A logical question posted by Steve Brown on the WBAI-LSB-Public list at 1:30 this morning (Sunday). Like everything else Reimers does, this one does not make sense... or does it? Was the GM in perpetual absentia upset by Gary Null's honest assessment of the station's current financial crisis or is he playing the Siegel game to clear WBAI off the board? Is there method to his madness? What do you think?
WHY IS GARY NULL BEING PRE-EMPTED FROM WBAI'S FUND DRIVE?
I just learned that Gary Null received an email today from WBAI GM Berthold Reimers telling him that his show will be pre-empted from the fund drive for all of next week. (No reason on explanation given.)
Since WBAI is dead broke, cannot meet its operating expenses, let alone even afford postage to mail out thousands of backlogged premiums – and given that Gary Null’s pitching has been responsible for raising as much as 50% or more of the station’s fund-drive revenue for the past several years – is pre-empting him from the fund drive sensible?
I meant that question rhetorically, since it does not seem sensible to me. In fact, I would call such a pre-emption extremely irresponsible, and I would strongly urge -- as a member of the LSB and the National Board – that the Executive Director request Berthold to retract his ill-advised pre-emption. I would also ask that Berthold provide the reasoning or calculation upon which he based his egregiously counter-intuitive decision.
Stephen M Brown
Director, Pacifica National Board
Member, WBAI Local Station Board
_______________________________
_______________________________
NOTE: According to R. Paul Martin, the current drive is averaging $9,500 per day, so far. That makes this decision all the more illogical. (CA)
Surely neither Null nor his advocates find this surprising – if he has the evidence he claims to have, why not put it out there?
ReplyDeleteIf he doesn't have the evidence he's claimed to have, then he's overplayed his hand, it would seem.
As for Reimers...
~ 'indigopirate'
If there is any truth to this, considering the sources, anything could be possible, and we can only speculate. I would imagine Reimers, and others, are annoyed by the recent PRN anti-faction hatefests featuring the himself and others, INCLUDING Stephen Brown. I guess Null and Brown must be in tight, if Null chose Brown to be his conduit for release of this information, if it is even true.
ReplyDeleteThat said, if true, this could be a unilateral decision by Reimers or, maybe, his puppet master(s) passing down the word to him to take action. No matter what, it will probably be a financially costly decision. However, if, by some chance, the replacement programming averages what Null makes, that could have some interesting results, besides taking some air out of Nulls over-inflated ego and a bit of disempowering.
Come tomorrow we shall see.
Other items of note:
The cell phone danger DVD, Mobilize via WBAI is $100 but $11.99 via amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Mobilize-Documentary/dp/B00M58FRQM
I forgot to mention I tuned into Babbling Bob the other night and realized something - as bad as he is, his five listeners are nothing but burned out druggies who haven't seen a calendar since 1968. And what was he babbling about a fake letter of resignation? Seemed suspiciously vague to me. What a bunch of pathetic old farts. And that cat lady...
I also noticed that Bob wasn't doing his part to raise any money for the station, of course. He doesn't mind having a show and using electric so he can yap with his five friends, but he isn't about to put any effort into paying for it. What a free loading bum.
See any recent pictures of whacked out actor Randy Quaid? Yeah, he's my choice to play Bob in a biopic.
SDL
Good. Finally Gary Null gets his comeuppance. This is a great time to wipe him off of the station for good. If WBAI can't exist without a slimy, arrogant quack like Gary Null, it shouldn't exist at all. Finally, Berthold Reimers has done something that I approve of. Mazel Tov!!
ReplyDeleteKGT
Building Bridges: No Longer Columbus Day, But Rather Indigenous Peoples Day
ReplyDeleteBerthold Reimers should dismiss those two domestic terrorists, Mimi "Leonard Peltier" Rosenberg and Ken "Mumia" Nash also
KGT
KGT
Anything to get rid of Gary Null, even if only temporary, is fine with me.
ReplyDeleteKGT
This Reimers vs Null war is like watching two people you hate getting in a fight in the gutter - you can't root for either, so you just want to see them mess each other up.
ReplyDeleteNull will probably have the last laugh, like he did with Bernie "Klepto" White. However, if the extendomercial interruptions pull in the same cash as Null does in the same slot, Null will lose a lot of prestige and power.
I just hope they destroy each other, ultimately, however.
Sorry SDL, I can't respond to pixels in the pit (snake, that is), but these people are indeed destroying each other, that's the nature of their attitude. Of course, we know that they have destroyed WBAI in the process. Hope the good ones find another outlet... apropos that, I am listening to Peter Bochan at the moment, doing a wonderful job—hardly any pitching but an interesting mix of interesting music.
