Preserving a Living History: A Day for the Pacifica Radio Archives

Pacifica Radio Archives

http://pacificaradioarchives.org/

Preserving a Living History: A Day for the Pacifica Radio Archives

All-Day (13-hour) National Simulcast Broadcast on Thursday, December 2, 2004 on KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles from 6AM to 7PM



LOS ANGELES -- Dec 1 -- The Pacifica Network pre-empts regular programming for national simulcast special broadcast to raise funds to help rescue the rare valuable collection of 50,000 historical recordings housed in the Pacifica Radio Archives.

Highlights Include:

*Broadcast of Recently Rediscovered 1972 Recording of Comedy Legend Richard Pryor Reading His Poetry and Commenting on Rebellion in Attica

* Broadcast of Interview with Novelist James Baldwin about his views and writings about the Civil Rights movement in 1963 by John Leonard, then Pacifica Host and now CBS Sunday Morning Critic

* Launch of the Pacifica Archives New Adopt-a-Tape Project Giving Listeners an Opportunity To Have Their Name Inscribed on Copies of a Program They Select to Help Preserve

* United Farm Workers of America Co-Founder Dolores Huerta Live-in-Studio Discussing the Adoption of the Pacifica Archives Extensive Collection of Recordings of Labor and Civil Rights Hero, Cesar Chavez

WHEN: Thursday, December 2, 2004

9:00 AM EST - 10:00 PM EST

7:00 AM CST - 8:00 PM CST

6:00 AM PST - 7:00 PM PST

WHERE: On the Pacifica Network Nationwide

KPFA-94.1 FM in Berkeley, CA; KFCF 88.1 FM Fresno, CA

KPFK-90.7 FM in Los Angeles, CA; KPFK-98.7 FM in Santa Barbara, CA

WBAI-99.5 FM in New York, NY; KPFT-90.1 FM in Houston, TX and;

WPFW-89.3 FM in Washington D.C.

Also live Webcast on www.supportpra.org

WHAT: Pacifica Network's National Simulcast Special Marathon Broadcast

Preserving a Living History: A Day to Help Save the Pacifica Radio Archives 50,000 Rare and Valuable Recordings Collection

The schedule includes rare recordings of speeches and interviews with some of the most influential, controversial and cutting-edge thinkers as well as the cultural leaders of the last 50 years: Including Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, John Coltrane, James Baldwin with John Leonard, Buffy St. Marie, Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson, Bella Abzug, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Dylan Thomas, George Carlin, Woody Guthrie, Howard Zinn, Pauline Kael, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and recently re-discovered tape recording of comedy legend Richard Pryor reading his poetry about the Attica prison rebellion in 1972.

ANNOUNCING THE PACIFICA RADIO ARCHIVES ADOPT-TAPE PROJECT:

(http://pacificaradioarchives.org/donate/adopt.php)

To preserve the entire collection of almost 50,000 reel-to-reel tapes it will cost an estimated .5 million dollars.

''The Pacifica Radio Archives Adopt-A-Tape project allows the individual listener to rescue a program that they are passionate about,'' said Brian De Shazor, Archives Director. ''We are giving the 'adoptive parent' the opportunity to rescue a recording by sponsoring the special preservation processing, including, digital media transfer, and sound restoration.''

For a 0.00 donation the Pacifica Radio Archives will inscribe donators name on all copies of the program, including the one housed in the Archives, and will send them a CD or tape once restoration is complete.

List of Adoptable Tapes can be found at: http://pacificaradioarchives.org/donate/adopt.php

SPECIAL BROADCAST AND ARCHIVES BACKGROUND: The broadcast will highlight the rich and historic collection of 50,000 tapes that is in danger of deterioration. Considered by many historians and scholars to be one of the most important audio collections in the world, thousands of tapes in the Los Angeles-based Pacifica Radio Archives are in danger of permanent damage caused by aging. Internationally recognized sound preservation experts have advised Pacifica to conduct an immediate review of the endangered tapes and to transfer them to new mediums, such as digital audio.

''The Pacifica Archives are a national treasure.'' said Amy Goodman, host of Pacifica Network's Democracy Now! and author of the national bestseller, The Exception to the Rulers, ''a vast narrative of the grassroots, social justice struggles that have made this country what it is.''

''We are excited to share the incredible audio we have with the Pacifica audience,'' said De Shazor. ''The archives is the recorded history of the major social movements of the last half of the 20th century and must be preserved and accessible for researchers, scholars and the general public.''

The Pacifica Radio Archives (PRA), established in 1971, began as a repository for programs of exceptional historic value. The Archive also preserved programs for rebroadcast by other stations, or for use as source material for radio producers, scholars, and others. The archives houses close to 50,000 programs, dating from the 1950s through the present day. Many of these tapes are extremely rare and have seldom been heard by the general public. PRA began digitizing recordings and re-mastering or restoring the material in 1999. Since then, Pacifica has restored hundreds of historical recordings initiated by partner projects or guided by listener requests.

Pacifica Radio’s founder Lewis Hill's mission was to create a new kind of radio, supported by listeners, owing nothing to sponsors, providing an outlet for creative expression, and a safe haven for artistic experiments with the medium. Launched in 1949 with KPFA-FM in Berkeley, Calif., the network added stations in Los Angeles, New York, Houston and Washington, D.C over the next 28 years. Perhaps best known as a chronicler of social justice movements and cultural change, Pacifica stations have consistently embraced the performing and literary arts, and provided a stage to experiment with radio drama, spoken word, and the radio documentary.

To Listen to Clips from Upcoming Special Broadcast or View Broadcast Schedule for December 2nd Go to: http://pacificaradioarchives.org/stations/index.html

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