An unvarnished blog that dips into the past and comments on the present of WBAI-FM, a once significant, intelligent New York radio station that for years has suffered chronic abuse from within and now nears extinction. Your comments are welcomed and will not be censored.
Could have saved Utrice Leid money if she only knew...
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Indeed—or, at least, Pacifica. She has, of course, since slithered over to Null's PRN, whereto Kathy Davis more recently rolled.
DeleteThe characterizing of Pacifica Board chair and current iED (working for no fee!) is offensive. Margy Wilkinson is a fair minded woman with a long and distinguished association with KPFA and Pacifica. She is not a "radio person" but a women steeped in the union tradition. Yes she is affiliated with Dan Siegel whom some here and elsewhere love to hate - but as chair of the PNB I believe she is one of the few good things about that highly dysfunctional board. It is a hopeless task trying to coral the PNB which is now and always has been since the democratization process of Pacifica, inept and largely responsible for the current demise at Pacifica. The board is comprised of wannabees with very little radio management savvy. Dan Siegel is one of the very few qualified to even be on the PNB. If he is promoting the sale or re-jigging of WBAI it is not surprising given the ineptness there over the past decade or more. Berhold Reimers is just a symptom and not the cause. He will admit he knows nothing about broadcasting and yet he was given the GM job. In fact there is nobody at WBAI who has much clue about broadcasting.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was iPD I asked Tony Ryan many times to get a temporary studio up at 388 Atlantic Avenue but he was unable to complete the task. He doesn't have any authentic broadcasting operations experience and won't ask for help. He couldn't even get a comrex link for Laura Flanders who agreed to work on the Morning Show when I was there. He should not be at WBAI. He is a Bernard White hangover.
Jim Dingeman has tried hard to improve premium fulfillment and invigorated the CAB but he doesn't seem to understand that the CAB is purely advisory and should not be actively involved in programming - they can advise but that's it. The CAB whilst significant because of its CPB role, has not power. It is CPB window dressing at best.
Unfortunately without Gary Null and Christine Blodsdale, WBAI would raise no money. Very few of the program have the chops to raise a nickle. I note that Tom Hartman raises almost nothing. He should not be on Pacifica and he is because Summer Reese insisted. But Summer didn't have and doesn't have a clue about radio either. Another charlatan.
Tracy Rosenberg has a lot of knowledge about Pacifica finances and I agree with some of what she presents. But she is completely untrustworthy and spins like a bicycle wheel. Her barrage of "truth bulletins" are full of distortions. SaveKPFA is also biased but more credible.
Brian Edwards Tiekert has been maligned by some in the Pacifica "family" for years. Yes he can be slippery as can most affiliated with Pacifica governance - but not as slippery as Tracy Rosenberg - but I believe he represents the best interests of KPFA and the PNB. And he is a good and thorough radio journalist which is more than I can say for most of the so-called journalists at Pacifica.
Finally, the fact that Ian Masters' Background Briefing is "banned" from WBAI because Summer Reese didn't like him and current management has no clue, is a disservice to the NY community. He is one of few who knows what he's talking about, works hard and is effectively censored. We need his voice.
And yes, Gary Null's Progressive Radio Network has poached many Pacifica programs. But PRN is far better than WBAi. There is real information there. No Ian Masters of course because Masters calls Null on his shenanigans.
And by the way Chris, Kanya Lewis is a woman. And she seems right-minded and well informed.
Andrew, yours is one of the few alumni voices for which I have respect. As for the PNB, I frankly see the lot a needing to move on to something else. Ditto, WBAI's "management."
DeleteThank you for giving me Kenya Lewis' gender, my apologies to her==I agree that she is someone who seems concerned about Pacifica rather than any of the silly factions. The "democratization" was, indeed, a blow rather than a benefit to the organization.
I have not yet seen any reason to admire Margy Wilkerson--nor Summer, for that matter. I think you were absolutely right to quit when she pulled that number on you, well...actually, on anyone who valued your efforts to get the programming back on track. Hartman is slick and annoying—I liked Ian Masters.
Fakse optimism is accelerating WBAI's demise. Do you have any idea why they keep Berthold Reimers on?
@Chris Albertson: Before I try responding to a bunch of comments, is there a blog post here that I'm not getting for some reason? Or just a Photoshop commentary?
DeleteThere is no blog post, Ann, I thought people would see the image as my graphic commentary, a cartoon of sorts.
DeleteI hope you do post your comment.
The trouble with WBAI is that nobody is going to pay for something that they can get for free.
ReplyDeleteUtter nonsense. if you will pardon me/ Even listeners in Kew Gardens have been supporting WBAI for over fifty years, but few will purchase a defective product.
