AS PACIFICA UNRAVELS, NEW QUESTIONS ARISE
Anyone who listens with modest regularity to the Gary Null Show over WBAI, soon may wonder how true his claims of overwhelming success are. Where does this inventor and purveyor of health supplements, documentary film maker, author, lecturer, radio huckster par exellence, etc. find the time to do all these things?
It does not take ultra perception nor even average intelligence to conclude that Mr. Null has a knack for embroidering facts regarding his entrepreneurial success. Again, the volume of work he boasts of simply could not be accomplished unless one stayed awake around the clock seven days a week, but that would seriously conflict with the healthy living Gary Null encourages and, indeed, personifies. To quote Willie the Bard, "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark"—it's not, I suspect, an aging veggieburger.
Besides broadcasting four days a week on WBAI, Mr. Null has his own on-line radio (Progressive Radio Network) going and, according to him, reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners. He also has a health food store in NYC, a health farm/resort in Florida, and brisk sales of products ranging from high-priced blenders to life-giving powders ("stuff") in a variety of colors.
Given all that, we now have to wonder why Mr. Null is putting up for auction his dining room table and chairs in a declared effort to keep his PRN going. As forensic scientist, Dr. Henry Lee so famously put it when questioned about police work on the infamous O.J. Simpson case, "Something not right".
There have been signs of problems at PRN—dead air, faulty equipment, an iffy schedule, for example. One also questioned the schedule's inclusion of Kathy Davis as a weekly host—Mr. Null is a man of intelligence, so why would he give regular microphone access to this woman's inane psychobabble? One theory is that Davis serves as his conduit to WBAI's nominal manager, Berthold Reimers, which would indicate that he needs the Pacifica station more than he wants us to know. Frankly, when I heard about the table auction yesterday, I thought it was somebody's idea of a joke, but this link to Null's PRN website proves me wrong. The bidding starts at $499 (why not $500?) and that should be a piddling sum to the multitasking Mr. Null.
The PRN site also contains a link to an exhaustive 91-page report that more than summarizes Gary Null's Pacifica fundraising history. I suggest that you skim through it.
Here is that lengthy report as updated June 7, 2016.
"Where does this inventor and purveyor of health supplements, documentary film maker, author, lecturer, radio huckster par exellence, etc. find the time to do all these things?".
ReplyDeleteAnd the answer is: His books are ghost written. When you buy a Gary Null book, it is written by Gary Null Associates. In the beginning, and I mean around 1980-1982, all Null books were written by Gary and Steve Null. I know that Gary has a daughter, Shelley, who is into the health food schtick and appeared on one of his juicing infomercials. Did you ever notice how well and syntactically correct any of his books are and when he speaks publicly, he stutters and mispronounces simple medical and biological terms and gets frustrated and loses his temper frequently?
There is an obvious disconnect there. He is only the face of Gary Null Associates. CHE FACCIA BRUTTA. UFFA!!
KGT
Can you spell this out for me Chris? Did he triple the listenership like he claimed on his website? Did he raise over $40 million like he claimed? Did he raise $90,000 in the December fund drive? Why is this guy being jerked around? If WBAI doesn't want or need him, let him go already. Otherwise, they should work it out. If everybody hates him so much, why are they so willing to take his money and the money he raises?
ReplyDeleteI don't have documented facts, but I think there is no doubt about Null having raised an (for WBAI) impressive amount of money over the years. We should, however, bear in mind that he is given to exaggeration and that we don't know what arrangements he made with the various managers. One thing we do know is that the station(s) paid him for the products and I suspect that it often, if not always, more than covered Null's cost.
DeleteRemember, too, that all the airtime Null had was tantamount to free advertising—that advantage has diminished as WBAI's regular programming deteriorated and listeners tuned out, but the benefits were certainly mutual. I would also be surprised if each shipment of "stuff" to WBAI donors didn't contain an offer designed to sell refills and put listeners in direct contact with Null's company.
