Most of their meeting are phone affairs, but they did it in person last weekend. Berthold Reimers flew out to mumble a few not-so-well-chosen words. He alleges to have paid his own fare. if you can believe that. Here is Tracy Rosenberg's report with video excerpts and a link to scans of the infamous Wilkinson note pad. Watch and listen as Tony Bates, who did so much to lower WBAI's standard even further, plays the race card.
Citizen's Arrests and the CIA: An LA Weekend
Los Angeles - Pacifica's National Board held one of its increasingly rare in-person board meetings in Los Angeles this past weekend. as LA station KPFK, the most financially successful Pacifica station as recently as 2013, continues its rapid free fall into insolvency. In May, outgoing IED Margy Wilkinson saddled KPFK with a community college teacher as a new general manager, Leslie Radford, whose only credential appears to be a few years as a factional fighter on the local and national boards.
The meeting began on Friday with a bang, as PNB treasurer Brian Edwards-Tiekert falsely asserted Pacifica's 2013 audited numbers of a $2.8 million deficit (helped along by the bizarre accrual of $658,000 in additional debt to Democracy Now when Pacifica's contract with the program had expired before the year began), were "the biggest deficit in a decade". They weren't even the biggest deficit in the last five years, as Pacifica's audited numbers are 2009 - $1.9 million deficit , 2010 - $2.9 million deficit, 2011 - $643K deficit, 2012 - $1.0 million deficit, 2013 - $2.8 million deficit.
On Saturday, local issues at LA station KPFK took center stage. Many KPFK employees came to register their concerns about the managerial hire, expressed here by their selected representative Tony Bates. The public comment period (you can see brief comments from that session from long-time LA overnight host Roy of Hollywood and former IED Grace Aaron) was followed by a meeting disruption when the board majority attempted to argue with the audience and were shouted down and told to return to their agenda. They did. A few brief clips of the disruption were recorded here and here (when board chair Lydia Brazon hissed at board secretary Janet Kobren to "stop touching me".
The meeting then moved on to several hours of discussion of a board mandate to increase the number of program broadcasts entirely in the Spanish language by 5 hours a week more than the current amount (which ranges from15 hours a week at KPFK to 0 hours a week at WPFW-DC). The motion from the board's Spanish Language Task Force is a must-carry mandate for all five stations, indicates the programs must be broadcast weekdays between 6:00am and 8:00pm, describes the programming as "permanent" and advises that if stations cannot assemble their own local program collectives they should then consider picking up programs from the existing 15 hours at KPFK (or as also suggested, board member Robert Rabin's low power station in Puerto Rico). Board member Rodrigo Argueta, who brought the motion, produces Voces de Libertad at KPFK and his wife produces Insurgencia Femina, two programs that recently came under fire from some segments of LA's activist community. The motion passed the board overwhelmingly. All 4 KPFA board members voted for it as did all KPFK board members and the entire DC delegation.
On Sunday, the board majority visibly split apart on several votes, including one that abolished on-air election information tutorials, which was voted down and then brought back up for reconsideration where it passed after modifying the length to five minutes and airing requirements to once in a month per program. Board members Argueta, Casenave, Norman and Tucker broke with Brazon, Wilkinson and Edwards-Tiekert and restored the on-air announcements. Similarly, a motion by KPFA board member Jose-Luis Fuentes to strip any supervisory authority by executive director John Proffitt over the organization's chief financial officer was soundly defeated, with only Brazon and Medina from LA and Diaz and Brown from Washington DC supporting the idea of stripping the executive director from any financial operational supervision whatsoever.
It was also announced that Lydia Brazon's employer, millionaire real estate investor Aris Anaganos, had given up on repayment of his $156,000 loan to Pacifica in August of 2014 and would no longer ask for the debt to be repaid after Pacifica missed the first four installment payments. Pacifica, despite claiming repayment was the top priority at the time of the loan, did not make a single payment on the loan for the last 9 months. Brazon came under fire at the time for not recusing herself from a vote to accept a large personal loan from her employer. Pacifica was facing potential legal problems for not using available funds that came in July of 2014 to pay overdue employment taxes.
