The Pacifica Finance Committee discussed the ghostly WBAI budget at their November 4, 2015 meeting. Our friend, 'indigopirate' has contributed the following abbreviated audio and comment:
As always, despite BET [Committee Chair Brian Edwards-Tiekert] characterizing the situation accurately as in effect desperate, they prove unwilling even to present that fact to the PNB, and do, in fact, despite his urgings to avoid delay, kick the can down the road yet again. I’d imagine it will all start to publicly unravel within a few months.
Here is an audio summation of the WBAI-related portion of the November 4, 2015 meeting.
Gary Null is pitching. He is articulate, sometimes interesting to listen to, but he is spinning and disingenuous. I almost didn't catch him at it. He is talking about getting rid of ideologues and caring more for the audience, but he is talking about the ideologies at Pacifica National Board, notice how he is not criticizing Reimers or anyone at BAI, that's because he is on their side. He thinks that if BAI raised a lot of money, it can be in stronger position to negotiate with the Pacifica National Board. He thinks that his weapon is that he can get his own audience to picket the Pacifica and effect some revolutionary change. What he is not aware of, and what the BAI gang does not know, is that their target audience demographic and the young listeners have been taken from them by the NPR and WNYC. Even if BAI had effective people, the only way they could build the audience is to woo them away from the NYC, and they don't have the production capacity or the funds of the WNYC to purchase quality programming from the NPR, CBC, BBC, and WNYC shows are the cutting edge of the modern radio, as far as production value is concerned. Compare the journalistic quality of This American Life, the guests and talk (however inane) on Here's the Thing or Radio Lab, and you will see how easy on the listening ears they are. Look at the genuine diversity of the NPR broadcasters - You got south Asians, east Europeans, everyone is represented there, unlike the BAI community. Even if they did everything correctly, there is no ,more audience that can provide the cash flow to the BAI that it needs to pay for its transmitter.
ReplyDeleteBB, I can't find anything in your comment that I don't totally agree with or consider highly plausible. I find myself going over to WNYC at some point every day. Properly managed and with the right people aboard, WBAI could compete, but the batteries are dead and most programs are way past their expiry date.
DeleteGood to see you back.
Only the bilge rats go down with the sinking ship.
ReplyDeleteKGT
and Captains
ReplyDeleteOK, listened to this. This fund drive, the Funarithon, is the future. The pledges are now in free fall. That's it. People are leaving and there is no coming back, even with Null.
ReplyDeleteWhere is there ANY proof that there is ANY negotiating going on with the ESB? No, it doesn't take more than a year to negotiate this kind of thing. The ESB isn't going to give any deals without, at least, getting what is owed them already, getting higher every month. Their lawyers are professional sharks and aren't going to play games with some little punk ass station like WBAI, which they may even think they can own and sell off or something. A couple of million Dollars investment ain't a bad deal for the possible rewards they could reap.
Seriously, there isn't any negotiations going on. There probably are some calls between the ESB and Reimers where he begs for more time to pay.
SDL