As for the hate, I think Gary is not the only recipient of that at today's WBAI. There is a lot of backstabbing going on—their system invites that.
Why, some of us wonder, does Gary Null put up with the animosity and the games Reimers plays? I think the table auction answers that, in part. You have lies going around from every side, clashing and creating an atmosphere of mistrust, fueled by unhealthy competition.
Just my impression.
I'm the person who came across Tablegate over at the PRN website. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, either.
ReplyDeleteI've listened to Null on and off since the 80s, mostly for his guests, some of which, like Chris Hedges, are very good. But Null is now phoning in his show, and inadvertently revealing his true self.
Much of Null's present-day show consists of reading articles written by others, whether they be articles on health, nutrition, or politics. When reading these articles, Null often mispronounces multi-syllable words, and *very* often gets scientific terms painfully wrong. He credits the authors minimally, acting as if their articles are his thoughts. I like to kick back at lunch, google the article he's reading, and read along to see how incompetent he is.
Anyway, it's very clear that Null has wildly exaggerated his education and background, as he rambles about his "excellence" and "scholarship". He may have been doing this very same thing in the 80s and 90s, but having starry-eyed "interns" garner the material for him to mispronounce. In any case, the internet age has made his hucksterism painfully obvious.
As to how Null gets so much done in a day... well, he only sleeps for two to four hours. He has claimed this over and over, on-air. Anyone can keep that sort of superhuman schedule. All you have to do is have Green Stuff for breakfast, Men's Stuff for lunch.... and Somnambulist Stuff at bedtime. :)
gloria j brown... you might as well tune away now folks .
ReplyDeleteAnybody that knows anything knows where this is going.
Sounds like another excuse to talk about skin color and race to me.
Excuses are no longer necessary if you want to express racial stagnation a la Haskins. They used to be somewhat sneaky about it, but, with what's left of the audience, the petrified black bozos of WBAI feel quite free to take the lid off their racism and ignorance.
DeleteIn fact, their job might depend on it. The station has already been vandalized beyond repair, so just sit back and hear it crumble or do the more sensible thing and turn your ears in a new direction. You will never again find a station remotely similar to the WBAI Lou Schweitzer gave Pacifica, but you will not find it difficult to locate something that is not a total waste of your time.
But, of course, you already know that. :)
I respect Gary Null - he has kept the station alive for many years - without him, the station would have died many years ago. Shame on you for roasting him on this blog. He never censors anyone - indeed he himself has been censored on WBAI. Chris, why don't you speak to him directly instead of throwing your usual spitballs at him. Please, Chris, please!
ReplyDeleteIn terms of fundraising, I think Gary Null has been very helpful to WBAI and, as I surmised earlier, the benefits flow in both directions.
DeleteThat said, I am not so pleased with the programming direction Mr. Null gave a kickstart. This is not to say that I believe WBAI should exclude health-related programs from its schedule, but look at the door Null opened, albeit inadvertently. Quackery has become common at 99.5 and it rises to its ugliest during fundraising marathons (which are beginning to dominate the schedule), often crossing the line into fraud.
We can trace such scams as the double helix water to Mr. Null, although—in all fairness—he is as bothered by that as any intelligent person should be. This has escalated over the years, accelerating in the last few to a point where inflated prices are being charged for products that not only are bogus, but also may be dangerous. How can any decent person pitch phony "cures" to listeners seeking help for an infliction that might end their life? They can, and do, but—as they like to say—only on WBAI. No,Null isn't doing that himself, but he set it in motion and only once have I heard him speak up against—that was when he confronted the double helix scammer directly. The station took that tap water off its list, but it soon found other unconscionable items with which sleazy hucksters like Bates, Blosdale and Kathy Davis could persuade the gullible to submit their credit cards.
People who are given the privilege to command WBAI's air should not lie to the listener, nor, as a matter of fact, themselves.
I wish them all luck, but hope that they have it somewhere else.