Brazon's role in a US government operation to free from prison Nicaraguan Contra operative and suspected CIA agent James Jordan Denby, described as a "prime Contra supplier" by the Chicago Tribune, is described in this 1988 LA Times article. Pacifica provided gavel to gavel coverage of the Iran-Contra hearings, but has never covered the involvement of their board president and long-time board member in the operation to free Denby.
The note pad found on the floor at the Pacifica National Board meeting in November of 2013 traveled to Los Angeles and the national board meeting. Former IED Margy Wilkinson could be seen pacing rather intently when the note pad was visible, but did not choose to reclaim the Esselte pad. The full contents have been scanned and they can be found here. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for a PDF download of the entire contents of the notebook). The note pad categorized all the members of the 2013 national board of directors under three labels: "US", "THEM" and "WORKABLE".
In the "US" category: Brian Edwards-Tiekert (KPFA), Wilkinson (KPFA), Dan Siegel (KPFA), Lydia Brazon (KPFK), Brenda Medina (KPFK) and Cerene Roberts (WBAI).
In the "THEM" category: Tracy Rosenberg (KPFA), Carolyn Birden (WBAI), Heather Gray (Affiliate), Teresa Allen (KPFT), Jessica Apollinar (KPFT), John Cromshow (KPFK), Richard Uzzell (KPFT) and Summer Reese (KPFK).
In the "WORKABLE" category are listed: Janet Coleman (WBAI), Janis Lane Ewart (Affiliate), Tony Norman (WPFW), Katea Stitt (WPFW), Luzette King (WPFW), Benito Diaz (WPFW), Nancy Hentschel (KPFT), and Manijeh Saba (WBAI).
One of Leslie Radford's first actions as KPFK's general manager was to return to station premises a former board colleague of hers, Ian Johnston, who was removed from the local board after attempting to make citizens arrests with handcuffs of staff and board members, both in the LA station's lobby and then at a board meeting held at the People's College of the Law, which asked the KPFK local board to never meet there again after the Johnston incident.
The lobby incident was recorded on a security camera and while the footage was embargoed for a long period of time, (attempts to arrange a viewing for the KPFK local station board at the time were shut down by Radford and others in her faction at the time of the incident), it is now available. The raw footage is 34:52 in length, and brief clips from before, during and after the incident are now on Youtube. You can view the 8 minutes of footage here. They include Johnston's altercation with the receptionist prior to the confrontation, a confrontation with IT director Jonathan Alexander, and the aftermath with several female KPFK employees encountering Johnston in the lobby.
Johnston, who was at the entire June 2015 meeting, was handcuff-free at this meeting, but threatened several members of the audience, board and KPFK staff, including following some for more than half a block outside the meeting area and threatening to "serve" them or "get them".
Pacifica in Exile readers may write to the board at pnb@pacifica.org.
Hey, Chris. Can you do me a favor and pass on to Tracy that I really enjoyed her outline for Dr. Strangelove 2, or How I Learned to Stop Listening and Turned Off My Local Pacifica Station? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMore Spanish programming is good. Now Pacifica can be irrelevant in two languages. They will need to add Haitian Creole to the mix next.
Think Aris Anaganos learned a costly lesson? Yeah, I do.
SDL
I wonder how much of that loanation was used for the good of Pacifica?
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I say this is a complete shame. I feel badly for all those who worked at ,knew, and loved the station in its heyday. These are adults? They all seem sketchier than the board of directors at Enron. This all has to be bittersweet for you, Chris. On one hand, watching your station and foundation going down faster than the Lusitania. On the other, watching these people,( who seem unemployable in the real world ) starting to get their comeuppances. Anyway, just my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAlso, SDL, I do enjoy your comments. Just one of the reasons I enjoy this blog so much.
Chris in NJ
Thank you, Chris in NJ. Yes, the all-around decay of WBAI and Pacifica is something I couldn't have imagined back in the day. Sure, they were chopping away at the principles 45 years ago, but good programs were still being produced and there were enough people around who had the station's interest at heart.
DeleteI no longer with to see WBAI survive, because it is simply too far gone to do so in any significant way.
@Chris in NJ: Thank you. Always glad to entertain.
