WBAI: FOOL’S GOAL

It was over one year ago on May 19, 2009 that I received a letter from WBAI’s newly imposed management, terminating me from my position as Program Director. On May 8, 2009, four days after returning from sick leave due to major surgery, without warning I was told that I had to leave the building immediately, turn over all of my keys, computer passwords, leave all of my personal belongings and that I could not enter the building or be on WBAI’s airwaves ever again. I was basically told to get the hell out and don’t come back. This was an inglorious ending to my twenty-nine year association with WBAI and the Pacifica Foundation (The Pacifica Foundation is WBAI’s parent body located in Berkeley, California).

I have dedicated a considerable amount of time over the past 12 months attempting to inform listeners and producers about what the real issues are and what I believed to be the future of Pacifica and WBAI. In fact, if you check my blog at (http://bernardwhite.blogspot.com/), you will see that I accurately predicted what was going to be done, how it was going to be done and who would be the major beneficiaries of this take-over. This struggle was never about me or Anthony Riddle, WBAI’s former station manager, who was relocated from his position and then terminated while nobody was paying attention.

It was never really about finances. Our terminations were part of a network-wide “racist and ideological purge.” The new local and national board majority has been able to get away with their blatant acts of treachery and racism through the effective use of a gag-rule and the willingness of the majority of WBAI producers to maintain a self-serving silence. I believe the words of Martin Luther King appropriately describe this behavior. In his speech, Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam he said “there comes a time when silence is betrayal.” WBAI’s listeners and supporters are being betrayed. Things have not gotten better financially or programmatically they have gotten worse while listeners are being told that everything is cool. The dishonorable fear tactic that was used just prior to a fund drive caused a surge in subscriptions and donations. Listeners moved decisively to save their favorite radio station from what they were falsely led to believe was imminent disaster. To get a more complete understanding of how this fear was skillfully manipulated read Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Kline.

What is in fact happening to WBAI and Pacifica? What is the true state of WBAI’s financial condition? Has the new regime made things better as they’ve claimed?

Let’s look at some of the available empirical data:

1. As of March 2010, WBAI was three months behind in its rent for the offices at 120 Wall St. and two months in arrears on its rent for the transmitter at the Empire State Building. The same group that removed the previous management chose to cover-up the fact that the station was in worse condition than it was in May of 2009 when lesser circumstances were used as a justification for regime change. Instead of informing the listeners of the “imminent disaster” the board quietly got a loan from Pacifica to pay off the debt.

2. According to an independent auditor’s report that is available on the web, WBAI has had a $1,406,178.00 decrease in revenue since the takeover of April 2009. That same report also reflected that for the same period Pacifica has experienced a $4,197,781.00 decrease in revenue. To date there has been no official challenge or refutation of the auditor’s findings.

3. According to the primary corporate audience measuring device of choice, Abitron/PPM, for the fall and winter of 2009 and the spring of 2010 listenership has been on a steady decline. For the new management, this should be a clear indication that the program changes that have been imposed are not working. The new management is programming for fast money and not for people.

4. It is ironic that the most visible area of failure is where the greatest success is being claimed. WBAI fund drives used to be an exciting, creative period for listeners and producers. Drives were a time when you would hear a variety of important voices, ideas and creative audio productions. The spring 2010 drive was the longest scheduled drive in the history of WBAI and they claim to have made their goal. This was a “Fool’s Goal” and nothing to be proud of. The $855,000.00 that was allegedly raised is not enough to pay the bills or to catch up on past debts. Publicly stated goals have been arbitrarily reduced to give the false impression of success. The cover-up and betrayal continues.

5. The search committee of listeners and producers that previous management established to find a new location for the station was aborted and the search for a new location was abruptly stopped. The graphic below vividly illustrates the essential problem at WBAI. Our rent is outrageously high for a non-profit community radio station. We pay more than seven times what the rest of Pacifica is paying in rental costs.


This renegade regime is not saving the network and they certainly aren’t saving WBAI, they are indeed destroying it. WBAI can and should be a powerful weapon in the arsenal of those who fight for peace, justice and understanding in a multi-cultural world. This present majority has plans and is moving in a direction that excludes these ideas. In the past the majority of people who subscribed to WBAI were supporters of these concepts. The new audience that is being sought will not have an allegiance to these noble ideals. They will be drawn in by offering them miracle medical cures and baseless Larouche-esque conspiracy theories.

There is something that you can do to put WBAI back in a mission satisfying direction under local community control. A WBAI Local Station Board Election is taking place in August 2010. This election provides us with an opportunity to make positive change. With a different board composition, with a non-racist slate of directors who recognize the true value of WBAI, we can return to being a voice for the voiceless and the builders of bridges of understanding amongst and between people.

As you can tell I’m still interested in the health and welfare of WBAI/Pacifica and its ability to play a meaningful role in the positive transformation of society. That is why I have chosen to run as a candidate in the August election on the Justice and Unity slate. I believe that the Justice and Unity Coalition is electable and provides the only viable opposition to the reactionary ACE/Independent board majority.

For all of you who are members of WBAI you have the opportunity to vote for The Justice & Unity Coalition which includes folks like: the people’s attorney Lynne Stewart, Betty Dopson, Camille Yarborough, Sharonne Salaam, Vajra Kilghour, Gene Hammond, Omowale Clay, Fr. Lawrence Lucas, Bob Lederer and others who are organically linked to WBAI’s listener communities. These honorable individuals have a rich history of struggle and recognize that until WBAI moves from its Wall St. location it will be unable to pay its bills. The Justice and Unity Coalition further recognizes that as the station falls deeper and deeper into debt it becomes vulnerable to the desires of unscrupulous capitalists and marketers who will grasp this opportunity to reap personal profits.This may already be underway.

Some of the people who have endorsed the Justice and Unity slate are:
Pam Africa
City Councilmember Charles Barron and State Assemblymember Inez Barron
Sandy Bernabei, Antiracist Alliance
Fredrica Bey, WISOMMM (Women in Support of the Million Man March)
Joy DeGruy (Leary)
Larry Hamm, Chair, People's Organization for Progress
Fred Ho, composer-band leader-writer-producer
Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr, former member, WBAI Local Advisory Board
Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Professor of Africana Studies and Social Science, City College of New York
Dr. Rosalind Jeffries
Esperanza Martell
Dr. Suzanne Ross
Tim Wise, anti-racist educator
Don’t forget to vote. The future of the station is in your hands.

Until Next Time, Stay Strong and Pay Close Attention

Bernard White, The Peoples Program Director

For additional information:
http://www.takebackwbai.org/
http://www.justiceandunity.org/
www.wbaix.org
http://bernardwhite.blogspot.com/