New Yorkers are just becoming aware that WBAI listener-supported public radio was seized and shut down on Monday of this week. It was seized and shut down in an improper and probably highly illegal stealth attack, information about which is provided here, but is not widely available to New Yorkers yet. As of now WBAI has obtained a court order that the station be returned to its proper management and its normal broadcasting restored.
New Yorkers need better means of getting information and being informed. WBAI was one of the few outlets that provided that information. WBAI is New York's only listener-supported public radio station. (WNYC, which refers to itself as listener supported, is 70% corporately captured, as reflected by its increasingly corporate press release points of view and tendency to promote instigation and perpetuation of the Unites States' perpetual wars. . . and probably also by the $1 million annual income of WNYC's recent president, Laura Walker.)
We have noted (see our
Project Censored interview) the parallels between why it's important to
preserve traditional libraries and why terrestrial radio is similarly
important, and how the censoring forces aligning to dismantle traditional libraries have are similarly interested in wanting to sabotage and end listener supported terrestrial radio stations like WBAI. We have
noted that "the fight to protect WBAI as an information commons obviously involves a
significant overlap with the fight to defend the libraries." In fact (
disclosure), this is why two of the Citizens Defending Libraries co-founders went on WBAI's Local Station board, to protect the station and ensure its success.
Here, explaining much of what has happened respecting the recent seizure if the WBAI station by hostile interests, is the resolution that was adopted unanimously on Wednesday night, October 9th, by the WBAI's Local Station Board that is demanding the restoration of this New York radios station to properly serve the public. (And here is a link to
video of the WBAI local station board meeting where the resolution was adopted provided by Joe Friendly.
Resolution of WBAI’s Local Station Board Responding To Shutdown of WBAI New York
Whereas, Article Seven, Local Station Boards, Section 3: Specific Powers and Duties, Subparagraph E. of the Bylaws (“Bylaws”), assigns various responsibilities respecting local station management to the WBAI Local Station Board (“WBAILSB” or “LSB”) as the Local Station Board for WBAI New York radio, including, in part:
1. “To screen and select a pool of candidates for the position of General Manager” and that the “LSB may initiate the process to fire a station General Manager.”
2. “To screen and select a pool of candidates for the position of station Program Director, from which pool of approved candidates the station's General Manager shall hire the station's Program Director.”
3. To evaluate “the station's Program Director.”
4. “To work with station management to ensure that station programming fulfills the purposes of the Foundation and is responsive to the diverse needs of the listeners (demographic) and communities (geographic) served by the station, and that station policies and procedures for making programming decisions and for program evaluation are working in a fair, collaborative and respectful manner to provide quality programming,” and
5. “To ensure that the station works diligently towards the goal of diversity in staffing at all levels and maintenance of a discrimination-free atmosphere in the workplace.”
Whereas, the WBAILSB has been working diligently in all respects to fulfill its responsibilities and yet WBAI’s broadcasting has apparently been shut down nevertheless without proper procedure or involvement of the WABILSB;
Whereas, WBAI was given in trust to Pacifica to maintain the vision of WBAI founder Louis Schweitzer to broadcast diverse and contrary views to the New York community; and
Whereas, a new Interim Executive Director for the Pacifica Foundation, Jon Vernile, appeared at WBAI with several other individuals, who are supposed to be currently serving as Directors of the Pacifica Foundation National Board (“PNB”) together with the other individuals taking direction from Mr. Vernile and/or these the two aforementioned Directors of the PNB (the “IED Crew”) and seized control of WBAI’s premises in order to shut down WBAI’s normal authorized broadcasting and replace it with other content of their own choosing; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, by the LSB as follows:
Section 1. We declare for the record that the IED Crew have shut down WBAI without notifying the LSB or any of its officers of these actions or providing any explanation thereto, and this is despite the fact that LSB Chair previously reached out to the IED seeking to open communications with the IED and offering to inform the IED about station and LSB operations and management, to which invitation the IED never responded, and despite the fact that the LSB’s Management Evaluation Committee similarly contacted the IED and similarly offered to inform him of its work underway, to which invitation the IED also did not respond.
Section 2. We declare for the record that WBAI’s broadcast signal has since been used to broadcast programming that we hereby find is not “responsive to the diverse needs of the listeners (demographic) and communities (geographic) served by the station,” that such programing is not properly reflective of “station policies and procedures” and is not being produced by “working in a fair, collaborative and respectful manner” and is not providing “quality programming”; in fact, we find WBAI’s content has been politically neutered.