DeleteNo OTH or TPCS tonight, so no reason to listen to WBAI this week. Looked at Forlano's Facebook page. "The Julianna Forlano Show 6 hrs ·We are back on the air starting tomorrow at 6 p.m @WBAI!" Urg! Fits the rest of my lousy day. Amazing that they couldn't keep DN on at this time.
SDL
I told you she'd be back. Her show ended without her identifying herself and segued straight into jazz record. The music cotinued for half an hour, twice interrupted by an unidentified fragment of a meeting. That turned out to be the live feed from he Brick town hall meeting, but there was no mention of it until the first half hour was over. At that point, without making a station break, Reggie Harris came in and announced that we were listening to a live broadcast from Brick.
DeleteUtterly unprofessional and confusing. Long periods of dead air are becoming more frequent as the station goes out of control and—I suspect—listeners continue to go elsewhere.
On the plus side, today's 10-12 talk show with Malachy McCourt and McDonagh was excellent throughout.
I'll check the archives for the Irishmen. Funny how McDonagh is so irritating when he does his IRA show, but, with McCourt, seems to come off so much better. They do have a chemistry together.
DeleteSDL
McDonagh gives a blow by blow description of what he and a friend had to go through to qualify as Amazing Race contestants. I think you'll find that interesting.
DeleteMan, that factional analysis of mine was spot on! That Wilkinson's notepad! Check out my earlier posts. That good! I am basking in the afterglow!
ReplyDeleteThere are real difference between the two factions, both might be equally corrupt and pathetic, but there is no equivalence between them. For starters, Wilkerson's faction tried to approaching "WORKABLES", while Reese went after them with a hatchet. That tells you something about the levels of tolerance and acceptance with the Reese-in-Exile bunch. As I suspected before, the Wilkerson faction is the traditional mainstream left of the board -of-directors of some charity or other high falutin' variety. The Reese faction is the more impoverished and less tolerant radicalized faction. Individuals less enfranchised in society that the Wilkerson bunch, with a collection of self-interests, grievances, and resentments. Reese faction is just as incompetent as the Wilkerson one, as can be seen in that fact, that while Gary Null was able to establish his own internet radio network, and Amy Goodman, pulled off her own studio-in-exile, the Pacifica in Exile is so dedicated to journalism, that they didn't even set up their own You Tube channel!!
Balanchine has once said, that only people who couldn't not be dancing should go into ballet. This doesn't apply to Pacifica in Exile folks. It's not journalism or broadcasting that they are after. They think that they will be able to enrich themselves if they help themselves to the stewardship of the Pacifica National Board.
Funny, how Tracy Rosenberg dared to impune the left wing cred of Lydia Brazon. Not that I care one way or the other for who Lydia Brazon is, but I do have a deep respect for truth, and for facts (and depleted uranium ammunition). In the mundane, mortal, and sometimes real world of ours, Brazon was a spokesman for the Mexican Zapatista rebels when they were waging a guerilla war against the Mexican military. Compare that with Rosenberg's tenure as a head of some nebulous consultancy that has something to do with promoting affirmative action in media.
Wikerson might be a factional schemer, but there there is potential for money and greed, there will always be political corruption. However, Wilkerson is a retired Union official with 40 years work experience. Whether you like Unions or not, being in a Union is a left wing cred. Compare that with Reese. She said that her father or her grandfather was a longshoreman. In fact, her family owns an energy services company. Reese says, that she was home schooled, in fact, her family could have paid for her Ivy League education, and instead, she chose to hang out on the street art scene and speculate on the stock market. Before getting involved in Pacifica, she tried starting three small business, typical small business entrepreneurial cottage industry stuff. Nothing that smacks of activism, enlightenment, journalism, or media. Whatever Pacifica in Exile is, or is claiming to be, Reese is an outsider, who sees a personal opportunity in Pacifica, after she failed at small business entrepreneurship in the service sector of the economy.
Oh great , more slavery . I'll be at WFAN if anybody needs me . haha
ReplyDeleteI'm on shortwave and internet. I'm now bored even discussing WBAI. It's a crap station and that's all there is too it.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I am having a more educational chat right this moment in a shortwave radio themed chatroom discussing the natives of the USA and Canada and the national identities we all feel or don't feel. The Quebecois are pretty interesting to listen to about how they don't dislike Canada but don't identify as Canadian either and prefer independence.
