Everything's coming up roses...

This took place Thursday morning from 10 to noon, but it was not so much a report to the listener as it was abother session of cronies patting each others' back. Berthold Reimers insisted that this be called a report with the listeners, but there were none in the studio, just members of the so-called JUC faction, the people who want WBAI to become a black station. Their metaphor for that is "community," and they seem to think that the intellectual level for a "community" station has to match their own, which is rather low.

In the opening audio clip, you will hear Berthold Reimers, delusions intact, claim that the seemingly endless fund drive met its goals, which it really didn't, even with extensions, and that the rent is now paid. There's a problem with that, as we learned Friday.

It turns out that two rent checks were refused and returned, which cannot have come as a surprise to Reimers, because companies like the ESB give their customers advance notice and make sure that you understand their rules. They obviously would not accept the two $50,000 cheques, because at this point they constitute partial payment. So there is every reason to believe that Reimers once again withheld the truth in order to make himself look less of a fool. This worked for a while, but his credibility is shot, Why he is still there, and receiving $100,000.00 a year is a mystery.

Here we hear his opening and everybody pitches in—yes, they really pitch in as if the fund drive were still on. The sad truth is, of course, that Reimers' optimism is utter BS.

Next, Reimers is at a loss for words as he asks Michael Haskins to speak and that, needless to say, is never a good idea. Haskins  blathers and announces a break, playing some music and the usual, tired promos. This is supposed to be a a report to the listeners, people who have just suffered through six weeks of boring, repetitive infomercials while opportunists picked their pockets. Well, it's WBAI, isn't it? Here is a mercifully shortened 6-minute sample of what I have just described:

As they prepare to take the first call, Andrea Katz steps in to correct something Haskins said and uses the opportunity to pitch for more money.... put us in your will, give us your grandmother's jewels, etc. And they wonder where the audience went?

More calls—this one from a lady who is outraged by what she has heard regarding Amy Goodman's association with WBAI. Reimers attempts an answer and Bob Lederer chimes in with a more articulate one. Another listener wants to see community gatherings, which prompts Reimers to bring up the so-called "gospel" show and his plan to make a pile of money from churches. When he suggests that WBAI has been "anti church," Haskins' ears go up. One listener calls for a de-emphasis on religion.

Here's an unwelcomed caller. Reimers attempts in vain to cut him short and soon gets help from Haskins. Not exactly in the old Pacifica spirit.

Here's a 23-minute segment with a typical assortment of current WBAI callers. Notice towards the end that Lederer is all for distributing the online weekly schedule so that people can see what wonderful programs WBAI offers. The problem is that this schedule not only is outdated and inaccurate, it is also singularly uninformative. They should never have discontinued the Folio.

Here are six more calls, one from a 40-year listener who wants to know what is going on with the rumored sale or frequency swap. I think you will find the answers given by Reimers and Lederer interesting, if not comforting. By this time, Haskins has taken full charge of the program.

And so we come to the parting words, garnished with a Reimers mumble. As you can see, this program never got down to the real programs. Reimers does mention, as an asidem that sime current programs will go and something new is coming in, but that's about it. He made no mention of a regular Youtube program wherein a not-so-funny attempts satire. From what I have seen, she is embarrassing, so it figures that Berthold Reimers wants her aboard. He doesn't seem to understand that WBAI needs original programs—we had enough of those download when Knight was getting paid for them, They never worked, but they served his own need for fillers. The excuse is that WBAI does not have the money to produce programs, but that's nonsense—its amazing what can be done with creative ideas and determination, and it is amazing how big a difference it would make to the character and quality of WBAI if opportunists were not allowed to squat year after year, and stagnate. New York is a treasure trove of young talent, eager to show what it can do.