Section 3. We declare for the record that the programming broadcast over WBAI by those seizing the WBAI station is harmful to WBAI and its brand, and to the community, and is driving away WBAI listeners.
Section 4. Those seizing the WBAI station to shut it down have violated the Bylaws by not continuing to broadcast notice of the October 9, 2019 LSB meeting as required by the Bylaws.
Section 5. We declare for the record that the WBAILSB made no decision to recommend the firing of WBAI’s General Manager, Berthold Reimers, nor of Interim Program Manager Linda Perry, nor has it voted in any way to express dissatisfaction with their work that could justify any current action that would hurt WBAI and Pacifica by removing them from their positions, especially in the arrogant, destructive, and illegal manner that the IED Crew acted.
Section 6. We hereby direct that whatever acting General Manager the IED has put in place in charge of WBAI be removed and that whatever acting Program Director put in charge by the IED Crew (this is specifically not a reference to Linda Perry) also be removed, because, for at least three full business days, they have not identified themselves to the LSB or taken any steps to establish the relationship and coordination with the LSB required under the Bylaws, nor were whatever people who may hold such positions put in place by the IED Crew with proper procedures or involvement of the WBAILSB, and we further declare for the record that we did not endorse, or in any way concur in any actions of the IED Crew putting any such individuals in place, which we consider to be illegitimate and in contravention of the legal processes stipulated in the Bylaws.
Section 7. The apparently ultra vires, unauthorized actions of the IED Crew that were launched with intentional secrecy are quite obviously intentionally harmful to WBAI and very significantly to Pacifica as a whole, including financially, and, accordingly, the LSB is committed to investigating for further appropriate action the likely personal liability of all members of the IED Crew, as well as any PNB member or other person assisting them in any way in such actions taken by them prior to authorization of the PNB.
Section 8. Although we read in the New York Times that “Pacifica leaders said that the decision to shut down the station had been in the works for months, and that it was an essential step to save the larger foundation from ruin,” we do not know who the people are who are identifying themselves as these “Pacifica leaders,” and the LSB was never advised of, or consulted with about “the decision to shut down the station” that assertedly, “had been in the works for months,” and, as such, we think it is clear there could not have been any emergency reason for the formulation of secret plans to shut down the station without PNB or LSB knowledge, approval or consultation pursuant to referred to “months” of secrete planning.
Section 9. The LSB finds for the record that unnoticed shutdown of WBAI was apparently intended to inflict extra harm on WBAI and Pacifica as a network by doing it in the middle of on ongoing, successful fund drive by WBAI and in the middle of an ongoing LSB election, thus impeding the right of WBAI voters to a free and fair election, including particularly, but not limited to impeding the ability of WBAI members to vote by taking down WBAI’s web pages and web links about the election.
Section 10. The WBAILSB finds it utterly reprehensible and believes it criminal that the IED Crew involved in this insubordinate insurrection arbitrarily shut down WBAI’s web pages and web links about the election, and redirected WBAI listener-donated funds to KPFA in California without first informing the PNB Directors and gaining the approval of WBAI's management and/or governing body and that the IED Crew arbitrarily and illegally occupied the station’s premises, evicted and locked out street producers, took equipment and station funds, solicited funds on WBAI’s airwaves for other station, and took intellectual property.
Section 11. We find that in multiple ways the actions of the IED have been pretextual, associated with the dissemination of false information, and also appear to be discriminatory in intent and in result.
Section 12. We urge all WBAI members to make every effort they can to vote in the Local Station Board elections, irrespective of the impediments thrown up by the actions of the IED Crew, while also recognizing that it is now probably necessary for Pacifica to attempt corrections for the defects the IED Crew have introduced into the election process.
Section 13. The LSB hereby supports and encourages all funding efforts to ensure that WBAI continues as a station broadcasting in New York appropriately reflecting the needs of our local communities.
Section 14. The LSB is particularly affronted and concerned that the months of planning this seizure by the IED Crew has entailed the deliberate elimination of WBAI’s archives, which, no longer available, means WBAI history is being erased in a very Orwellian fashion at exactly the time when the public seeing WBAI in the news should be able to explore and discover the content of the station that the IED Crew is now making the subject of controversy.
Section 15. The WBAILSB calls on any counsel representing Pacifica not to provide legal representation and counsel for any of the IED Crew in connection with their insubordination, insurrection, and ultra vires acts, as to do so would be, and must be handled as, an unwaiveable conflict of interest.
Section 16. The WBAILSB calls upon the PNB not to indemnify any of the IED Crew in connection with their insubordination, insurrection, and ultra vires acts; and instead, we ask the PNB to consider how it can recover for the losses sustained by WBAI and the rest of Pacifica by personally pursuing the individuals of the IED Crew who engaged in such acts.
