The first fundraising figures we have seen, but grain of salt is highly recommended. Sorry about the fine print originally posted. Clicking on the following link should do the trick:
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.
(JustAListener)
ReplyDeleteSo the new Pacifica ED has to step in to negotiate with the landlord at 388 Atlantic because nobody can get a response from Reimers. Yet Reimers is still a paid employee...
Berthold Reimers isn't all there... hasn't been since a committee of amateurs selected him for the job, several years ago.
DeleteTo me, the most telling thing is how the 388 landlord wants $500/night to use the first floor. That tells me just how far the landlord is willing to help WBAI. I don't think that WBAI will be allowed to get away without paying rent for too long a time. There is a limit to the landlord's good will.
ReplyDeleteHow many people are on this local finance committee, anyway? They need a whole room? They can't do with reserving a couple of tables in the back of a diner? Years back I ran a certain fringe sexual group. We had our meetings in diners as I just described. The diners loved it because we were guaranteed monthly money for them. Wait, I am thinking logically.
Well, they can always just find a large public restroom to use. That might have the added benefits of good acoustics and sound effects, fitting for WBAI...
SDL
Berthold Reimers is a con artist. I hope you're right and that the lady who owns 388 stops letting him off the hook, like the WHCR lady did for far too long.
DeleteAs for Profitt having to negotiate for him, what did he learn from the interminable "negotiations" he and his current chief crony claim he has been engaged in with the ESB? What, if any, results came from that? Where there are so many secrets, something serious is being concealed.
I don't think the Architectural Digest editors are holding their breath while "Sister Sledge" Ryan sculpts a new, modern WBAI studio in utter silence.
These days, WBAI is always behind when it comes to news—sometimes as much a 200 years.
ReplyDeleteThe ESB thing sounds like a cover for part of the secretive TPP negotiations. It's sure handled the same way, as we don't even know what is being negotiated. As for the new studio, they may want to hold that up until they know they can even pay the rent on 388. Don't worry, that landlord will want WBAI out eventually, when she learns what they are really like.
ReplyDeleteAs for Proffitt, I think he got himself into something he had no idea about - Pacifica. He'll find out this pack of jackals isn't NPR or college radio. So far, he just seems like a dope to me. I bet he will be gone by year's end. I wonder what his salary is supposed to be. I wonder if he will even get paid.
Reggie just announced the DN rebroadcast and no mention of Forlano. I did some googling earlier and found the twit's twits, Facebook, etc. make no recent mentions of WBAI.
Lastly, the past few days I am finding the signal is coming in with more static, and needing to move the antennas of my radios into different positions than usual. I don't know if it is summer and atmospheric conditions, lowering of power or what.
SDL
I am experiencing the same deteriorated reception.
DeleteYou are probably right about Proffitt's shelf life.
Yes, it won't take these characters long to wear out the landlady's patience.
Exactly . Should have been called " Behind in the news ."
ReplyDeleteI thought news meant something current . not black
history lessons .
Especially not conveniently rewritten news... black or otherwise. WBAI is now little more than a clumsy, transparent propaganda outlet for hateful ignoramuses.
Delete(JustAListener)
ReplyDeleteI think the rumors of secretive TPP (Do you mean Four Times Square?) negotiations are a cover for Reimers sitting on his butt and wiggling his thumbs.
Wonder if they told Proffitt about the great and powerful Berthold. "The "spreadsheet wiz" who cleaned up the premiums mess, saved the station from Sandy, got out of the Silverstein contract, made the tough decision to lay off staff, set up the purchase of the wonderful new offices/studio building in Brooklyn (of course the station had to accept the generosity of City college for a few months until the studio was ready), and is boldly leading with exciting new programming and a renewed connection to "The Community"...yes someday Proffitt may actually be able to meet the amazing Wizard of WBAI, but only of Proffitt shows himself to be worthy.
Your description of Reimers' extraordinary accomplishments—not to mention the humility his low visibility demonstrates—had me reaching for a box of Kleenex, one of the products that contributed to Louis Schweitzer's wealth. How often do we hear Lou's name on the air? Now, there was a man who truly believed in free speech. He showed remarkable restraint when people like Steve Post attacked him on the air, but he remains one of my heroes, and he would have been appalled and hurt if he saw/heard what they have done to the little station he loved.
DeleteTPP was just a joke about the Trans-Pacific Partnership secret negotiations. WBAI's ESB one seem even more secretive, to the point where one has to wonder if there even are any negotiations going on. I don't think ANY negotiations are going on anywhere regarding transmitter sites. Reimers is probably just trying to get away with not paying the rent as long as possible without getting evicted.
DeleteAnyway, I turned on the station and see it sounds like total shit and not even audible most of the time.
SDL
It was sufficiently audible today for me to catch Hank Kee "reading" management (i.e. Reimers) for waiting two years before throwing together that embarrassing audio closet, and then not have phone lines installed.
DeleteBy the way, Mitchel, in one of his apologia for Reimers, said that it was Kee who started the outrageous accusation that led to Sidney's banishment for life. Do we believe that?