See, this is how you learn about the world. By directly talking to real people, not listening to moronic, self-absobed politicos on a dumb radio station with a handful of idiotic listeners.
SDL
Be patient, SDL. When the flimsy green curtain is lifted, Brünhilda will raise her voice and that thick fireproof one will come down, snapping all cables and leaving but a dissipating cloud of reality dust.
DeleteIsn't that funny? In Nazi Germany, people would get their heads chopped off (Guillotine) for having a short-wave radio set during wartime. In Stalinist Russia and later, short wave radios were freely available and building a better short wave or a ham radio set from scratch was a legal and popular hobby, and in the US, a short-wave receiver sells for no less than $100 bucks and short wave radio is all but unknown. Yet again, Democracy prevails where Nazis fail!
ReplyDeleteIn the Denmark of my youth, most radio sets had shortwave (as well as long- and medium wave). During WWII, my grandfather had a radio in the window (ground floor), usually tuned to the BBC. A Nazi officer, walking by, once asked him to turn the volume down, but that was it.
DeleteFirst, I have been into shortwave since about 1980, so I know of what I speak here.
DeletePartly right, partly wrong. In Communist coutries you could own one of the junk shortwave radios, but what you listened to could easily get you tossed in jail. Freedom to own, but not freedom to listen was the system in place. I know this from communications I've had with SWLers/DXers from the former Iron Curtain countries, including a couple of former commie era staff members of stations from there. And trust me, the commie built rigs were atrocious, except the ones for the military, intelligence agencies, etc.
Wrong on the price of shortwave radios in the USA. You can find numerous good portables from Tecsun, Sangean, Grundig/Eton, CCrane, Sony, etc. for $60-$80. Those are considered good basic models. The price range of $100-$150 is considered to be getting serious SWLer. Above that price range is considered to be DX level, or Dorks Unknown, as I call us DXers. In fact, the old style table model for $500 and up has given way to the portables because of the advancement in electronics in the past 15 years or so, which has caused a drop in pricing and size, too. There are only a few higher priced table models in production anymore, and they are really only a little better than a portable for $100ish. People like me shop the used market for old classics.
I agree that in the USA shortwave is all but unknown now, sadly. It was more popular during The Cold War, but still a fringe hobby. In fact, this brings us into the current war amongst of old SWLers and DXers, where we argue over whether shortwave is dead or not (I say comatose on the verge of death). The problem is the internet having caused most stations to leave the air or, at least, severely cut their broadcast times (especially to North America). Anyway, it's a big subject I won't get into here. However, I will say that with a new cold war pissing contest on the horizon, some stations are saying they will increase their broadcast schedules in the near future. Rumor is Sputnik Radio (former Radio Moscow and, later, Voice of Russia) is going back to shortwave (I think to counter Radio Ukraine International), Spain and Greece going to air in English again, VOA and BBC expanding, etc. Could be interesting to see who has the bigger dick again. Personally, I think if Sputnik Radio comes onto shortwave, it's off to the races. Fingers crossed!
Now around the "Third World" shortwave has always been more popular and continues to be. Stations need to cover hundreds of miles cheaply, which shortwave allows you to do. Otherwise you need relay stations and the price goes way up to broadcast. If you look at Latin America, you will discover there are still a lot of commercial stations which have a shortwave outlet. Brazil is noted for this. Andean countries need to do it because of all the mountains that block AM/FM transmissions.
Anyway, this video and situation occured while I was in the chatroom mentioned in the video. Later on, Gilles ended up wondering what to name the cat. I suggested "DX." Well, everyone in the room liked the name, so now the cat is known as DX, the chatroom mascot.
I can't answer for ham radio as I never got into that hobby. I only like pork in egg rolls, anyway...
SDLdxer
OOPS!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr0ziUuSrrE
SDLdxer
I don't know who you talked to behind the Iron Curtain. In 1970's USSR we listened to Voice of America and to RL when it wasn't being jammed, and we discussed it in the school lunchroom. It was an open secret. In the 1950's in Sakhalin, in her youth my mom had a ham radio set and talked to Canada and Alaska. When the local KGB heard about it, they shrugged and asked her to report if she heard anything interesting. There was an element of risk to be sure, but for us that was it. Situation very similar to CA's experience in wartime Denmark.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that info. I guess like almost anywhere, many flunkies just want to get through the day and deal with the more import enemies of the state and get home for dinner, so a lot of things are allowed to slide. I guess to really get harassed you needed to already be on a watch list and/or run into a zealot looking for a promotion.
