Wishing you all a healthy and enlightening 2014!

Heading for the abyss, it's Null speed ahead!

Please click on the text to make it a readable size.

THIS JUST IN:

A note from Berthold Reimers that conflicts with figures given earlier by R. Paul Martin. I think this typically optimistic message should be taken with a rather large grain of salt. That has generally proven to be good advice. Reimers is gilding his lily, as it were. Watch out for the "uniformer" fire officers! It looks like WBAI is the subject of a fire sale.

Dear colleagues,

We just wanted to take a minute to share with you the results of the Holiday Pledge Drive. Thanks to all of our collective efforts we were able to register more than $204,000 in pledges, well above the $132,000 budgeted goal. We would like to recognize staff members Andrea Katz, Tony Ryan, Michael Haskins, Reggie Johnson, Shawn  Rhodes, Max Schmid and Danny Williams for their efforts. Critical to the success of drive were the volunteers, coordinated by Mitch Cohen and Jim Dingman, who mailed out thousands of premiums. While WBAI still faces significant fiscal challenges, there are reasons to be hopeful. We were able to make these numbers without having to extend into the weekend and beyond.

In addition, sizeable gifts from the City's Uniformer Fire Officers, CWA Local 1180, DC 37's Local 768 indicate we are making significant in roads with the City's labor unions. After the holidays we will have more details about our one day Martin Luther King Day drive on Monday January 20, 2014 and our winter pledge cycle that starts on  Monday February 3, 2014 and ends on Sunday March 2, 2014.

Thanks again for all of your hard work.

Berthold Reimers 
General Manager
Robert Hennelly
Interim Program Director

Here's R. Paul Martin's table and assessment. Not quite as optimistic...

The 'thon ended short of goal, but by $17,238, which is less than one day's projected tally.

Nothing's easy with this stuff. On the one hand we didn't make goal, on the other hand we only missed it by less than 8%. But we have past expenses. And Pacifica is looking to see how self sustaining we can be. And then there's the nature of the big premiums that made up the bulk of this 'thon's tally. And what's going to happen with programming? Clearly the regular programming is not able to support the station.

A graphic of the final result is below. To me it is not clear at this point that WBAI can be self sustaining for the rest of FY14. The condition of the rest of Pacifica is crucial for figuring out how much time WBAI has to get into a condition where it can be self sustaining. If the rest of Pacifica is in bad shape there will not be any time and a desperation PSOA becomes a more likely possibility. The prospect of Pacifica taking out a loan to meet WBAI's short term expenses, which would probably require some real estate as collateral, and which would also require interest payments, is not what one could call an easy sell.

I do not know how the other stations are doing with their December mini-thons. I do not know what the PNB is discussing in its executive sessions on the PSOA topic.

Buddy, can you spare a dime? NO!

"We are in need of cash for sure this drive, but our BAI Buddy numbers are down to a trifle."

—Andrea Katz, December 18, 2013

This fund drive is supposed to end tomorrow, but look at the pledge figures, and bear in mind that they are only pledge figures.

 It may surprise you to see the 7 - 8 slot figure for yesterday: $1,650

A thousand of that came from one of Hennelly's unions and 

was to be earmarked for the shameful severance debt, but 

Haskins—clueless and dishonest as ever—immediately called 

it a "matching fund." Hennelly, equally loath to level with the listeners, said nothing to correct him.

Does anybody here really think this money will go to the 

laid-off staffers? Does anybody here believe that this drive 

will not be extended? Does anybody believe the ship hasn't taken on too much water?

For that matter, does anybody believe that the $1,000 from the union wasn't, in essence, buying air time on WBAI?

It's that time again... believe in it, or not...

I never was a believer in any man-made religion, nor were my family, but we always celebrated Christmas as a special time of the year, a time for happy exchanges that did not have to be of the material kind. As an adult, deeply involved in the jazz world, I used to receive and send quite a number of cards as the holiday neared, but that has proven to be as ephemeral as one might reasonably expect—the years have robbed me of many very dear friends, but each as left lasting memories behind. They, too, will of course accompany me as my time to depart comes. 