Section 17. The WBAILSB urges the Directors of the PNB who have not invalidated their status as Directors by participating as a member of the IED Crew or by acting to support their actions, to remove from the Board and from any position in Pacifica all who participated in this attempted coup.
Section 18. The WBAILSB expresses, on behalf of the station, our gratitude to the Mayor of New York City and to the New York State Attorney General, for their expressions of friendship and support for WBAI, and urge them to assist WBAI in getting back on its feet.
Section 19. The WBAILSB finds that, as seized by the IDE Crew, the purpose of serving the New York community by broadcasting diverse and contrary views, for which WBAI founder Louis Schweitzer entrusted Pacifica with his gift is not being met or even minimally respected.
Section 20. This resolution shall take effect immediately and direct the LSB chair to forward this resolution to the PNB and make every effort to promulgate it widely for public view and to ensure it becomes widely known that the LSB denounces this locking out of WBAI's staff and the taking over of its programming.
It is noted in the resolution that one of the first and most important things WBAI listener members can do right is to make vote in the interfered with ongoing Local Station Board election. This is important especially to help ensure that a quorum is reached in that election (only about 200 more listener votes are needed for that purpose); it's not just important who you vote for. Voting, no matter what, is the most important thing. We will post more about the election.
There is a lot of what is going on with respect to this attempted takeover of WBAI that will feel familiar to New Yorkers who have paid close attention to the privatizing sell-off of libraries and the transformation of libraries and their traditions into less democratic reformulations that are less threatening to the consumer model based power structures of our society.
There is, for instance, the deceptive descriptions that a corporate press is far too ready to repeat. For instance, without talking to anyone else, the New York Times
unsekptically quoted John Vernile the Interim Executive Director who acted by stealth to close WBAI as he offered reassurance that WBAI was not going away, that
"Pacifica was determined not to sell that prime piece of
radio real estate," and that
"Pacifica, he said, wants to `rebuild' WBAI at some
point, although he did not offer a clear target date." "Rebuild WBAI"?: That sounds like the assurance that NYC libraries were being sold to build new and better
"libraries of the future" or
"libraries of the 21st Century." . . But you
"build" from the ground up, not the top down, which is what WBAI has been doing. Also, this rhetoric is contrary to the known internal dialogues of the people associated with Mr. Vernile:
Selling WBAI is exactly what they are talking about and advocating.
There is also the strategy of working secretly in advance attempting to take people by surprise, to make things a
"done deal" or
"fait acompli" by the time the curtain is raised on what's planned.
Going along with this with New York Libraries and with Pacifica's handling of WBAI is the funny bookkeeping that manufactures a
"crisis" to justify proposals to finance in self-cannibalizing sales of core and valuable public properties. Naomi Klein has written about the various tactics of "crisis capitalism" and this variation is one of them.
We New Yorkers also know that when the privatizers want a public asset disposed of, a
favorite tactic of the privatizers is to use every ruse to have that asset become, along the way, as shabby, unattractive, and hopefully as alienating as possible. That can be involve something as grotesque as not cleaning or fixing the bathrooms of libraries, and we have also seen in a remarkable pattern of unvarying repetition, that with every library that comes up as a next target for sale (except for the brand new SIBL, Science, Industry and Business Library), the air conditioning mysteriously breaks and becomes unfixable. If NYU wants to build on what was dedicated as public park space it is supposed to maintain, that park space fills with trash, etc. (It is too much to summarize right now, but part of the challenges WBAI has faced in recent years involve financial arrangements, that were not beneficial that the Pacfica national office as decision make saddled it with.)
WBAI has been doing a remarkable job of relying on volunteers to successfully operate on a shoe string. Pacifica does not, as advertised, have a debt crisis, but it does have a cash flow challenge engendered in part by what the internet seeming offers for free (but its not). Cash flow challenges are frequently dealt with by investing to generate new revenue. In any budget there are what is known as "
expenditure driven revenues." Arguably Pacifica has been quite stingy recently in allocating resources. WBAI in the largest, perhaps most influential metropolitan media market does its 24/7 programming with just 7 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) employees. The much smaller Pacifica station in Berkeley never reduced staff to cut costs when others did and has, an FTE staff that is several multiples of that number.
