Today's Morning Show was hosted by Laura Flanders, who leaves amateur-for-life Haskins in the dust when it comes to intelligence and broadcasting skills. She represented a somewhat refreshing departure from WBAI's racist approach when she came aboard a few weeks back, but she now seems to be joining the party line.
Listen to her rude handling of a caller who asked a question that many of us would like an answer to. This was no crank call, the lady is obviously familiar with WBAI and puzzled by the direction it has taken. Here is her call in its entirety, the hypocrisy of WBAI surfaces at the end.
Take a look at her wife, Elizabeth Streb, and you'll be surprised at nothing.
ReplyDeleteKGT
Looks like a circa 1977 Max's Kansas City punk rock wannabe.
Delete(You know I don't say things about peoples' looks, but this is just too funny...)
SDL
What's funny is that in cutting off discussion of the station itself, WBAI, via Flanders, acts exactly like a typical, corporate, right-wing outlet. The hypocrisy is stunning.
ReplyDeleteAlso funny... and this is the part I will never understand... in narrowcasting to the blinkered, largely under-employed and unemployed "reparations community", BAI guarantees its eventual destruction.
Had its program director a brain, he would be courting intelligent, well-heeled New York leftists of substance, with a lineup of talent like James Ursay and Jim Freund, not alienating them with race-obsessed idiots. How utterly ignorant; how self-destructive.
The current interim PD is Jeannie Hopper, who exhibits a more open mind than Reimers (the GM), but real changes will not take place until these self-tenured people are replaced. Had Ms. Hopper's mind been on the right track (i.e. road to recovery) she would have done away with or drastically educated her own "Liquid Lounge" Saturday show, but she obviously is too near-sighted... then, too, I have a strong feeling that this show is a source of personal income: her dance and boat ride events are not bringing money to WBAI, neither are they philanthropic.
DeleteAs you suggest, New York is a rich source for talent, old and new, so it does not make any sense at all for them to lower the programming to suit a fraction of the dwindling listenership that shares their delusion. "Reparations community" is a good tag for these hapless victims and the morally bankrupt scammers who aim their blather at them.
I haven't mentioned the Pacifica National Board, but it, too, needs to be disinfected.
I haven't said this in a while, so it bears repeating. WBAItes are cultists who circulate in a small, detached from reality milieu. Hence, they really do believe reparations are a major issue, because said milieu focuses on the topic. They really have no idea of the realities of the outside world.
DeleteHopper sucks, in my opinion. She brought us crap like The Blacks.
SDL
Before Hopper brought us crap like The Blacks, she brought us crap like "Liquid Sound Lounge," which has gone on and on and on for years. She may also have brought us the "Haitian All-Stars" show, a shallow bit of chit-chat that pretends to have meaning, and she either endorsed or condoned the outrageous history re-writes that come from Bates and Daniels, not to mention the faux spirituality of Kathy Davis, or Geoff Brady's reptilians.
DeleteA good PD begins by eliminating inherited ear sores.
I would be very surprised if the Pacifica-ordered re-evaluation of the station's overall programming is acted upon.
Reimers gets away with ignoring Pacifica all he wants. He has yet to be punished.
DeleteSDL
Yes, and it certainly isn't his personality that allows him to collect $110,000.00 annually without lifting a pinkie.
DeleteIf Pacifica were a yakuza clan, Reimers should be forced to cut off said pinky in shame...
DeleteSDL
Good one, SDL :)
DeleteJeanne Hopper was one of the many girlfriends of Samori Marksman. He used to entertain her in his office along with Donna Niemmann and Cerene Roberts. Jeanne owes Samori for the advancement of her career.
DeleteThat sounds plausible.
Deletejust sat down to eat lunch, tuned into bai to see if anything interesting was on .
ReplyDeleteEqual time for free thought.. talking about the confederate flag ,quickly turning
into a skin color , black lives whining conversation.
You just can't escape it on this station . Incredible!
WBAI doesn't even have a proper atheist program. However, they do have Christian, Muslim and New Age shows...
ReplyDeleteSDL
Not only is that pattern set in their stagnant minds, it is getting more obvious day by day. It has already killed WBAI as a source of intellectual enlightenment, removed a lingering vestige of credibility, and made the finality of plug pulling imperative.
DeleteWhy should they have an atheist program? What is there to say after you say you don't believe in God unless you don't want me to believe in God? What would you call it 'Thank God I'm an atheist'?:)
DeleteTo discuss topics as legislation supporting religion, persecution of people who don't follow a religious line, religion and taxation, etc.
DeleteSDL
They won't have a multi-sided discussion of it, but they will promote any religion if they think it will bring in money.
DeleteOh, then they need a Scientology show! Maybe they can sell time to Brother Stair (aka Brother Scare, Brother Staircase, etc.)? All the stations that have him on love him for being a great payer.
DeleteSDL
Only corruption on "The Hill" could have made it possible for Scientology to be classified as a religion. I have known two victims of that scam. I am not familiar with Brother Stair.
DeleteI believe a barrage of lawsuits is what gained Scientology tax free religious status.
DeleteBrother Stair is an end of the world and Jesus is coming in our generation extremist Christian radio preacher with a compound in South Carolina. He's well known for buying masses of time on indie shortwave stations. Starting last year, he brings his compound members to these howling & crying meetings that sound like the Jim Jones ones near the final Kool Aid Acid Test days.
Mention Brother Stair to anyone into shortwave listening and watch their face cringe...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Stair
SDL
I'm not as familiar with the internal politics of the station or Pacifica board as some of you are. As an outsider, I can guess only that changes aren't made because those who have the power to make the changes owe something to somebody who helped them get into their positions. Given that Jeannie Hopper has been with the station for many years, it's not hard to imagine that someone can hold something over her.
ReplyDeleteI always had the impression that Ms. Hopper might be a lot of fun at a party, especially if you're under the influence, but she doesn't have much substance.
I used to think that Jeannie Hopper had more substance than her show indicate, but I now believe that not to be the case. Her show is an inappropriate (for Pacifica) mishmash of bland music and shallow chatter—I really think it's part of a personal business venture and, as you point out, it has been on for many years.
DeleteI don't think anyone is holding something over Hopper, but that she—like so many other WBAI producers—is the beneficiary of favoritism, driven by an enlarged, albeit subtle ego.