DeleteHaskins was not on this morning, nor was there any mention of his name. I guess he's out there, somewhere, riding the coattails of his "partner," to sell that book of hers.
You are so right about the reycling Reimers is doing. Hear Blosdale today talk about how wonderful WBAI;s programming is... mentioning Amy and Hugh Hamilton as examples of tha, and pushing the "transmitter fund." THat tells you how old that one is. t. You can't hear Hamilton on any of those other stations, she pitched... the truth is that you can only hear him on another station. I think its one where they charge for the air time.
Have you noticed the preponderance of Kathy Davis during this drive? Not only does she herself go on and on with absolute nonsense, she is also trying to sell CDs by a guy who does the same.
Haven't heard how Null's screening went last Friday. He announced that Reimers would be there. Next thing we know, Reimers cuts him out of the fund drive. Go figure.
hahaha- laughing my ass off- Gary laid off? My ass. 10/14- Wed. 12 noon
DeleteSchmuckface is on the air preaching that his biological age is only half of his chronological age due to his colored glop. I knew it couldn't last.
KGT
I tried sending you some comments the past couple of days, but none seem to have made it through, so here they are with fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteIf there is any truth to this, considering the sources, anything could be possible, and we can only speculate. I would imagine Reimers, and others, are annoyed by the recent PRN anti-faction hatefests featuring the himself and others, INCLUDING Stephen Brown. I guess Null and Brown must be in tight, if Null chose Brown to be his conduit for release of this information, if it is even true.
That said, if true, this could be a unilateral decision by Reimers or, maybe, his puppet master(s) passing down the word to him to take action. No matter what, it will probably be a financially costly decision. However, if, by some chance, the replacement programming averages what Null makes, that could have some interesting results, besides taking some air out of Nulls over-inflated ego and a bit of disempowering.
Come tomorrow we shall see.
Other items of note:
The cell phone danger DVD, Mobilize via WBAI is $100 but $11.99 via amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Mobilize-Documentary/dp/B00M58FRQM
I forgot to mention I tuned into Babbling Bob the other night and realized something - as bad as he is, his five listeners are nothing but burned out druggies who haven't seen a calendar since 1968. And what was he babbling about a fake letter of resignation? Seemed suspiciously vague to me. What a bunch of pathetic old farts. And that cat lady...
I also noticed that Bob wasn't doing his part to raise any money for the station, of course. He doesn't mind having a show and using electric so he can yap with his five friends, but he isn't about to put any effort into paying for it. What a free loading bum.
See any recent pictures of whacked out actor Randy Quaid? Yeah, he's my choice to play Bob in a biopic.
SDL
SDL,
DeletePerhaps the letter of resignation that Bob was referring to was the one I had written for him. It is reproduced below.
Bob had awakened me with a phone call at 10:30 p.m.. I was alarmed: I thought Bob had suffered another fall or had been in another car accident.
However, he was calling at that late hour because he was offended by Chris’s comments about Bob’s incoherence. Bob asked me to post a message on Chris’s blog attacking and threatening Chris. I became very angry, told Bob not to bother me again for such nonsense, and a few days letter sent him the resignation with the explanation that I had written a letter for him though it was not the letter he had requested.
Bob has become very sensitive to any criticism. He asked me about a year ago if I thought he should retire. When I answered that he should, he didn’t talk to me for months.
If he has any problems with Chris, he should post his own comments. Chris would be fair about printing them.
It’s ironic that I’ve come to know Chris through Bob who praised Chris and the blog and encouraged me to become familiar with the blog.
Anyway, this is the offending letter. I wrote it as an admiring friend and fan; it was not received in that spirit. Bob said the letter was my resignation from our friendship. His demented wife wrote, “Fuck you.
Bob Fass’s Letter of Resignation and Farewell:
DeleteWBAI Management, Members of the CABAL, Friends of Radio Unnameable:
It is with a mixture of gratitude, some regret, and much sadness that I announce my retirement from WBAI, effective immediately.
I no longer have the physical or psychic energy to produce and manage a weekly radio program. I lack the physical energy required to not merely stay awake and alert between 12 a.m. and 3:30 A.M. in the morning, respond spontaneously to phone calls and guests, manipulate the DVD player, tape players, and phonograph turntables, but also to impose an order and rhythm on the entire process.