DeleteJamming was certainly a problem, as it was meant to be the main line of defense. Even today we still see lots of jamming from China, Cuba and Kimlandia.
SDL
Not quite. In a totalitarian state, individual officials have a lot more discretion than in a democratic society. Even in Stalinist Russia there were more good people with common sense in positions of authority that one would think after reading Solzheniytsin. Think of judging the US law enforcement on the basis of Pacifica broadcasts.
DeleteSoviet Russia did not practice watch lists, that came from the West, and to a deadly culmination in Nazi Germany, where they had centuries of vital records on families maintained by the church. USSR practiced class genocide in a society, where social class was very obvious and clearly delineated. A lot of what went on under Stalinism, was feudal era societal repression reversed, combined with unchecked power, absence of accountability, and organization incompetence, which was the result of the poorly trained and overworked officials, as well as being overwhelmed by the size and scope of the post-war famine and destruction (WWI). The horrors of Gulag were outcomes of processes similar to what happened in Andersonville, during the US Civil War, than to death camps in Nazi Germany.
Regarding Jamming, Soviets did not have the technical capacity to jam all of the stations all of the time. There were windows, Voice of America was never jammed, it was ideologically harmless, RL was almost always jammed. Soviets were incompetent because of their isolationism and parochialism, and it showed when it came to their jamming policy, because they never jammed the Green Wave (Greens from West Germany). On the surface, they pro-disarmament and for driving the US nukes out of Europe, ostensibly on the same side as the USSR, subsurface, they proponents of the Orange Revolution, before anyone knew what it was. The Greens were serving German political interests, and neither the US, nor USSR figured it. Each thought the Greens the puppets of the other.
Thought I'd pass on a very interesting website I was turned on to today. The University of Twente in The Netherlands is host to an online SDR (Software Defined Radio)* that is free to use and covers all the shortwave bands. Since it is in Europe, I can receive stations on it that don't make it well, if at all, to North America.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I thought news mavens may enjoy this, as it's easy to use and free. There's no catch that I can find.
http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/
*An SDR is a receiver that must be conected to a computer to be operated. It is basically a receiver without speakers, tuning dial/buttons, display, etc. You could say it's the guts of a receiver.
For those who may be interested in checking this out but know nothing of shortwave, check out the English language program guide below. It's fairly accurate, but not quite complete. However, it will get you up and running.
http://www.primetimeshortwave.com/time.txt
SDL
Thanks, SDL, that looks like a very interesting site. I poked around and could see myself spending a long time, but it's 1:42 AM, so I shall return to it.
DeleteIn other news..... I heard Bernard White today, sounding as if he were back for good. Also caught the dreadful Benjamin guy doing black peewee league something. Haskins announced that Hamilton will be a regular host on the Friday segment of the black morning show... it's certainly escalating... no more brush or roller, these bozos are just pouring the black paint on, right out of the bucket.
What colossal idiots they are. It would be nice to see them permanently replaced by intelligent people of all races. Unfortunately, as you have pointed out, dark and dumb is the key to microphone access.
Someone asked if the lack of photos showing the closet "studio" reflects fear of retaliation.
Yeah, it's a really good site, if you're into more than reparations and snake oil talk. I also scanned the LW and MW bands. As much as I hate American AM radio, the Europeans have it worse, at least in The Netherlands. Talk about bland!
DeleteI still think Bernie White is being set up to take over as PD from Murillo. If he does, he shall have his revenge, indeed. Of course, Pacifica does nothing as the man who, according to RPM, cost them over $200,000 returns. Oh, wait. They did move to have more Spanish programming. Yeah, that's smart in the NY market, where like 25% of the stations are already Spanish. Maybe the world language, Esperanto, is next.