Click here to view my video card, which is mostly a reflection of my life on the jazz scene. There, in a more interactive environment, I had the good fortune to meet many great artists and form lasting friendships. These cards go back to a time when e-mail took much that was emotionally valuable away from us. The jazz world and WBAI used to have a special bond. Lou Schweitzer opened his microphone to the music in the pre-Pacifica days, and I reopened them, The performers, in turn, rallied to help us conduct our first two overwhelmingly successful, if chaotic, fundraising marathons. I'm afraid that started a bad habit that has gotten way out of hans and may prove to be instrumental in the station's impending demise. 

A Treasurer's Informal Regress Report..

The following was posted on other boards today. It should surprise only the ultra naïve. —Chris

Tallies for the December 'thon so far:

Monday $13,035

Tuesday $12,230

Wednesday $12,370

Total $37,635

We are falling far short of the budgeted $18,820 tally per day in this December 'thon. In August it was budgeted to last for 7 days, in November it was announced to last 12 days.

For the first three days of this 'thon we're showing a total tally of $37,635 when we're budgeted for a tally of $56,460. So we're short by $18,825 already. That's one full day's projected tally after only three days of pitching.

We are raising a tally of about 67% of what we're budgeted to raise, and we're a quarter of the way through this 'thon. This is not good.

I have been saying that I'm against the PSOA but that the October and December 'thons were crucial. The Fall 'thon was extended and all of that "extra" money got eaten up by pressing, past debts.

WPFW wants that $31,000 WBAI owes them for money which had been borrowed to make WBAI's payroll earlier this year. WBAI Management is projecting paying them back by this coming Monday. So far, at a 78.3% fulfillment rate, we've raised $29,468. Not even considering that this total amount will not come in for months yet, this 'thon has still not yet raised the money we need to pay off WPFW. So past, pressing debts are again eating the 'thon money. None of this takes into consideration the $235,000 in severance that's owed.

If this 'thon continues to tank as it's done so far some PSOA solution may be the only one left, outside of Pacifica mortgaging some real estate and getting a real PD in there, a PD who will somehow turn things around very significantly in a quite short time. And Pacifica would have to deal with all of the protests and accusations that would then come out of New York as a result of such a PD's actions. This would probably be about the same level of bother that a PSOA would generate.

This December 'thon is currently scheduled to end December 20.

I am calculating that, at the current rate, it would have to be extended by a week to make the tally goal, which would run it right through the week of the 25th. We're not going to make any money on December 25, and probably not much that week. This is shaping up to be a bad situation.

As of Tuesday, cash in bank was $12,768.76. The station has its regular bills to pay as well as the severance and the special, past debts.  —R. Paul Martin (LSB Treasurer)

Andrew Phillips minces no words...

Solomon caught the following Facebook post by Andrew Phillips, one of the recent Pacifica/Reese victims. His observations regarding Gary Null's increasing dominance is shared by many. One wonders what he thinks of the most recent iPD, Robert Hennelly, who is already proving to be a disaster. What we have left in the way of support for the station is a group of cling-ons, whose growing desperation is painfully revealing. Even Bob Fass, who has every reason to resent management's attitude,  is evidencing moral bankruptcy at the thought of losing his time slot. That bothers me a great deal, but—somehow—comes as no surprise. His failing health aside, Bob should have quit with dignity while that was still possible. He is, of course, not alone, but most of his stagnant colleagues have no glorious past to recapture or reminisce over. I never regretted bringing Bob back to WBAI in the '60s, but I find it sad to hear him come apart on a show that once was remarkable, culturally significant, and way ahead of its time, but now is mired in nostalgia for the few who remember how it once was.

Here' (presumably, in part) is what Mr. Phillips posted today:

"Meanwhile WBAI plunges back into premium and Null driven 2-week fundraiser. Nelson Mandela makes money, Thom Hartman does not. Less than $15k for first day. And SR [Summer Reese] trying to sack KPFK iPD, Allen Minsky who is roadblock to Null/Blosdqle infomercials. Null throws hissy fit because he can't sell his wares and refuses to pitch. He's twisting SR's arm - extorting her to get him on and Minsky out. Meanwhile there's a new http://www.savepacifica.com/ reaching out to members and informing them. PNB plans membership voting quorum reduced to 5% so a handful of members get to control and ruin Pacifca - current quorum is 10% but most stations don't make it. Nobody but a few idiots and ideologues gives a fuck. There are exceptions but not many."

