Tomorrow's Puppies

I swore I wasn't going to update this web page any more, but the situation at Pacifica Radio has finally become so dire that now I feel I must.

As is usually the case, Pacifica has done itself in. I refer in particular to the situation at WBAI. For years now, it's been known to everyone that BAI has been living very high on the hog even by Manhattan standards, while simultaneously driving away too many of its listener-sponsors. Even a commercial station would have problems keeping up with BAI's enormous financial obligations. Needless to say, at a non-commercial station with an almost legendary tendency to shoot itself in the foot for narrow factional and ideological reasons, the result is a cash hemmorhage. Cash is not a good thing to hemmorhage at this point in the decline of capitalism.

Predictably, the Pacifica National Board, a weak body by design, continued to issue sweeping position statements and promote personal agendas until time ran out. Having missed any chance for proactive action, the board is now forced to act reactively. Its initial response was to attempt to secure a line of credit using the KPFK/archive building as collateral. This didn't happen, but it was quite a scare.

At about the same time, the national started talking about improving the programming. I don't have all the information here. There was some dust-up over anti-Semitism at KPFK, but then there's been one of those just about every two years since the 1980s. It seems to be more about yet another national intervention at WBAI. Similar past episodes prove that there is no surer way at Pacifica Radio to throw the waste material onto the rotating air mover. Been there. Worn the buttons. Done that.

Sadly, WBAI's local staff has had every chance over a period of years to turn the station around. Instead, entrenched interests have jabbed every raw nerve in NYC race relations, eliminated all dissent, purged many dedicated and hard working volunteers, decimated the audience, and then ordered full speed ahead - right into an iceberg of truly historic proportions. Consequently, the national has (once again) swooped down on BAI, however reluctantly this time, however necessarily under changed (and unfortunate) FCC regulations, but still sending all Pacifica's various warring factions into absolute conniption fits.

Thus again we throw open The Gates Of Hell. Out come all the old demons, from Lew Hill's suicide in the 1950s, to the fratricidal bylaws Thermidor of the early 2000s. It's a mess. Meanwhile, the network is still dead busted broke.

This go-round, it will have to be someone else's mess. I have nothing left to contribute to the Pacifica Foundation and its demons. First it got my money, then it got my time, then it got my social life, then it got my mental health, and finally it got my reputation. There's nothing left that I can give. I'm too far behind, too ignorant, too burned out, too discredited, too tired, too busy, and (let's talk Pacifica reality here) too white male.

My only possible response to all this, besides getting a headache, is to show the depth of the problem by reposting this startling e-mail from Grace Aaron, Pacifica National Board chair and interim Executive Director. It's clear that the dogs are loose again. Tomorrow's Puppies are growing up into pit bulls. Plus que change, and all that........

Thursday, April 2, 2009

We have received complaints about programming that may be threatening the financial and legal health of the Pacifica Foundation. Therefore, following legal advice, we are taking preparatory measures to secure our broadcast signals should we need to prevent legal liability as a last resort. These precautionary measures will be taken at all five stations under advice of Counsel. Pacifica is the license holder for all five stations and is ultimately responsible for everything broadcast over all of them. [This might refer to the changing of locks on the WBAI transmitter room and rumored installation of remote feed hardware, apparently with similar steps to follow elsewhere.]

No one on the National Board or at the National Office or at any of our Pacifica stations wishes to threaten any high quality, community-based programming at our stations that conforms to the Pacifica Mission.

The Pacifica Foundation is facing a severe financial crisis. Multi-year down-trending listenership at all of our stations has been eroding our membership and net income. The economic downtrends in society as a whole are also impacting us. Restructuring is occurring at most of our stations which has already reversed the decline at a station or two.

The National Board as well as Pacifica senior management understands the urgency of addressing the shortfalls at WBAI, which are particularly severe. WBAI is also saddled with extremely high overhead mainly due to leases for both the WBAI offices and transmitter entered into in better financial times. [Actually entered into as part of the ancien regime's edifice complex, which caused BAI to abandon its old digs in Chelsea.]

According to James Ross, the Chair of the Pacifica National Finance Committee:

WBAI has operated at a deficit for years. This practice is not supportable and in fact is a threat to the Pacifica foundation:

-WBAI owes the foundation at least $800,000 in unpaid central service fees and billbacks. This debt has accumulated since 2006.

-Through the first five months of the current fiscal year, WBAI is operating at a deficit of at least $30,000 per month, despite layoffs last fall designed to cut costs and bring the station to financial stability.

-WBAI's on-air fundraising has declined in effectiveness at a rate of about 12 percent per year since 2003. Now the station's drives are close to a month long yet still fail to meet budgeted goals.

-WBAI is four months in arrears on its office rent (balance due: $128,072.34). It is also 2 months behind on the rent for the facility that houses the transmitter. [Empire State Building combiner slot. Do you have any comprehension how valuable this is since 9/11 took down the WTC tower? Commercial broadcasters will snap up BAI in a second to get it.] This bill comes to approximately $35,000 per month, according to National Office Finance Staff. The total in unpaid rent at WBAI comes very close to $198,000.

Pacifica no longer has the reserves to underwrite WBAI's continuing deficits. Last year the foundation had to take out a line of credit, secured by another station's assets, to cover costs unpaid by WBAI. This line of credit has not been paid back, and these assets are still frozen. Further, non-payment of bills may lead to involuntary bankruptcy, which could be catastrophic for our foundation, given our extremely valuable assets, the station licenses.

Currently, we are at risk of being sued for breach of our lease agreements, which could have dire consequences. In the case of the Tower lease where our transmitter is located a continuing breach could result in a loss of our signal.

WBAI, however, is in the largest radio market in the U.S. With a signal that covers a population of 19 to 20 million people, improved programming will certainly boost our listenership, which will result in increased membership and listener support. This approach is advocated by the Pacifica National Board. As long as our listeners, staff and governance bodies work together to bring needed changes we see no major obstacle to a resurgent WBAI that is more vital than ever. [This is true, if they work together, but this is Pacifica.]

Some staff at the National Office, some Pacifica National Board Directors and the General Manager and some staff at KPFK have come forward to offer support and help. The GM of KPFA has also been sympathetic and offered support in this effort. In light of that, I have planned to come to New York with our iCFO [interim Chief Financial Officer], LaVarn Williams, along with several staff loaned to us from KPFK, to assess what is needed at the station. We also intend to roll up our sleeves, fix what needs fixing, wipe out any backlogs such as in mailing out premiums, repair equipment, enhance the website and give a boost to WBAI.

We assume that the vast majority of people associated with WBAI will not only agree with our efforts but also offer their help. In addition, your financial support would be much appreciated at this time.

Our success will ensure the financial integrity and continued existence of WBAI.

In Peace,
Grace Aaron
Chair of the Pacifica National Board
Interim Executive Director of
The Pacifica Foundation