The people in charge of WBAI don't care. Why should they? The paychecks come in, they are never punished or pressured into putting on decent programming, etc. It really starts at the top with Pacifica, though. Anyway, it's a joke at WBAI thinking they are going to expand their listenership by having a narrower set of fringe subjects to discuss. But, from the sound of their listeners, more than a few subjects would cause mental overload.
I think the lack of sound closet photos is indicative of the cultish paranoia we see evinced by The Bunker Bozos. These clowns really think people are out to get them, besides bill collectors. How many times do I have to say that nobody cares about WBAI? If they played a full day of the filthiest blue comedy recordings ever made, I bet not one letter would be written to the FCC, since they have so few listeners.
The truth is that even political groups that used to monitor WBAI and hurl epithets and accusations at them don't bother anymore. WBAI is just forgotten.
They want to attract young listeners? Trust me, young people wouldn't listen to their crap if you paid them. Young people have their own interests, which are not addressed by WBAI, nor by it's ever aging cabal of self-deluded, self-important producers, who mostly produce blather rather than donations.
Finally, I checked out last week's Irishmen in the morning show. Pretty funny story about the tv show that brought to mind my ex of 10 years and her game show try out. She went to take the test they give potential contestants and missed ONE question. In other words, she got the highest score. Well, they didn't want her. Why? Because she did to well and would provide no drama for the show. I guess they figured she'd walk in, answer the questions and walk out with a million Dollars. Actually, she probably would have.
SDL
I don't think Murillo is going to let the reins go that easily. His latest move in the Latinization of WBAI is to give the 5PM Monday slot to a woman who is on his frequency Currently, the web schedule shows "Counterspin" and "This Way Out" occupying that time slot. Of course, I'm sure they haven't run out of Bozo Black, so they will continue that downgrade.
DeleteDid you hear Haskins this morning? What a monumental fool he is!
I listened to Ron Daniels today. He did not talk about reparations, but there was plenty of grade B black babel as he pushed his upcoming excursion to Haiti. He is outraged at the U.S. for having Haitians deported from the Dominican Republic—they are doing this, he suggests, to protect a thriving tourism business. He did not expalin how the U.S. stands to benefit, nor did it enter his little mind that the embargo against DR that he is calling for would also affect "brown" and black Dominicans. This idiot is full of admiration for himself, even refers to himself as "distinguished" and "the professor"—we should all get together and send him tons of mirrors. :)
There were many interruptions during his two hours—other voices and bizarre sounds. WBAI cannot disappear soon enough for me at this point... it is a pus-filled bump on the FM band.
I'm glad you liked the "Amazing Race" entrance exam story.
Let Murillo push the Latinization. When these last whities all get the boot off the station, I'll have a good laugh. However, I still think Bernie will be PD again.
ReplyDeleteI don't waste my time on Hay-tie, since, in the end, he's just another dope. Make sure Daniel's mirror is tinted glass, and don't forget the crown. Narcissists do need their regal accoutrements. It's funny how you say King Daniels is on the warpath against the Dominican Republic. I wonder how this fits in with Murillo's plans. Also, I was talking to a Dominican the other day who was going on about hating Haitians. It seems every Dominican I meet has nothing good to say about Haiti and Haitians, and always brings up the occupation. It always makes me laugh how Americans see racial matters in black & white and don't realize the entire world is full of racial/ethnic, religious, caste, etc. divides. The West is actually more advanced than the rest of the world in race relations than "the left" would ever want to admit.
Oh, well, listening to looney Radio Kimland. Always nice to hear about the American imperialist dogs and their South Korean puppets. The funny thing is that I think they are more sincere in their lunacy than most WBAItes.
SDL
Samori Benjamin wants to be a sportscaster. Unfortunately, he grew up sounding more like his father than his father does himself.
ReplyDeleteKGT
Not only that, he was never told that athletes, even great ones, come in all colors. His only asset is that he is sufficiently inept and ignorant to qualify for today's WBAI.
DeleteI have a question for all you BAI pundits. Does anybody listen to "The Golden Age of Radio"? I don't. Also, I listen to Rich Conaty on WFUV and not Dave Kenney.
ReplyDeleteKGT
I listen selectively to Max's "Golden Age" and admit that part of my attraction is the nostalgia value. I also find interesting the fact that so many of the stories and scripts are are downright bad. There are also excellent ones, but the quality is surprisingly uneven. The comedies do well and I love the inherent flavor of the times.
