Working on this new server in php7...
imc indymedia

Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

white themeblack themered themetheme help
About Us Contact Us Calendar Publish RSS
Features
latest news
best of news
syndication
commentary


KILLRADIO

VozMob

ABCF LA

A-Infos Radio

Indymedia On Air

Dope-X-Resistance-LA List

LAAMN List




IMC Network:

Original Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: ambazonia canarias estrecho / madiaq kenya nigeria south africa canada: hamilton london, ontario maritimes montreal ontario ottawa quebec thunder bay vancouver victoria windsor winnipeg east asia: burma jakarta japan korea manila qc europe: abruzzo alacant andorra antwerpen armenia athens austria barcelona belarus belgium belgrade bristol brussels bulgaria calabria croatia cyprus emilia-romagna estrecho / madiaq euskal herria galiza germany grenoble hungary ireland istanbul italy la plana liege liguria lille linksunten lombardia london madrid malta marseille nantes napoli netherlands nice northern england norway oost-vlaanderen paris/Île-de-france patras piemonte poland portugal roma romania russia saint-petersburg scotland sverige switzerland thessaloniki torun toscana toulouse ukraine united kingdom valencia latin america: argentina bolivia chiapas chile chile sur cmi brasil colombia ecuador mexico peru puerto rico qollasuyu rosario santiago tijuana uruguay valparaiso venezuela venezuela oceania: adelaide aotearoa brisbane burma darwin jakarta manila melbourne perth qc sydney south asia: india mumbai united states: arizona arkansas asheville atlanta austin baltimore big muddy binghamton boston buffalo charlottesville chicago cleveland colorado columbus dc hawaii houston hudson mohawk kansas city la madison maine miami michigan milwaukee minneapolis/st. paul new hampshire new jersey new mexico new orleans north carolina north texas nyc oklahoma philadelphia pittsburgh portland richmond rochester rogue valley saint louis san diego san francisco san francisco bay area santa barbara santa cruz, ca sarasota seattle tampa bay tennessee urbana-champaign vermont western mass worcester west asia: armenia beirut israel palestine process: fbi/legal updates mailing lists process & imc docs tech volunteer projects: print radio satellite tv video regions: oceania united states topics: biotech

Surviving Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: canada: quebec east asia: japan europe: athens barcelona belgium bristol brussels cyprus germany grenoble ireland istanbul lille linksunten nantes netherlands norway portugal united kingdom latin america: argentina cmi brasil rosario oceania: aotearoa united states: austin big muddy binghamton boston chicago columbus la michigan nyc portland rochester saint louis san diego san francisco bay area santa cruz, ca tennessee urbana-champaign worcester west asia: palestine process: fbi/legal updates process & imc docs projects: radio satellite tv
printable version - js reader version - view hidden posts - tags and related articles

Pacifica Breakthrough Announced

by John Tarleton Tuesday, Nov. 06, 2001 at 11:11 AM

Plaintiffs in the three lawsuits against the Pacifica Foundation have reached a breakthrough in negotiations that would give dissident forces a slender majority of a newly configured national board when it meets later this month.

errorNew York City--Plaintiffs in the three lawsuits against the Pacifica Foundation have reached a breakthrough in negotiations that would give dissident forces a slender majority of a newly configured national board when it meets later this month.

"We believe that the implementation of this agreement will begin the rebuilding of the Pacifica Foundation," the plaintiffs said in a joint statement that was released Saturday.

The left-leaning Pacifica Network, which has radio stations in New York (WBAI-99.5 FM), Los Angeles, Houston, Berkeley and Washington, D.C., has been engulfed in recent years in a power struggle between grassroots activists and corporate modernizers. The parent Pacifica Foundation is currently facing lawsuits from dissident national board members, four of its five Local Advisory Boards (LABs) and listeners.

Facing a historic court battle, Pacifica's leadership entered into mediation talks with its opponents on November 1. According to a source close to the negotiations, reformers will have a 10-9 majority when the Pacifica Board meets November 17-18 in Washington, D.C.

The final agreement is still being worked out in closed-door talks with Pacifica Board chairman Robert Farrell and former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Berry. Speaking at a Saturday night benefit for "Democracy Now in Exile", Juan Gonzales, Director of the Pacifica Campaign, warned that "the devil is in the details."

Plaintiff representatives participating in the negotiations are Dave Adelson (Los Angeles LAB), Pete Bramson (National Board member), Leslie Cagan (National Board member), Sherry Gendelman (Berkeley LAB), Barbara Lubin (Friends of Free Speech Radio), Miguel Maldonado (New York LAB), Thomas Moran (National Board member), Robbie Osman (Friends of Free Speech Radio) and Carol Spooner (Committe to Remove the Pacifica Board).

Saturday's announcement was greeted with cautious optimism in New York.

"I think this looks very hopeful and I'm looking forward to hearing the details," said Amy Goodman, the award-winning host of Democracy Now in Exile. Goodman's show has been dropped by four out of five of the Pacifica stations (including WBAI) but is still being carried on close to 30 community radio stations as well as cable access channels around the country.

"We hope this change in the board will bring Pacifica home to its mission," said Valerie van Isler, the former station manager of WBAI who was sacked by Pacifica management last December 23 in what critics have dubbed the "Christmas Coup." Twenty-five WBAI programers and producers have been removed from the station since then.

WBAI is New York's only listener-sponsored community radio station and loyal supporters have rallied to save the station. Debra Michaud, a CUNY grad student, expressed quiet satisfaction with Saturday's news. She discovered WBAI last year while living and working in the New Jersey suburbs and estimates she has attended more than 30 pickets, rallies, marches and vigils since the station's crisis began.

"The combination of Bush and losing Pacifica was enough to get me into the streets," Michaud said. "And, I knew I was in for the long haul."

Pete Korakis was driving home from work on January 25 when he heard that nine WBAI LAB members were being arrested for trying to hold their monthly meeting at the station. He threw himself into the fray, designing the wbaiaction.org web site and later starting a round-the-clock vigil outside WBAI's office at 120 Wall Street.

"It was guerrilla tactics all the way," Korakis said. "...It (the vigil) gave a human face to this movement. Programmers would come out at 3, 4, and 5 p.m. and see people there and realize that these were just people trying to do the right thing."

Stacking chairs at the end of the benefit, Korakis voiced a wary optimism about Saturday's turn of events.

"I'm skeptical but I'm happy," he said. "...I don't trust them (Pacifica) further than I can throw them."

(Ojette Brundage contributed to this report.)
Report this post as:
Share on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

add your comments


© 2000-2018 Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Running sf-active v0.9.4 Disclaimer | Privacy