A WBAI listener who recently died very recently, just months ago, contributed over $700,000. With the investment of a small fraction of that money, not much more than $40,000, WBAI could be activating use of the High Definition capabilities of its new far less expensive, but far better HD antenna. In short order WBAI could be broadcasting three times as much content 24/7 over the three HD terrestrial radio channels made possible (mirrored by internet streams of those channels). It probably wouldn't triple income for WBAI, but it would substantially increase it without comparable increases in expense, and it would hugely boost WBAI's media profile in NYC. Pacifica directed and sequestered these funds elsewhere.
In the world of the New York City library sell-offs, the background plans associated with the library sell-offs involve long lists of multiple libraries to be turned into real estate deals, but, in classic divide-and-conquer fashion, the public only hears about one or two of these libraries being for sale at a time. In the case of Pacifica, if WBAI is marshaled to the fore to be the subject of a self-cannibalizing sale, there is nothing to prevent other Pacifica stations to be moved against in subsequent stealth attacks for future self-cannibalizing sales.
The New York City library sales involve the template of consolidating shrinkages; a central library with smaller, perhaps fewer satellite libraries and in total, there is less aggregate library space than before. When WBAI was taken off the air, its website was replaced with a page unveiling a new brand, look or concept of Pacifica:
"Pacifica Across America."
 |
| The Web Page that replaced WBAI when it was taken off the air and its web pages and archives removed from the internet |
What is
"Pacifica Across America"? How would
"Pacifica Across America" come into existence and manifest itself?
Through the internet? Would there be a centralized station operating that supplied the content?
One other thing that New York City library defenders are very familiar with when it comes to the book-eliminating reformulations libraries is the way that the changes being made are pushing those seeking information toward the digital and into the internet, which is far less private and far more subject to control and outside influence.
In resisting the court's Temporary Restraining Order ordering that WBAI be restored to the air, Counsel representing Mr. Vernile along with whoever acted with him to take the station off the air were eager to argue that decision of the issue should be removed to federal court and determined as an FCC (Federal Communications Commission). The Chair of the FCC is Ajit Pai, a corporate media conglomerate lobbyist who is using his chair position at the FCC to eliminate net neutrality, which then allows for the content control privatizing initiatives of the corporate conglomerates to prevail much more easily. . . .
. . . Additionally, it has been reported that“leaked
documents show the White House is planning an executive order that
would put Ajit Pai in charge of policing free speech online and allow
government censorship of the Internet.”
That would go a long way to ensure that the content of any centrally based Pacifica Across America internet operation would be tame and nonthreatening to those in power.
When outside interests want to move in to take over and privatize, they don't always think in terms of acquiring the public assets in question: Taking control of the board that owns the public assets equates to the same thing. In New York, one of the first two libraries for sale "as one of the most valuable" was the Pacific Branch, Carnegie designed and donated libraries in Brooklyn immediately next to Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards mega-monopoly project (both of those targeted libraries were next to Fores City Ratner property). Real estate interests had targeted the Pacific Branch library for direct acquisition in the mid-1970s. Back then, when the community fought to fend off the attack, the Brooklyn Public Library's public spirited board fought with the community to defeat the sell off. When plans again surfaced in early 2013 to sell the Pacific Library, the BPL's board had been populated by real estate interests and the BPL was took the side of the real estate community in arguing for and promoting the sell off of the Branch.
If the Pacifica network radio stations are subject to consolidating privatizing sell offs and replaced something more central that swings further toward the corporate mainstream in the flavor of its politics, its is not just the terrestrial stations and their current local voices that would be lost. The Pacifica archives, a vast amount of content representing a tremendously important record of an alternative view of history, would also be under control of of that entity. That content, to which WBAI, with its sister stations, has been a significant contributor is a money maker for Pacifica. New York City library defenders are familiar with the consolidating elimination of access to books that is means information availability is ever more subject to the decisions of a corporately minded group in control.
If it seems that, with a takeover of the Pacifica's board, Pacifica could become the enemy of its own public assets, it should be remembered that intent and potential of setting up Pacifica as a network was the opposite. The intent, and the way it has worked in the past was that the network of Pacifica stations would have the extra strength of being cross-supporting. So, for instance, as one small example, the New York Times reported in 1972 that when "Houston was blown off the air twice during its first months of broadcasting when its transmitter was bombed, allegedly by a right wing group. Then WBAI held several successful fund raising marathons for the crippled station, and Manhattan listeners pledged some $5,000 for the Houston affiliate."
In fact, over the years, WBAI has done much to support and keep the other Pacifica stations afloat and solvent.
Cross-supporting, the stations can be an insurance policy for each other to ensure that they are all kept alive. That interrelationship works in another beneficial way too: Each station with its own independent voice is an insurance policy for free speech. Lest something outrageous go unremarked upon at one station, other stations can point that out.