The URL link will take you to the Ian Master's piece to which I linked earlier.

Ghost of Phillips materializes on Labor Radio

This morning, during another mindless Ho Ho show (that can be two hoes or Haskins and
Hennelly, or both—your pick), the alleged iPD (has he done anything yet?) bared his pipe
dream as he declared: 

"WBAI-Labor Radio in New York"

His newfound partner, Haskins, did not repeat that new slogan, although it is something he normally does—he still labels WBAI as "Community Radio," meaning "Black and Brown".

Color it any way that suits your agenda, the sad truth is that WBAI is amateur radio in 

a city that attracts and fosters professionalism. WBAI is increasingly a blight on New York City's FM 

dial.

True to form, Hennelly morphed the death of Nelson Mandela into a self-serving spiel 

for labor unions, a drivel drive that made phone stops with various union officials, in

cluding one from Hennelly's DC37 (is he still working for them, officially?), and Haskins 

made the occasional grunt to indicate his approval or disapproval—hard to tell.

They got off labor for a few minutes to run a painfully pedestrian "poem" written and 

read by the highly over-rated Maya Angelou. It was apparently commissioned by the 

government, whose "creative" officials have a very short list of black names with 

which they are familiar (Angelou made an embarrassing appearance in "Roots,").

Apropos embarrassment, one of the phone people, a lady who has written a book 

about unions, touched upon the labor movement's long history of gender and race 

discrimination—this is the sort of thing Robert Hennelly doesn't want to hear, of course.

I was reminded of something Gloria Swanson told me when we were discussing her 

early career. She said that there were many women working behind the camera, but 

that ended when the unions came in.

This has been designated as the first day of yet another fundraising drive, but there 

wasn't much of that kind of activity on this extended drivel time show. 

"Law and Disorder" came on following DN!, and it 

was in a half-assed fundraising mode, but guess what? it was a rerun! At one point, we 

were surprised by the presence of Andrew Phillips...yes, the great Aussie hope 

Reese hired and then scared off! He wanted us to know that Hartman has joined 

WBAI and will be heard at 9 "this evening." 

Did the current bozos not learn anything about operating a radio station? 

WBAI's slow suicide will eventually work and New York will be the better for it.

How's that for a depressing observation? 

Ian Masters speaks out...

I highly recommend this article by Ian Masters regarding the Pacifica situation and its causes.

To Serve Man...

Remember that Twilight Zone episode where aliens come to earth carrying a large book in their own language? The seem quite friendly and experts begin the tough job of translating the book. The title, they figure out, is "TO SERVE MAN," The conclusion? These guys have an advanced civilization and they are here to help us. The aliens offer free trips to earthlings aboard their, so they can see for themselves what a great, advanced civilization they come from. It quickly becomes popular and droves of earthlings sign up for the trip, and wait their turn. The final scene has happy, well-dressed humans walking up the gangplank to the ship, including one of the young scientists. His assistant comes running to the ship, just as he is about to enter it....stop, she tells him, frantically....the book is...a cookbook!.

Well, Yesterday, that wonderful line came to mind as I was thinking about this unsavory group of characters who are currently completing the destruction of WBAI, while pretending to be saviors.

  

So I entered one of my shortest posts to the Blueboard:

"IT'S A COOKBOOK!"

You guessed it, Generalissimo R. Paul Martin removed it. I posted it again, and the same thing happened, but this time I also received an e-mail message:

I sent him a video clip of the scene!  With people like that involved, is it any wonder that the final curtain is about to drop?

Here we go again... HAPPY HELIX!

'Tis the holiday season, so a special treat is in store for Tom from the Bronx, and the few others who are left out there. As Haskins announced with glee this morning, and Reimers confirms, it's time once again for the WBAI insiders to raise the glass and wish each other a Happy Helix! Make that a double!