I lack the psychic energy to deal with the ineptitude, indifference, stupidity, and corruption of the people now running the station.
My audience has dwindled along with my energy. As WBAI has been obliged to move from studio to studio, there’s been a concomitant decline in studio quality and the quality of equipment. Participation in the program by the audience has always been an important part of Radio Unnameable; this has become impossible due to the deterioration in studio facilities and the evaporation of the station’s resources.
Guests who would drop in when the station was in Manhattan, have been unwilling to travel to the campus of CCNY in the middle of the night or some shack in Brooklyn. So live music is impossible, even if it is provided by one guitarist in the studio with me.
In the last fifteen years, while newcomers to the station with dubious resumes and even more dubious talent, have been awarded multiple shows—often with financial subsidies, and salaried positions, I was not even reimbursed for tolls or cab fare.
The message is clear: I am no longer valued by the people who are now running WBAI.
The station no longer resembles the one that I have been affiliated with for so long.
My immediate plans involve the review, reorganization, and sale of Radio Unnameable archives. I plan, with the assistance of several advisors, to write a book about the program and the gallery of interesting people I’ve come in contact with through my nearly 50 years on the air.
The book will flesh out the story told by the movie, Radio Unnameable by Paul Lovelace and Jessica Wolfson, and explore the contributions of guests too numerous to mention here without omitting many worthy people. Perhaps I will need to write two books: one about the frenetic activity in the studio during the nearly 50 years of the show’s on air existence; another about the amazing people—actors, artists, activists, attorneys, writers, poets, and politicians, that visited the show either in the studio or on the telephone.
So, as mentioned, it is with a mixture of sadness and gratitude that I say goodbye to The Cabal, to WBAI, and to Radio Unnameable. I am grateful for the six decades that my program spanned since its inception in the late 1960s; I am sad that I leave the station, and The Pacifica Network plummeting into oblivion as its now guided by people whose ideological fervor surpasses their competence and their knowledge on how to successfully operate a non-profit radio station.
I close with words of William Blake:
He who binds to himself a joy,
Doth the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies,
Lives in eternity's sun rise.
Bob Fass
14 September 2015
All very interesting. Bob is a big boy. If he has something to say about anything here, he knows he can post his sentiments freely. He doesn't need to hide behind the Fassists, as he did when I exposed him. But then if he posted here, he would have to deal directly with people who may disagree with him. That is something Bob avoids like the plague.
DeleteSDL
Bob had a cowardly streak back in the Sixties when he supported whatever side deemed to be most popular, including the on-air backstabbing Steve Post and Josephson engaged in. I don't know if Lou Schweitzer ever met Bob—he certainly stayed away from the station—but Bob has recalled visits. I can almost guarantee with certainty that this is another one of Bob's problems with reality. Lou did, in fact not like Bob, who had worked for Lucille Lortel (Mrs. Schweitzer) at the Theatre De Lys before coming to WBAI.
DeleteMaybe Reimers watched "Schindler's List" and decided to run the station the way Schindler ran his factory. Unfortuanately, Reimers' intentions could not be as noble.
ReplyDeleteThe JUC faction's pavlovian troublemaker, Cerene," was quick to gloat and use to her mob's advantage reports of Gary Null's return to WBAI's air. Steve M. Brown, however, put her in her place: Here's how he enlightened her.
ReplyDelete"Considering that Gary Null had been fundraising for WBAI all along, and generating 50% or more of WBAI’s total fund drive revenue, Berthold’s statement that Gary Null was pre-empted “so WBAI can fundraise” was, to say the least, bizarre.
But never mind. To replace Gary’s show on Monday, Berthold ran an old, oft-repeated, and by now very tired eye-care show. It generated all of $200. No surprise to anyone, except the GM. (To put the $200 in perspective, it should be noted that Gary Null can sometimes generate up to $15,000 per show, depending on the premium.)
On Tuesday, I don’t know what Berthold decided to broadcast in Gary’s time slot, but results were equally dismal. On Wednesday, at noon, I was surprised to hear Gary’s show come on the air. So I thought, OK, maybe Berthold has come to his senses (although I use that word “senses” advisedly) and invited Gary back on the air. But that’s not what happened.
What did happen was that the replacement program that Berthold intended for Gary’s time slot on Wednesday could not be found. So in desperation, WBAI (without permission and in violation of internet protocol) simply went to Gary’s website at noon and pulled down Gary’s live feed for the PRN version of his show.