@anonymous: I have listened to Gary Null on WBAI since 1980. I find him entertaining when he is not a bastard. If he raises money for the station, great. But, he is an AIDS denialist. He not only claims there is no such thing as AIDS and the HIV virus is innocuous, he also promotes completely unproven cancer treatments and their originators. I know that the listeners can make up their own minds, but he definitely has charisma and people not only listen to him, but follow him like the Pied Piper of Hamelin to the edge of the cliff and dive in. He abuses his charisma. He doesn't use it for good. He uses it for self-serving ends. He is a bastard. Even if he kept the station alive by himself like Atlas holding up the earth,at what price? If that is the case, WBAI should shut down. Over and OUT!!
DeleteKGT
Yes, It's all Gary Null's fault.
ReplyDeleteFirst, no one is stopping Null, nor any WBAIte, from posting here. I bet Chris would even allow R. Paul Martin to post here. I think it's more a matter of WBAItes not having the balls to come into the open and trying spew their crap unquestioned. Remember how Randy Credico made a total ass of himself a couple of weeks ago here? And he's one of the smarter ones.
ReplyDeleteMy personal belief is that Null is simply a psychopath and cult leader in need of attention and worship. I do think that he believes most of his own canard, but is a fraud in trying to make people think that he comes up with all this stuff.
I think the most important thing about the table set is how the post begins with his wanting to "give" it away. Then we get an auction price. "Give" means free, not auction. You can see the fraud in that.
PRN is a load of nothing. There are no ratings for webcasts, so his claims fall flat. How many of the shows on it are simulcast on real radio stations? Even a few WBAI and Pacifica shows are simulcast on little radio stations. PRN shows? I'd like to know. I bet Babbling Bob is on more stations than PRN shows, excepting Null himself.
I think for once Reimers made a right 20% of a decision in canning Null on Friday. He should make the other 80% and totally get rid of him. If not, have a show with real medical doctors follow his show and examine his claims with real medical science. Also, WBAI should have one of those little disclaimers before and after his show - "The following program doesn't necessarily represent the views of the management of this station nor its staff..." just like stations do before and after infomercials.
One day during a 1980s broadcast Null told of how he was in a park and went to a vendor to get french fries. When he noticed the oil was nearly black from use and age, he changed his mind. Null claims to be against french fries. Go figure.
SDL
I called up Samori Marksman, I would guess about 1993 and suggested he get some mainstream cancer authorities on the show to debate Null. he asked he where he could get them? I answered that he could call the medical director of Sloan-Kettering. then he answered me, "But they wouldn't be alternative". I said to him, "Goodbye Samori. Thanks for the conversation". Don't bother ever suggesting Gary ever debate any legitimate authority. I am a retired MD and I asked Gary a question about diet and HIV/AIDS therapy that was phrased in some orthodox medical vernacular. He slammed the phone down and said on the air that I was a plant from the pharmaceutical industry plotting to get him.
DeleteYears ago I was listening to Gary on WABC. I was a "Null-ite" at the time. He was hawking his "special" offers, so I called in to order some green stuff. A gentleman took my order and then asked if I was interested in another product that was to be offered. I declined and politely ended the conversation. A little later during the program, in a burst of supposed spur of the moment spontaneity, Gary offered that same product. I was immediately de-Nulled.
Deletejust tuned in to hear Mitch jessirich talking about ... Wait for it.................
ReplyDeleteSlavery. I think about 40 percent of his shows now are about blackness ..
. He could do better . Maybe he doesn't know that he is one of many in
a long line of racist programming , and by the time 4 oclock rolls around on bai
if you have been listening all day ,Slavery is probably the last thing you want to hear. so sad.
The North Sudanese A-rabs are enslaving the south Sudanese animists and Christians as we are speaking. Forget Tara and Gone with the Wind. Complain about that. How about the Nigerian Boko Haram with all those young girls? Oh yeah. I forgot. It's a "black thang".
DeleteKGT
The biggest Gary Null rooter at WBAI is Bob Lederer. I am curious as to why? I can guess.
ReplyDeleteKGT