From what we gather, Berthold Reimers and the gang are going all out this month and doing a dip into the old scam-bam-thank-you-mam archive of golden oldies. Yes, they are bringing back those wonderful infomercials that you loved in the Wall Street days. Can you wait? I bet you can't...but you'll just have to put up with those wonderful regular programs until December 9. It's going to be well worth the wait....expect return performances by the great Scott, and Null will certainly be there with his heavenly shampoo and—now that he's been paid his money—more books and DVDs. I bet that we'll even hear Kathy Davis and her silent chorus of homeless angels—not to mention George Quant, if he can tear himself away from all those Hollywood celebrities. Hey, Christine Blosdale will most likely be flown in to sell gloom and doom antidotes, and I wouldn't put it past Papa Reimers to bring Tony Bates back for yet another encore.

All in all, a swell time, so set the table for Helix water (ever tried it with a dash of Brass Monkey?) and gobs of that green stuff. The W in WBAI doesn't officially stand for Walmart, but...

Giving thanks...

Everything old is new

Click on image to enlarge

Notice that she still signs herself as "interim," it is something this nefarious script calls for.

A worthy cause...

If you feel that WBAI has given shabby treatment to its only true on-air icon, here's your opportunity to shame them. When Radio Unnameable, the documentary was released, it gave the station more positive publicity than it had received in decades. When it was suggested to him, the current GM, Berthold Reimers, refused to consider the station reimbursing the gas and toll money Bob Fass spends to do the program live (and gratis) each week. However, when it became clear that the film documentary was well received by the press and public, the same Mr. Reimers asked how WBAI might capitalize on it.

Now, Bob is facing medical problems that have prevented him from making the trip to the studio. Sad to say, I don't think he has received as much as a get well card from Reimers, but—thanks to an initiative taken by his niece—here is a way in which you can show your appreciation for the many years Bob has given to the station. It is a far worthier cause than the wreck of WBAI and the vanity of those who slither within. Don't give them a penny more, just show them the door.

This link will give you the needed details.

WBAI: Dying, but in labor...

The rumor was correct, Robert Hennelly, Haskins' sidekick on the ever-changing morning show has been appointed interim Program Director. Reimers and Reese appeared on the show this morning to make the announcement. She giggled a lot and didn't say anything of consequence or interest. He only spoke briefly, expressed surreal optimism in regard to WBAI's future, and mentioned the "December fund drive"—this is becoming quite monotonous.

Hennelly, who is a shameless ass licker, called Reimers a "hero." He is, of course obeying the issued talking points, which call for deification of Reimers, suggesting that this is version 1.01, a factory refurbished GM. Sure didn't sound like it this morning. We'll see. I predict that this opportunist will continue to play up the union angle while Haskins swishes around in the studio, thanking everyone "so very much." Remember when Haskins was on the paint-it-black team? Now he will hop onto the Hennelly bandwagon....until they both fall off.

Incomplete Pacifica Foudation agrement!

It was not too long ago that Berthold Reimers spoke proudly of the then newly redesigned WBAI website. Many of us found it unimaginative and old-fashioned, but I think most of us agreed that it was an improvement over the old design.

Someone is still adding announcements to the opening slideshow, producers are occasionally plugging their events and shows, and there is a monthly newsletter from Reimers, although it is always a week or two late. In other words, this is not a dormant site, so one wonders all the more why it is neglected in so many areas. 

The program schedule (grid) is always hopelessly outdated. Granted, there have been several impulsive time shifts in recent months, but a website can easily be kept from the office, or someone's home, or Starbucks, for that matter. So why isn't it?

The schedule has always been woefully inadequate—the design leaves little space for information, in some cases not even enough for the program title and host. There is no earthly reason for cramming an entire week onto a single page—it costs no more to have a page for each day, one that leaves ample room for details, even the occasional photo. There is also no reason why individual producers could not come up with a timely blurb. That should be required of them—WBAI should not be random radio.

And the wonder where the audience went.

Click on image to enlarge it.

Does it add up?

From P.O.W.W.'s Facebook site...

Did you know that there are disgruntled workers at WBAI? Shocking, isn't it? Well they also have their own spot on Facebook. Here's something that popped up there today, November 18, just as Reimers shills like Frank LeFever are straining their little brains to come up with believable info to the contrary:

For other interesting P.O.W.W. bits of news and comments, go here.