But because that version of the show was not meant for broadcast on WBAI (since it had been pre-empted) Gary was conducting a fundraiser for PRN. That’s why you heard “his Red Stuff . . . and his Green Stuff and some other combo via his toll-free 877-number, not through the WBAI call center, for $53.99 or so.”
Sorry, Cerene, that your “Gary Null Gotcha!” turned out to be a dud. And that he wasn’t “selling his stuff” on WBAI and pocketing the money “via his toll-free 877-number.” Perhaps instead of slinging mud pies at Gary Null, you might more constructively turn your attention to the question of why the GM of WBAI foolishly decided to pre-empt his top fundraiser for an entire week, and replace him with programs that raise no money at all, when WBAI is drowning in debt and cannot even make payroll.
Or you might want to ask why, when the GM decided to pre-empt Gary’s program, he showed so little consideration for our listening audience that he could not even bestir himself to make a brief announcement at the beginning of Gary’s time slot, explaining that he had been pre-empted but would return next week.
Lastly, you might want to consider offering a correction to your readers, as well as an apology to Gary Null, whose offenses against Pacifica seem to include, apparently in your eyes, raising more than $42 million during its fund drives, winning more awards than all of its broadcasters combined, and maintaining high standards of broadcasting excellence despite snide attacks from people who contribute nothing worthwhile themselves, but are only too happy to disparage the efforts of those who do." —Steve M. Brown
Reimers and his ilk belong behind bars.
When, then, does Null intend to take the legal action he's threatened and for which he says he has more than ample evidence? Or is that simply a negotiating ploy, and is he as disreputable as the disreputable lot at Pacifica?
Delete~ 'indigopirate'
Does Null intend to *actually* present the hard evidence which he says he has in such abundance to the authorities in the immediate future, or is it simply a negotiating ploy – which would, of course, put him in the same category as the ilk in question.
Delete~ 'indigopirate'
I see we're functioning again here. I was jonsin' over not being able to post and read your responses. You're still the best thing going regarding Pacifica and WBAI matters.
ReplyDeleteKnow that I consider anything I post anywhere as public. Always feel free to use it, if you wish.
Well, now the week has past and Null was on one day essentially unknowingly, it seems, because the nit wits weren't capable of filling in one of their own Davis, Funari or Blosdale, etc. extendomercials. Looks like Null may be the winner, making Reimers and his possible handlers look all the more stupid. I haven't noticed Null at other times, either. Man o man is that going to cost them, I think.
I really have to laugh how the political voice of the revolution spends most of its pitching time hawking nonsense. it shows how little faith management has in its own beliefs and how many follow them. Just a big joke.
SDL
Yesterday I tuned in and heard "Where We Live" outside of its normal time slot.
ReplyDeleteSally O'Brien admitted that WBAI is in such desperate financial shape that it has to raise money to pay postage for premiums that weren't mailed out during previous fund drives.
That's a real incentive to donate, isn't it?
Sally O'Brien should beg money from the Free Mumia Coalition for the free advertising.
DeleteKGT
Let us not forget that WBAI adds a postage fee to the donation amount for sending a premium. Not using the collected postage fee for postage is fraud.
DeleteSDL
WBAI is dead - just like Samori and Robert Knight!!
ReplyDeleteWBAI actually died quite some time ago, what you may hear from time to time are the death throes.
Deletei think it is pretty safe to say that bai is basically a zombie station now .
ReplyDeleteIt is not a question of if anymore , just a question of when they go away .
They just can't insult your intelligence enough here . Sad.
Were they, themselves, not so lacking in intelligence, they would realize how much they underestimate that of their now vanished listenership.
DeleteWe need Bernie Fleshkin back.
ReplyDeleteKGT
Hell no!! We need Charlie Finch back - but he was fired by Samori Marksman!!
ReplyDeleteHell no! We need David Wynyard back, so we have someone to do a crank call show. Oh, wait... There are no phone lines...
ReplyDeleteSDL
With Verizon apparently stalling, I understand that a Campbells cannery has made an irresistible offer in conjunction with Superior Thread™ The PC Show guys are very excited about it, but a petition demanding Goya™ cans is being circulated by Murillo.
DeleteHAHA!. Did you know Goya was actually founded by Spaniards? Yeah, naughty European immigrants.
DeleteEven if the bozos get their phone lines, they won't be able to pay for them. Decreasing donations and no CPB money won't cover yet another bill added to the mix. If the history of WBAI tells us anything, people will use those phones for personal business and run the bill up high like a flag.
SDL
Did you know that "Dr." Gwen Scott recently died? Max mentioned that just before clicking on the Natalie button this morning. Habte was a no-show.