Hank and Joe are enjoying blasting Reimers almost too much, lately. The key word is "almost." >:)
DeleteI saw Mitchel Isuzu's comment and don't believe it. If there were phones and call-ins tonight, I would have called and point blank asked Hank, because I want to know. I would also like to know if Sidney buys it. I have a suspicion Mitchel and Reimers may be trying to ditch TPCS because Hank and Joe have been ripping on Reimers more than anyone else has at the station.
I've said before that Hank and Joe are older, not too political and smarter. They aren't buying any of Reimer's BS. Frankly, they offered to help WBAI for free and were insulted in return. The two of them have given the listeners more on-air honesty about the station than anyone in recent times. I don't think Reimers can possibly be ignoring that.
OK, just turned on single side band mode and WBAI comes through OK that way. One of their sidebands must be messed up. That's a transmitter problem, most likely.
SDL
Makes sense, SDL.
DeleteIt's 2:25 AM Thursday and Jim Freund went to dead air in mid-sentence a half hour ago. I wonder if he and his guest are even aware of it. He might as well go home at this point—with so few listeners, it really doesn't matter, but you would think the producers would form a search team, locate Reimers, and get him to do something about that studio situation.
DeleteEarlier, Wednesday evening, Hank Kee was talking about one of the PC Show crew being interviewed and photographed next week at the "studio"... how embarrassing is that going to be?
36 minutes, so far, and no signal whatsoever.
I just left a couple of posts on RPM's BB.
DeleteLike I said a week or so ago, it's going to be a long, hot summer. You have to wonder if the KPFT transmitter isn't having an affair with the WBAI one. Maybe we are seeing the sequel to Colossus: The Forbin Project? Catastrophe: The Pacifica Calamity.
Is it sadistic of me to laugh so much at this dark comedy of innumerable errors? Sorry, I'm just kind of like that...
SDL
I feel sorry for Jim Freund's guest. The program had been on for 55 minutes when Jim was cut off, so the guest barely had a chance to speak. Unless they are playing John Cage's "Cartridge Music," there has been no signal for an hour and ten minutes.
DeleteWhat are they calling this black station? Isn't it "the voice for the voiceless"? Funny.
With good luck, this Marcel Marceau special might pre-empt the Murillo Morning Show!
More like Mr. Hulot (Jaques Tati) bumbling around causing things to break and confusion.
DeleteI wonder what will die first, the transmitter or "Prof" Irwin Corey.
SDL
Good question. Corey, as you know, is a script writer for WBAI.
DeleteTurning health care conversation into black lives matter . Amazing.
ReplyDeleteThey just can't get enough !
As I have often said, they are wearing blinders and hoping that black or half-black will keep away the pink slip. The really pathetic thing is that they seem blissfully unaware of the the mothball effect their racist blather has had on the stations audience... driving the overwhelming majority of the to some spot that will feed their intelligence rather than insult it.
DeleteConsidering all the talk on WBAI about autism, maybe they are trying to tell us something about themselves...
DeleteSDL
Well, they love to talk about themselves, but who can believe them? Besides, whenever these people talk of autism as being a problem, they are confessing to fraud. Did they not tell us that a sip of the old double helix can "cure" autism? Hmmmmm
DeleteI wonder how WBAI will "black this up:"
ReplyDeletePNB Meeting Agenda Los Angeles, Sat June 13:
12 Noon
Lunch
1:00 PM
Board reconvenes
Spanish Language Task Force - 15 min.
IMPLEMENTATION:
MOVED BY SPANISH LANGUAGE TASK FORCE
Task Force Motion:
The SLTF urges the IED to direct GMs now to institute the Spanish Language Programming motion and to request a plan of action from GMs by March 15 and implementation by April 15, 2015.
Amendment to be made at the in-person meeting:
The date of action for this motion having passed, move to amend the date for the plan of action 1.Time : after 6 am and before 9 pm
2.By the PNB June 2015 meeting to be fully noticed to all radio station managers and PDs
3.New Spanish language programming committees to be develop right after, no later than 1 week after PNB meeting AT ALL radio signals. Managers make the call for the formation of such committees thru PSAs, websites and thru community forums and organizations.
4.To be implemented no later than Monday August 31 2015
5.Be national, to say each radio station should have it
6.each weekday in the Spanish language: at least 5 hours additional to existing Spanish Language programming (some radio signals do not have any).
7.New programming will vary according to the radio signal demographic and geographic, conditions, per example, in Los Angeles might be added to the existing strip of programming, in Washington (if no programming in Spanish is offered at this time) might have to be only at weekends (strips or blocks of programming) or at any given best day during the week, so each station will decide as long as it is after 6 am and before 9 pm
8.Each radio have to develop a committee (collectives) in charge of such programming and report to the PNB's task force as to guarantee that such programming will be permanent.
9.Brief introduction in English might be considered at certain signals.