DeleteI am not familiar with how Berthold became GM. I understand he was a popular and vocal LSB member and he is a gutsy fellow. I believe he worked as a financial planner at the health care outfit HIP and he certainly understands how to use an Excel spreadsheet. He is politically educated and seems to hold to a conventional Marxist view of politics. I liked him most of the time and he let me do my thing until Summer Reese intervened and insisted on changing morning programming without my input. In other words I felt betrayed by Berthold and realized that he would jump when Reese cracked the whip. But frankly I'm not sure anybody but Berthold could handle the GM job in WBAI's present state. He should never have been installed as GM so I don't blame him as much as the LSB which selected him. But I don't know who else was on the ticket for the GM job back then. Berthold will admit he's no radio man but he's a tough little bastard and seems to be able to handle stress that would wilt most people. Andrea Katz who garnered her job - called Development Director (a position designed to seek funding non-profits) - is actually not a Development Director at all.And its unlikely anybody or foundation would support WBAI or Pacifica for that matter, in its present state. Steve Brown had a lot to do with her installation at WBAI. She is a very weird fit but also seems able to navigate the craziness that is WBAI. She is good at coordinating interns and acts as a kind of Mother Superior. She wears many hats and is capable but tends to officiousness at times. But she is a capable woman. Her brother manages the WBAI web site and I'm not sure how that happened. It seems a bit nepotistic to me. And that is the extent of staff at 388. Occasionally Tony Ryan slinks into the office - its hard to tell what he really does around there. As I've said before, Tony Ryan is not qualified for his job and is a hindrance to any chance toward anything near adequate technical quality. He is very defensive and that's because he simply does not have the chops for the job. WBAI as been at 388 for more than a year and still no temporary studio. The guy is hopeless. The other board ops - Haskins, Schmid, etc., are pretty typical WBAI types - Max is the standout - and do what they can under very difficult conditions. Michael Haskings is a good guy but way in over his head - the Peter principle applies in his case. But he does his best but he's no morning host.
ReplyDeleteSo there is my opinionated view of WBAI as it currently stands Chris.
Thank you, Andrew. As usual, you have cast new light and also confirmed some of my own deductions. Your input here is greatly appreciated by me and others who have more than a passing acquaintance with the station.
DeleteIf we are to believe LeFever, his strong recommendation led to Reimers' hiring as GM. LeFever is maintaining a low profile these day, but he used to prance around all over the place as he tried to get people interested in his insanely illogical restoration plan for WBAI. I think he may finally have realized that picking Reimers out of some 60 candidates was a very, very dumb thing, so he is no longer tagging behind Reimers and making excuses for him... he has all but disappeared.
The thing is, the interns are literally worthless. Andrea spends her decently paid time coordinating the interns doing OK but silly little segments and blog posts-- that would be fine if WBAI were NPR, but as one of only a handful of WBAI staff she should really be doing something more useful for the station. She would raise significantly more money than she has ever done as development director if she deployed her interns to beg for change on the subways, and I am not kidding whatsoever. She is one of those people who is always a flurry of flustered activity, yet never seems to actually get anything done.
DeleteAnd Berthold, don't even get me started. You are too kind to him -- his communication and management skills are -- well, don't get me started.
Completely agreed about Tony Ryan's overall incompetence and disgraceful inability to set up even a temporary studio in more than a YEAR. What a complete and utter loser.
And these are the idiots on payroll. Oi vey.
I would say, shut BAI down, and lease it to a good music station like FMU that would at least do SOMETHING good with the very valuable spot on the dial. Maybe in 5 or 10 years Pacifica would have gotten its act together.
I realized that associating with WBAI & Pacifica is just letting too much negativity into life. They are people dead set on a road to ruin, and nothing will change that. Self destruction like the hopeless druggie or boozer, they won't let anyone change their public supported lifestyle. I think there lies the problem - other people support their games.
ReplyDeleteNow more than ever, I think it is time for the FCC, or some other government authority, to step in and take some action. If WBAI pulled this crap as a company selling products, they'd be brought up on mail and wire fraud charges.
WBAI and Pacifica have been treated with kid gloves for way to long. If late night huckster Kevin Trudeau can end up in a jail cell, then those responsible for making money disappear, not sending out paid for items, etc. should be treated the same way.
Pacifica is just a scam that uses radio stations as the means to an end.
SDL
Can't disagree with any of that. This morning, on the embarrassing Haskins show, a caller called about not receiving product(s) she paid $250 for THREE YEARS AGO! Another caller was still waiting for a "thank you gift" he purchased last year. Both had tried in vain to reach somebody at the station—Reimers' e-mail box is full.
DeleteThese people have no sense of right and wrong and no shame.
If someone doesn't get their premium, they really should go to small claims court and sue. First, mail (snail mail) one certified return receipt letter to the station giving them 30 days to mail your premium. If they don't, go start a case. After WBAI gets sued a bunch of times, they may - MAY - learn to stop screwing around.
DeleteSDL
OK, I went and listened to Hay-tie's call-in segment. I'll give him credit for how he handled the premium complaints and sounds sincere in wanting to help these people. You don't interrupt your show if you don't care. Maybe he had a better upbringing than so many others there.
DeleteWBAI not sending an old lady on a fixed income her premium... Picking on old ladies is what only the most immoral con men do. Disgusting.
SDL
Granted, Haskins was polite and he indicated genuine concern, but he could have dealt with this better and not put his other listeners on hold, as it were. Don't forget that Haskins himself has been conning listeners with his pitches and teamwork with Null and others. Andrew knows Haskins better than I—I'll take his word for his being a "good guy," i.e. not deliberately idiotic, just a miscast numbskull. His membership in the movement tp turn WBAI black is one of the gaps in his intelligence, but it is clear that he is not cut out to host a show like that.
DeleteThinking that WBAI can change is like flogging an old arthritic horse and thinking it can win the Belmont.
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