Pacifica Radio Updates

The Washington Peace Letter is published monthly for the social justice community of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Its purpose is to support local, national and international struggles against oppression. It seeks to present a radical analysis of current events, covering information not readily available in the corporate media.

The Peace Letter welcomes submissions of calendar announcements, articles, letters to the Editor, and artwork from the progressive community. Articles may be from 300-1200 words, but may be edited for space considerations. Preference is given to materials that cover actions or organizing campaigns in the D.C. metropolitan area.

We reserve the right to select or reject any submission.

Except as noted, Peace Letter items are copyright free and may be reproduced. Please give credit and send us a copy if you do use something.

Pacifica Radio Updates --------------- December 2001/ January 2002, Volume 38 Number 10

---

Pacfica is a national progressive radio network founded by pacifist Lew Hill fifty-two years ago. It now has five stations (KPFA in Berkeley, KPFK in Los Angeles, WBAI in New York City, KPFT in Houston and, here in D.C., WPFW Ñ 89.3 fm). Over the last several years, Pacifica management has squeezed out progressive programming in the network. In July of 1999, Pacifica management locked out the workers of KPFA, the original station for several weeks. Just before Christmas of 2000, Pacifica management conducted a virtual coup at WBAI, purging many of the programmers. Many have been dismayed over the last several weeks that WPFW has praised the conduct of U.S. armed forces and the CIA as the U.S. government bombs Afghanistan (and Iraq) and has refused to air ÒDemocracy Now!Ó with Amy Goodman. These policies have largely been driven by a majority on the Pacifica board that has had more in common with corporate lawyers than peace activists. Concerned listeners and others have protested, organized and filed lawsuits against the Pacifica board. The national board presented an agreement to reconstitute itself on November 18. Some are hopeful that this will lead to a re-vitalization of Pacifica, but the complex agreement has not been finalized as the Peace Letter went to press and may not ensure that the progressive forces actually have control of the Pacifica Foundation. The web page www.savepacifica.net will have updates on the general situation as it develops and www.wpfw.net will have information from the WPFW Local Advisory Board, which invites your participation. This is a crucial time to pay attention to Pacifica and help make it what it should be: a media outlet dedicated to promoting peace and understanding among people from all nations. -Sam Husseini, chairperson of the WPFW Local Advisory Board

The Pacifica Campaign was formed by former ÒDemocracy NowÓ co-host Juan Gonzalez to remove those on the Pacifica National Board who have Òhijacked the network, greedily eyeing its five major-market FM licences, estimated to be worth half a billion dollars [and] abandoning hard-hitting, progressive programs to replace them with music, ÔsoftÕ features and canned content.Ó You can contact the Pacifica Campaign at (202) 483-0894, via email at info@pacificacampaign.org, or find out more on the web at http://pacificacampaign.org

---

Amidst Protest, Pacifica National Board Members Agree to Resign
New Accord May Open Way for Democratization of Network

More than a hundred listener-activists converged on the Doubletree Hotel just outside of Washington, DC for a dramatic weekend meeting of the Pacifica National Board in late November. Activists demanded - among other things - the resignation of the board majority, the democratization of the networkÕs governance, and the return of fired and banned programmers at New York station WBAI 99.5 FM.

The meeting resulted in a November 18 board agreement to voluntarily dissolve, reconstitute the Pacifica National Board as an interim board with new members, and then to implement a democratization process for the five-station network. Dissidents and majority factions on PacificaÕs embattled 15-member board agreed to each appoint five of their members to a new interim board. In addition, five entirely new members would be appointed by the chairs of PacificaÕs five Local Advisory Boards (LABs). The interim board would be tasked with organizing listener elections at each of the five LABs.

Pacifica board member Tomas Moran told a packed conference room that the board was committed to returning Democracy Now! to the air at all five Pacifica stations. KPFA in Berkeley has been airing and distributing the program since Amy Goodman and the Democracy Now! team were forced out of WBAI as part of a purge of some 26 staffers at the New York station.

The new accord is subject to review by attorneyÕs for majority and minority factions on the board. It also needs to be ratified by the five board members who could not attend this weekendÕs meeting. If approved, the new deal will not necessarily end the litigation by LAB members and listeners that is now before Alameda Superior Court. In settlement negotiations just two weeks ago, an agreement had been reached that would essentially transfer a majority of the board over to the control of reformers. But it appears that todayÕs announcement supercedes that settlement.