ReplyDeleteI listen to Rich Conaty whenever I can, because I like vintage pop, corny thought it often is, and Rich does a fine job of putting it all together with emphasis on the music.
Dave Kenney? Well, he will play some interesting cabaret performances, but he has a tendency to get hung up on singers like Liza Minelli, whose recordings he plays too often and indiscriminately. There comes a time when many singers no longer have whatever it was that originally brought them attention, and when people like Liza strain and wobble it is painful to listen to. Kenney will also present new singers who aren't (and may never be) ready for public exposure—I attribute that to Kenney's enterprising side, but it may simply be showbiz politics or a deaf ear.
Whatever it is, David Kenney conducts his show professionally, puts a lot of work into it and comes through during fund drives. Having sais all that, I think the show belongs on the air, but not really at 99.5.
I listen to Golden Age of radio when I catch it. Some of it is good, most of it I pass on.
ReplyDelete(JustAListerner)
ReplyDeleteWhen was Bernie White on?
Amazing, the guy was fired for stealing, had multiple people accuse him of harassment and ran the station in a way that drained Pacifica's finances and left an unfulfilled premiums mess. Then he sued Pacifica.
And now Reimers, the guy brought in to clean up Bernie's mess is letting him back on the air - Reimer's shouldn't let White step foot in the building!
I'm no lawyer, but if (when) White is hired will the station ever be able to fire him again? Doesn't his being allowed back in discredit the claims previously made against White? Won't White be in a much better position to win his next lawsuit?
But of course this is Pacifica where a manager's suitability is not judged by their ability to manage a station or network but (as "Brooser Bear" said) their "left wing cred".
BTW as flakey as Reese probably is, as an outside observer I have to say she's the only Pacifica manager in a while who recognized serious problems and took action. Had she not flown in and trimmed WBAI's staff what would the finances be now? And she recognized how incompetent Reimers is and tried to get rid of him. I think it's quite possible that had she been left in charge the audits would have been done and the CPB money secured.
Just for giggles try googling: Bernard White kathy Davis Pacifica harassment
Take a trip into the past and see ED Grace's warning memo, look at the blue board when it was a hotbed...
I have tried to find the White segment, but the schedule and archive listings are so totally screwed up that I have not had success. I know it was in a time slot designated for something else... typical disorganization.
DeleteThis morning's show with Pammie and Mikie was racist, inarticulate, uninformed and painful to listen to. I captured some of it and will be posting it later. Can this get much worse? I don't think so.
Thanks JAL, for the Google guides.
Armand DiMele died? I tuned into idiot radio and it seems so, since the people on air were all sad and talking of him in past tense. I couldn't find anything on google about it, though.
ReplyDeleteSDL
I hadn't heard that. Which show did you tune in to learn that?
DeleteGuess they are already scraping the very bottom of their brown 'n' black box to find someone twisted enough to fit into the racista mold.
On his own show when I was tuning by about 1:30PM. It was being hosted by some of his sidekicks. I guess Bernie has his choice of slots now...
DeleteSDL
http://www.wbai.org/articles.php?article=2713
ReplyDeleteKGT
Thanks SDL and KGT.
DeleteOne of the other DiSchlemiels from his "Center" will take over the mike. They can't waste a good referral source.
ReplyDeleteKGT
They make many program decisions that aren't affordable.
DeleteArmand DiMele made decent money during beg-a-thons, so WBAI will have to think how to make money off the dead man. You know how it goes. The problem in replacing him with one of his compatriots is finding someone who can attract the same sized donating audience. Sometimes you can find that person, sometimes not.
ReplyDeleteSDL
Good point, SDL. From what I heard whenI tuned in and found him talking to a distressed listener, Di Mele had a knack for inducing confidence. They can't replicate that.
DeleteListening to therapists discuss intimate psychological problems with emotionally distressed people over a 50,000 Watt transmitter and the whole world over the internet creeps me out. I can't listen to it for more than a minute. It is undignified and should be scrapped no matter which station it emanates from.