Stranger than fiction: read this group letter to Summer.

A warning from on high....

I'm sure that many of you have paid the infamous BlueBoard a visit at one time or another. It has been around for many years and is the forum part of a more expansive site called Goodlight. It is instantly recognizable for its awkward, Atari-like design and ghastly colors, and it is a basking bucket for trolls, with most posters signing in anonymously. That is, in part, because, although it was intended to be a place for WBAI Listener discussion, the habitués always include a good number of "insiders" who fear reprisals when they lash out at the station's management, or feel a need to tread lightly due to the highly polarized atmosphere in which they work.

All this has made the "snake pit" tag seem quite appropriate, but esthetic nightmare looks, ad hominem personal attacks and stalking by malcontents aside, the forum has in the past couple of years developed an additional and even worse characteristic: It has been taken over (legitimately) by a WBAI insider—R. Paul Martin, one of its stagnant fossils—who has a serious problem handling the authority webmastering entails. If anyone dares to criticize him, he invokes rules forbidding that and bars the dastardly person from posting and—sillier still—being mentioned by name in the forum.

We are not told who is banished, so the only way to find out is to include their name in a post. It will be rerouted to the master's throne for him to give a "go" or "no." The banished include people whose names are apt to appear in posts, such as LSB Secretary (former Chair) Mitchel Cohen and National Board member Carolyn Birden. I have no idea which rule they may have broken, but they probably used free speech where it isn't condoned.

I bring all this up, because I now stand on the brink of—oh dear!—banishment, and I want to show you how little it takes. First, here is an e-mail I received from the mighty R. Paul Martin this morning:

You would think I had posted something outrageous, vulgar, or exceedingly offensive, but such posts are commonplace on the BlueBoard. R. Paul Martin himself tends to post one-liners containing misinformation (usually in defense of management) or personal insults. Reading the offending, near-fatal post (below), an exchange between another poster and myself (indented bold print), I have to conclude that my crime was to post unfavorably about the moderator. You be the judge. Let me add that I can live very well without the snake pit, which is likely to become obsolete when the damage inflicted on WBAI by R. Paul and his "buddies" places it in new hands. I am sure that he worries about that—as do many insiders—but you reap what you sow, as the saying goes. 

The original post has, of course, been removed from the BlueBoard. We will never know what thoughts have been suppressed by Herr Martin, but some of his outcasts have found their way to Nalini's list, Pacifica Radio Waves, which—like this blog—is a place for free expression. The aforementioned post and response is mild criticism, nothing more, but I obviously  started "getting into the moderation of the board," whatever that means—it's a sin, to be sure. What do you think?

I don't know if R. Paul ever comes this way, but he may, and he doesn't even have to behave! I guess I can now anticipate joining the elite banished group. C'est la vie. 

Illuminating excerpt...

If the print is too small, please click on the text to enlarge it.

Playing the LMA game.

Family Feud as Summer approaches...

Here is a link to a thread I started this afternoon on the BlueBoard. I had to alter the names of Mitchel Cohen and Carolyn Birden (members of the LSB and PNB, respectively) otherwise that forum would not accept my posts. Whatever you may think of these two people, they are members of Pacifica's current governance and it is absolutely idiotic of R. Paul Martin to bar the mention of their names on his BlueBoard. This is the sort of childish nonsense we are up against—they really do need to dump the whole lot of them and see what can be salvaged re the station.

Apropos salvage, we have long known that these vipers are at each other's throat and WBAI is but the trophy, but if you go to the link I supplied in the first line of this post and read my three posts, I think you will see just how ugly it all has become as the ship goes down. 

I look forward to reading your comments.

If the key fits....

It may be but a rumor, but the word going around on the BlueBoard is that an order to change all the locks has been issued. This, according to the rumor, is to take place tonight or tomorrow. It may not be true, but it would not be the first time such an order has gone out. This is, after all WBAI, a Pacifica station, and it is crawling with confused loonies who now feel threatened by the cirkus they themselves helped to create.

Anyway, Summer's-a-comin'—presumably tonight—and she has promised "a smooth transition." The question is....to what???   Stay tuned.