10.Must take in account women, African descent communities, programming for youth and by youth, indigenous, activists, alternative music or art programming, environmental issues, political movements around the continent or the world etc. alternative Health programming, Chicano Mexicano programming as well as Puerto Rican resistance, Central or south American issues, inmigration issues, black liberation movements. white supremacy, gender, race, neo colonialism, culture/art, poverty, etc. news from all over Latin America with stringers in the USA as well as from Latin America and the Caribbean.
11.Pacifica outreach committees must develop in coordination with the Spanish Language task force, management and programming committees a well prepared promotional plan for such new programming as to guarantee self sustainability as much as possible.
12.Management, LSBs and parties involved will develop community forums with their respective communities to get the word out.
13.If there is any radio signal that needs programming because no collectives are formed yet, such programming can be elaborated and provided by other collectives from sister signals.
14.National meetings to be planned among Spanish language programmers to be in well coordination and maintain programs improving.
15.Every new programmer and volunteers MUST be totally willing to raise funds, work in collectives and be part of the of the National Association of Spanish Language programmers and volunteers which will be created to keep always good communications among the new programs.
16.Existing programmers to provide workshops as needed for those collectives in need.
The only question is which of the remaining honkies and crackers will be fired to make way for this, if it goes anywhere, or is even real. At least Reimers and Murillo will be able to place the blame on Pacifica. Wait until all those dim wits barely capable of speaking their English mother tongue hear Spanish coming through their speakers. Oh, this could be such fun.
DeleteWhen is Arabic programming starting?Mandarin would be cool. How about The Ebonics Power To The Ghetto Politic Hour?
SadisticlyDyingofLaughter
Mimi, flown in by Air Jamaica, will pop out of a Kathy Davis cake as Alice, proudly announce the new bubbly Double Helix, and deliver a Lewis Carroll quote:
Delete“If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later.”
No one will understand what that was all about, but they will applaud and grin like so many Cheshire cats.
BIG NEWS: Utrice Lied will be on Gary Null next Tuesday 6/16- she has cancer of the lung with metastases. Gary has her on a high garlic and onion diet. Gary will cure her where Sloan Kettering couldn't.
ReplyDeleteKGT
I hope you are not making this up and that Ms. Lied beats this.
DeleteShe may beat this but I am not making it up. Arthur Godfrey and John Wayne beat it for a decade until the grim reaper said, "BASTA YA- die already". Tune in to Gary's archive later this p.m.- better yet, I don't know if what I said was verbatim correct so why not record it and post it.
DeleteKGT
Thanks, KGT.
DeleteI have recorded an mp3 audio clip of the relevant parts of Null's broadcast re: Leid and can send it to you. Do you have an email address?
ReplyDeleteKGT
I heard about Leid a week or two ago. Null always says how he doesn't dispense medical advice, yet, what's this?. Well, looks like he now has a public case on his hands. Let's see what happens. As with anything Null related, I am suspicious.
ReplyDeleteSDL
Here are several more examples of Gary's bullshit. The steroids given in the hospital will lessen the edema (swelling) of the lung metastases and increase her pulmonary functioning and endurance. This is only a one shot deal. The weight loss (cachexia) of cancer improves her glucose metabolism, not garlic and onion juice. A four minute mile? ROFLMAO. Roger Bannister made news in the 1960's doing a 3:59 mile. Gary: Don't bullshit an old bullshitter.
ReplyDeleteKGT
Very interesting, KGT and SDL. Thanks, both, for being on the case. I'll bring this up front and we'll se who salutes.
DeleteI caught some bits of today’s stream of the Pacifica National Board meeting in Los Angeles – a few thoughts, for whatever they’re worth:
ReplyDeleteOn the whole, much the same as the same as the same as the same as always.
John Proffitt seems capable enough and to have a clear and appropriate sense of the level of crisis and of priorities – to the extent one can judge such things from a few statements.
The overwhelming focus is on increasing listenership and, thus, contributions.
There was no meaningful consideration as to how to meaningfully improve content with respect to its appeal to listeners, though there were the usual few vague notions that it might be improved.
Proffitt hinted at such approaches as having Democracy Now and Democracy Now-type programming with segments dedicated to local ‘community’ issues.
Pacifica continues to understand itself, from what I can gather, as an organization dedicated to political advocacy rather than along the lines of the original foundational principles.
The one truly interesting thought I noted in the Strategic Planning discussion was from Brian Edwards-Tiekert: Edwards-Tiekert observed, sensibly enough, that not only had the media space changed radically, but that it would be changing more radically still. He pointed out that Pacifica identified itself as an entity consisting of the quasi-owenrship of five terrestrial broadcast licenses and had failed to understand itself as anything other than that, seeing other aspects of the new media space (which he noted were only dimly perceived by Pacifica and rarely made use of in any meaningful way) only in terms of bringing listeners to those five stations. He pointed out the utter inadequacy of this self-definition and self-understanding and that even if Pacifica were to survive the present, that that understanding and self-definition were doomed to fail in the future.
~ ‘indigopirate’