WBAI’s new leadership leaves a trail of deception as they turn their back on community radio

Since the takeover of radio station WBAI’s air waves led by a California-based invasion party from the Pacifica Foundation, WBAI’s parent organization, arbitrary program changes designed to appeal to a wider, whiter audience have been put into place by fiat. Although this newly imposed administration claims that it is going to increase community participation in WBAI’s daily broadcasts, their practice has been the direct opposite. Since the deceitful removal of the station manager, Anthony Riddle, and the callous firing of the program director, Bernard White, in May of this year, the new regime at WBAI has taken away a total of seven hours of locally based programming per week.


“Wakeup Call,” WBAI’s locally produced morning drive program— which is the station’s largest fundraiser and has arguably the largest listener base—has been reduced by an hour each day for a total of five hours per week. Inserted into the evacuated time slot is “Democracy Now,” a program that focuses on national and international issues. A collective of producers from sister station KPFK in California has been placed in the 10 a.m.-11 a.m. hour. All of these interlopers are white, predominantly male and spend their hours bantering with other white “experts,” pundits, politicians and pontificators about their particular view on issues of national and international import. Seldom will you hear the voice of a person of color and you will not hear a discussion about local issues from a local perspective.


“Under the Learning Tree,” hosted by Kamau Khalfani, an African American producer, was suspended by Interim Station Manager LaVarn Williams.I know from personal experience that for these usurpers, suspend and terminate has the same meaning when it comes to African American males. I’m certain that he will not be allowed to return to the airwaves. The reasons for Khalfani’s removal are outrageously unfair, but thus far, fairness has not been a hallmark of this regime. The elimination of his program constitutes the removal of a total of seven hours of locally produced, community-focused programming hours per week.


As a result of this and similar actions taken at KPFK in Los Angeles and WPFW in Washington, D.C., the goals of the new regime have become crystal clear. Over the last eight months, the Pacifica Foundation has terminated or removed eight producers and administrators, and all of them are male, African-Americans or Latinos. Programming produced by, for and about poor people in general, and people of color in particular, are being systematically decreased across the network to appeal to a richer, whiter audience.


The new management is now actively engaged in a pre-election propaganda campaign to make listeners feel that everything is great and to keep the “ACE” faction of the board in power. We have been told ad nauseum that the last two fund drives were an enormous success. This alleged success is being characterized as a positive listener response to recent management changes. However, on September 24 and 25, just two weeks after these two “whopping” successes, an “emergency” fund drive was held. In the days leading up to the drive, the rationale for conducting the drive kept shifting. First, it was going to be a three-day drive. Then it turned out to be a two-day drive. First, it was to raise $120,000.Then it was to get rid of “excess” stock in the premiums department. Then it was an end of year sale. Some of the producers leaked what appears to be the most credible explanation. They’ve said that the reason for going back to the well so soon was due to a lack of listeners fulfilling their recent pledges. I believe that the giggling and the incessant reports of success are merely a part of the pre-election propaganda campaign. In about two weeks, the new management will have to go into a full-fledged fund drive.This effort will last for at least three weeks. Will we be lied to about the outcome of that one too? Stay tuned.


There is, however, is an action subscribers can take to maintain WBAI as a diverse, progressive, community radio station. In this current board election, the Justice and Unity slate provides a departure from the lies, distortions and racism that has become the modus operandi of the new local board majority and the Pacifica Foundation. If listeners and WBAI producers continue to sit on the sidelines and not intervene quickly to put a stop to this race-based takeover with its neo-colonial face, then WBAI and Pacifica will soon be transformed into an entity that closely mirrors commercial media in both structure and content. Decision making will emanate from the top and people of color will have little opportunity for input. The ability of poor and marginalized people to tell their stories in their own voice will be severely diminished, and so will the relevance of Pacifica and WBAI.


Until next time: Stay Strong and Pay Close Attention,


BERNARD WHITE, former WBAI Program Director

For up-to-date information about this ongoing struggle to save community radio, visit: www.takebackwbai.org, www.takebackkpfk.org, www.wbixradio.org and www.bernardwhite.blogspot .com.