It is Saturday morning and all is as well as it was Friday night, according to frantic Frank, the self-appointed spokesman for the LSB (and, indeed, WBAI). However, that corner must be getting tight, because his pixels on the BlueBoard are soaked in wishful thinking, and make even less sense than usual as he posts such lines as:
 "She told me she is on her way to NYC and wants to meet with the LSB."
That's hardly unexpected news. Neither is this, from his latest posting marathon:  
"Summer will be arriving tomorrow and I believe she will be meeting with Berthold."
If he is not sure that Reese will meet with Reimers, how can he claim with certainty that Reese has not fired Reimers? Answer: Wishful thinking.

I guess we will know more by day's end. Jim Dingeman seems less desperate, but one does sense a slight quiver in his posts.

"Cannibal," one of the BB's intelligent regulars suggests that the time has come to suspend the New York LSB. "Cog Dis," a poster whose ambivalence must try his nerves, thinks a suspension would be folly, because the LSB "don't DO anything." I believe both have got it right.

Finally, LeFever states that there are "no locks to be changed," but adds:
"...some locks or intercoms or something may be added because of some tense moments with two "overexcited" visitors recently."

I think you get the picture: Years of misguidance and self-serving gimme-ism has caught up with the opportunists, the bobbleheads, and con artists, taking WBAI way beyond the point where smooth-talking quacks like Gary Null and fumbling, attention-seeking dabblers like Frank LeFever can apply the brakes.

Keep tuned in as the situation unravels. 

Reimers to self: "And I'm tellin' you I am not goin'!

There's not much left that's worth lending your ears to, but the motley crew of opportunists is bracing itself for the oncoming Summer of their discontent. Yes, the sob sister of sell-out, having managed to shed that "interim" tag and passed "Go," is heading East again.

She would, of course, like to land here and park her broomstick amid cheers of indebted advocates, but they are in short number and their loyalty has all the permanence of a stovetop ice cube. I predict that her tears will not work this time, nor will much of what she tells us be taken seriously—that little light of hope flickered and went out at last week's PNB meeting in Houston. 

Would you not like to be fly on the wall when she and Berthold Reimers come face to face? Depending on who is blabbing, the translucent GM has either been fired or dismissed by Ms. Reese. Some say that the terms have the same meaning, others insist that there is a difference. Not surprisingly, there is a small coterie of insiders who call for Reese to rescind her decision, R. Paul Martin claims that it is not her's to make without a supporting vote from the Local Station Board. Others back him up on that, but I have not heard anyone from that group call for her resignation. Typical of WBAI and Pacifica, it is a mess of confusion and a dichotomy of loyalties, because this is something the two factions actually agree on, and a call for Reimers to be allowed to stay does not come with a demand that the person who fired him be shown the door. Everybody involved has a dog in this race, but while their individual agendas aim at different outcomes, neither faction would be well served by Reimers' departure.

Reimers himself is, according to a FaceBook post, said to be determined not to go away. 

"There have been lots of rumors around my situation at WBAI. Let me clear the waters. I did not resign from my position nor did I intend to leave this position in the near future. I wish to continue in my position indefinitely". —Berthold Reimers, Nov. 14, 2013

This links to the FaceBook quote.

By this time next week, we will undoubtedly have been told multiple versions of the outcome. 

Here's a link you might find interesting. Submitted to the BlueBoard by Brian, one of its knowledgable and reliable denizens, it tells of another abusive manager (KPFK) whose ineptitude and opportunism did not get in the way of her being richly rewarded by the Pacifica bozos (some of whom are still in place) six years ago.  

When WBAI makes you cringe: An Armistice Day message

Click on below image to enlarge it

In case you don't listen to WBAI between 7 and 8 am, they have given the hour over to Haskins and Hennelly. The former is our old go-with-the-flo-gee-gosh lightweight, the latter is a union rep basking in his newfound free airtime. Together, they are just plain awful. I was listening this morning when Hennelly delivered his knee-jerk "thank you for your service" to Haskins, whose time in the military was apparently served well out of harm's way. The exchange—with "god" thrown in there, somewhere—was a regrettable reflection of what has happened to the mindset that once created and maintained a great station. If I wore a hat, it would be off for former LSB Chair Mitchel, whose remarks are in the old Pacifica spirit. 