DeleteIt made me wonder if the station has a posthumous deal on those premiums, or if the fuck-the-listeners attitude has spread even farther—you know the one where there is no problem as long as money comes in.
I was listening to WNYC earlier—they are also having a drive and I noticed that the two stations are closer to each other in approach. WNYC, however, has not stepped into the realm of fraud and deceit—someone there today urged listeners to call and pay $75 for $15 items, adding that the object was, after all, to support the station. :) A lot better than to ask $150 for items that will never be shipped.
They could still have call-ins. Each producer could come up with his own cellphone and put it on speaker and hold it up to the mike and give out his own personal phone #. Don't worry- Monroe is dead. You won't have him deep breathing in your phone at 3 a.m.
DeleteScrew David Wynyard. Oh, I almost forgot. I already did.
KGT
No, Chris, I didn't know Scott died. See, if Davis did her extendomercials, she would merely have transitioned. Well, I guess Davis has her hands full with the transitioned fellow whose stuff she is pushing, anyway. Of course, there is The Blos with the late Alan Watts verbiage.
ReplyDeleteThe thing with WNYC is that you will most likely receive your item in a reasonable time. Of course, the way charities are, you will probably get plenty of mailings from then on asking for money again and again. Well, except from WBAI and Pacifica, since they can't afford postage.
Maybe WBAI should go more traditional and use morse code..?
SDL
I was thinking more along the way of smoke signals—that's indigenous, you know. Alternatively, we could have John Kane ride the ghosthorse through un-gentrified parts of town, distributing reservation-made cigarettes and spreading the news according to WBAI. "The British are coming! ... the British are..."
DeleteOh, jeez. Kane and Ghosthorse are so full of themselves that you have to wonder if they pose in front of their mirrors each morning. I'm all in favor of American Indian representation on WBAI, but not these jerks. They don't even really deal with the topic. Kane rambles about almost anything and everything, except American Indian matters.
ReplyDeleteSmoke signals? How about a money rain dance?
SDL
Hold your tongue. If we lose Horseshit and The Kane Mutiny, guaranteed we get Raven back. Oy vey!! Where is Chief Jay Strongbow now that we need him?
DeleteKGT
Dead. But he wouldn't be permitted onto WBAI, anyway, since he was actually Italian. Maybe the spirit of Wahoo McDaniel would be a better choice?
DeleteSDL
How about Ava Gardner? She had Cherokee roots. I would pay for that.
DeleteKGT
Brock Peters told me that he took his somewhat old-fashioned proper mother to the Waldorf to hear Ella Fitzgerald, whom she admired greatly. They were in the lobby when Ava Gardner spotted Brock and came over to say hello. He introduced Ava to his mom, who was delighted to meet her. "I just love Ella," said Ava, "she sings from the crotch!"
DeleteBrock thought his mother kept her composure rather well.
I didn't know about Ms. Gardner's deep roots.
I remember Brock Peters from the 1960s and 1970s TV and movies. I always liked him.
DeleteWBAI does radio from the ass, obviously.
I heard a little piece of a Ghosthorseshit extendomercial where he blabbed about how he speaks for all indigenous peoples everywhere. OK, how about speaking for the indigenous Celts of Scotland and Wales? Yeah, too white, I guess.
SDL
Brock and I met in Cleveland when we were the sole guests on a bizarre TV show. We became friends and he threw a wonderful party for me in his Riverside Drive apartment to celebrate me winning Grammys.
DeleteI recall being referred to by U.S. military officials as "indigenous" when I was working in Iceland. It sounded a lot better than "Fish head," which is what we non-Americans were called by ignorant GIs.
bai's news .... raise up october . that's it , just that for about 5 or 6 minutes .
ReplyDeleteLast week the news was promoting it , now the entire news slot is the review of it .
If this was pathetic , it would be an improvement .
Linda Barr, now seems to have fallen into a rut, making repetitious cameos performing the BAI truth twist. The same no-news was aired this morning, where it fits in with Haskins' racist nonsense. During a recent morning blather, he claimed to be a shaper of Linda's "news," which explains a lot. When I told her in an e-mail exchange that I find Haskins' genuine idiocy to be embarrassing, she admitted to sharing that opinion.
DeleteThe fact is that there is no real news on WBAI, just not so cleverly disguised propaganda. The occupants are morally corrupt and desperation has set in as more and more comes to light regarding Reimers' lies and financial juggling. Right now, he is dropping his balls.