ReplyDeleteKGT
tune in tomorrow , when they will be talking about the mating habits of the Guatamalan fruit fly and how it relates to black and brown people . haha racist a -holes . Indicting the whole white race for the actions of one white supremacist , murderer
ReplyDeletehate crime , terrorist p.o.s. I'm sick of these small minded idiots . They hit an all time low today, imo !
They never mention nor do they explain the nefarious motives that drove so many whites to risk or give their lives for racial equality. WBAI hosts also exclude from their programs anyone who might question their selective (i.e. distorted) views on current racism. Whether their ignorance is deliberate, or not, their aim is clearly to foment racial division.
DeleteOnce, when Hugh Hamilton, the imperious fool who dazzled dummy Haskins, suggested that teachers ought to have school children re-enact lynchings and other atrocities, I criticized that approach in a post. Little Mikie reported it to Lady Hamilton, reading my post on the air. My suggestion was that past racist events ought not be kept from black children, but that they would be better served if taught to take pride in the many achievements of black Americans.
This sent Hamilton into a tissy. It was sad, but now this self-absorbed fool is coming back!
They have already hit and moved on past that all time low, i.m.o.
@KGT: I have long said that I find it repulsive to use peoples' personal problems for public entertainment. However. commercial media making money on it is even worse to me.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: It's all about who is going to look more politically proactive than the next person. Ultimately, these people are out for money and/or political credibility.
SDL
At least Dr. Phil sends his clients to rehab or mental health therapy and pays for the bill through Oprah's wallet or they get it free for the free advertisement of their facilities. They get something for it. What do you get by calling Armand DiMele or Dr. Joy Brown on the radio? A not free trip to their private office, provided you have insurance.
DeleteKGT
Hmmm... No Forlano yesterday or today. Just before Midnight I rolled by WBAI and heard a promo for Katie Halper new show on Wednesdays from 6PM - 7PM. I still wonder. Maybe we're both sort of right: Forlano is back, but her days will be cut down?
ReplyDeleteSDL
Perhaps Forlano is at Camp Dolezal for their now popular Ethnic Conversion Course.
DeleteSeems like Katie Halper is the new Forlano . Already talking about slavery and white supremacy.
ReplyDeleteWasting no time . Plus NOT funny . Let me tune out now . Gotta go out and oppress some black
and brown people tonight . haha
I listened and came to the same conclusion. The schedule shows Forlano in that time slot the following day. What are they ("management") thinking? Of course, putting really bad white hosts on the air may make some of the really bad darker hosts seem better or at least on par with them.
DeleteThe truth is probably that this is yet another instance of wrong people in wrong positions making wrong decisions.
(JustAListener)
DeleteThis Katie Halper?
"Born and raised on the mean streets of New York City’s Upper West Side, Katie Halper is a comic, writer, blogger, satirist and filmmaker based in New York. Katie graduated from The Dalton School (where she teaches history) and Wesleyan University"
Does this liberal's limo roll on the streets of Brooklyn or does she phone it in from the "mean streets" of the Yupper West Side?
I didn't even bother to tune in, as what I heard on the promo last night was enough. Is it me, or does there seem to be a prerequisite for the whitey leftist talk show hosts to add "comedian" to their list of credentials, even though they aren't funny in any way, shape or form, even inadvertently?
DeleteI guess the Bunker Bozos think they are going to attract back all the white listeners who left by putting on their white female friends to blab cliched crap for an hour. Yeah, you know them whitey will listen just 'cause there be white bitches on. Sorry, won't work. No one wants to hear these idiots, like Forlano, Halper, Dore, etc, as they aren't insightful, intelligent, interesting or funny. It's not a matter of race, but of good radio. You really think I am going to listen because you put a white person on? Guess what, most of the AM talk show hosts are white and I don't listen to their shit either. Get it WBAI? No, of course not. You wouldn't understand how you are stereotyping people every day.
I have a suspicion that a certain kook is behind some of this. Yeah, this kind of stuff is right up his alley, too.
No matter what it is, it's failing. WBAI is aiming at a smaller and smaller target market by the day. maybe they should just start airing the old SNL Garrett Morris tune at the top of every hour with a station ID.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGBw8jS3sMw
Morris' explanation of the bit is really great, too. He sounds like he'd make a good GM...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua3ZM8UVWVo
SDL