A dark man-made cloud...

It has come to my attention that the Federal Communications Commission is in receipt of a formal complaint against WBAI's fundraising tactics, which the complainant (who has requested anonymity) sees as a serious infringement of the rules governing a non-profit broadcaster's solicitation of support. More specifically, as I understand it, the complaint centers around the infomercial-like segments that are out and out sales pitches for merchandise.  

It is difficult for me to predict how the FCC will react to such a complaint, it depends on the current commission’s makeup—I believe the present one, headed (as of last month) by Obama appointee, Tom Wheeler, could go either way in a case like this. Years ago, when a Jesuit watchdog group objected to Amiri Baraka’s use of “fuck” in a poem he recited for us, we received notification of the complaint, but it was dismissed because he was an acknowledged, published author. An odd double standard, I thought, as I breathed a sigh of relief.

As was their normal procedure, that complaint was added to the FCC’s Pacifica/WBAI file, which meant that—although it thus did not pose an immediate problem for us—it could eventually become a part of a detrimental accumulation.

This new complaint is more tangible, so I mention the Baraka (then Leroi Jones) case merely to point out how ambiguous FCC decisions can be. I find it difficult to imagine a valid excuse for not looking into such a serious infringement, especially one that is as clear and documented as this one. If the commission has it in for Pacifica, this would be manna from heaven. I don't know if this is an isolated complaint, but, if not, there almost has to come a point where the Commission’s action no longer is theirs to make.

Were WBAI an isolated case within Pacifica, I would be tempted to believe that this might be a part of someone’s wish to get the station out of the way, but the same scenario is apparently played out at KPFK, even with the same leading actors, and I have heard no talk of the PNB wanting to leave Los Angeles.

Personally, I wish WBAI and Pacifica could survive, but only if there are radical changes for the better. That is a prospect for which I bear little or no hope—it is too late, the damage too severe, the bureaucracy too tangled and corrupt. 

Given that, I reluctantly feel that Pacifica needs to be closed down, and I am probably being far too optimistic when I wishfully hope that Lew Hill's concept of intelligent alternate radio strikes the fancy of someone with similar ideals and the funds to implement them. Not likely to happen, but I can dream, can’t I?

Having said all that, I think there is sufficient disgust and anger out there to not rule out the possibility of further complaints, and I also see the likelihood of the FTC being set in motion.

What are your thoughts on this?

Heavens help Pacifica!

The following is not something I made up. It was posted on the WBAI LSB list last weekend.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Praise for Reimers'"heroic efforts"...

Please click on text to enlarge it.

What is in the forthcoming Summer breeze?

Reimers: Ghost producer

Brace yourselves...Summer's coming!

From what we already know about Summer Reese, this could be very bad news, indeed. What idiotic decisions will she make this time? What is her game plan? What do you think?  (click on letter to enlarge it).

Better too late than never...

Reimers: WBAI exceeds its obligations....

Berthold Reimers has a way with words: He skips the unpleasant ones. Yesterday, November 1, 2013, the fundraising marathon was officially over (believe that, or NOT), so he posted to the WBAI StaffAnnounce list a summation, of sorts. On the surface, it looks okay, but some of us would like to see more  realistic figures. When this summary appeared on the BlueBoard, I posed a few rwasonable questions:

How much has this cost the station in respect, integrity, etc.?
How much has been spent on premiums, phone call center, shipping, etc. 

Why is the severance obligation not included?

In other words...WHAT IS THE REAL INTAKE??? 

That prompted a response from Jim Dingeman, a man whose loyalty is torn between WBAI and whoever is its present GM—they ought to be one and the same, but...

This was Dingeman's response to me: "again, what is really going on bears little to no relationship to what you have said." "Again" is appropriate here, because the you-don't-know-nothin' response is what Reimer's cronies always say when they find themselves in a corner.

Here is Reimers' summary. As you will see in her response, the elusive GM's warped priorities did not escape "laid off" WBAI news reporter, Rebecca Myles. 

Click on above images to enlarge them, and please use 

the comments option below to add your thoughts.