been at all attentive to what I have publicly said over the years, you would know that (1) I find SOME of his diet & exercise & supplement stuff worthwhile, (2) regard him as a populariser of those ideas, not a scientist who has contributed to any of what is known about them (and indeed may not understand them very well), and (3) consider his AIDS/HIV denial to be very dangerous; his crusade against vaccination is also harmful, I think, but probably not to the same degree, and his "ADD is a myth" theme is dishonest but (I think) with less potential for harm.
My chief "connection" with Null is my including his Whole Foods Uptown store among the three "health-food" stores in that neighborhood at which I shop rather regularly. However, I rarely buy vitamins or "supplements" at ANY of them, finding a better selection and better prices at Vitamin Shoppe, 3 blocks north of Null's place.
Of course, I do collaborate on some WBAI efforts with people who do have some kind of relationship and/or strong faith in Null, but this is one among many issues that independents differ about, even though we are united in our belief that Bernard White and his "take-over" crew are responsible for the decline that occurred DURING THEIR CONTROL, and our belief that rescuing WBAI and turning it around -- reversing its downward trend -- is URGENT BUSINESS if we are to preserve an independent voice for progressive thought and dialogue in a listening area of 18,000,000 potential listeners.
For more information:
http://takeFORWRDwbai.org
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