Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Trapped in the WBAI mumbo jumble?


A reader of this blog has posted advice to the insiders he left behind. The degree of Solomon's wisdom is up to you to judge, but the way things have gone...

The best thing I ever did was to sever all ties to WBAI a few years ago. It freed me up to do some very cool stuff, and I have never been happier in my life. 

There are some good, misguided people who are still plugging away as volunteer producers, and for these former acquaintances, I encourage you to just politely remove yourself from the station, immediately. You are not getting paid for this hobby, and for every single one of you it is a source of toxicity in your life, and a total waste of time. Even those who are getting paid, like Reggie and Max, could find better jobs that wouldn't be so awful on a day to day basis. Someone like Max, who has a real fanbase, could do his oldies show as a podcast with a bigger audience. And just move on to something better. In a couple years you will look back on your feuding and fighting and the serious way you thought about WBAI politics with a deep sense of shame. You won't care who controls WBAI, because you will realize how worthless it all is, compared to the new things in your life. In fact, you will look forward to the day when there is no embarrassing record of your time at WBAI.


You will miss it at first, yes. It is a kind of addiction for many of you, and withdrawals from addiction can be difficult in the short term. But in the long term, you will find something much, much better to do with your precious time on this earth, believe me.  —Solomon

25 comments:

  1. Amen!! Place is toxic -started with Robert Knight and his band of hoolligans. Glad he is dead, along with Samori and Valerie Van Isler - too many third world thugs and thieves.

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    1. Knight's absence was a plus for WBAI's listeners, but I wish he had just recognized reality and walk off.

      The thugs and thieves WBAI harbors come in all hues and are equally detrimental to the station and its dwindling listenership. That said, I still maintain that turning WBAI into a third-rate black outlet for racism and propaganda, with an imbecile as token manager is proving to be that last nail in the coffin.

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  2. Did reimers lay eggs in prarie millers brain ? I'm confused , is the International Women's Day ?
    or has black history month been extended forever?

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  3. A minor point here: calling this day International Working Women's Day seems a sort of unwitting retreat from reality. IWD is not a class-exclusive recognition. IWWD reeks of self-regarding r-r-revolutionary posturing.

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  4. How long is Women's Menstrual Bitching Day programming going on today? I saw OTH is being preempted for it (no real loss, except when they have Rambam or Mitnick on), and expect The Geriatric Computer Show is also (absolutely no loss).

    SDL

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  5. I have to confess: I haven't been listening to the station at all. It hurts to listen to the hosts I still like and respect, such as James Irsay and Max Schmid, pitching for the station. It just seems so beneath them.

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    1. I know exactly what you mean, Justine, One has to wonder why they do it. Things would be so much better today if the good people hadn't fallen in line.. It takes much away from my admiration—remember when Delphine Blue walked away? My respect for her grew. I hope Bill Crosier can do something when he comes to NY—he made a big difference when he initiated a cleanup at KPFK.

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  6. (JustAListener)
    Does seem it's getting to the time Crosier needs to touch the third rail of Pacifica - Berthold Reimers.
    So far Reimers' had a force field that fried any ED that dared try to remove him.

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    1. I don't see how Bill Crosier has a choice—many of us have long wondered what might make this clueless so-called GM untouchable. The reality is that nothing can improve at WBAI until Reimers is out of there. That should be the first step, followed by a long line of misfits and thugs.

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  7. It sickens and annoys me that in the final hours of WBAI's winter fundraiser that Tony Bates is pushing this highly suspect "World Financial Group" coaching premium (for $100) which is supposed to show listeners how to manage their personal money affairs while his boss, Berthold Reimers, has been one of the biggest abusers of financial mismanagement in the history of the station. Two hours of total BS.

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    1. I, too, have questions about the "World Financial Group", a scammy-sounding guy originally brought in by Kathy Davis. Davis and Bates teamed up to push the infamous "cure-all" tap water known as Double Helix—that tells us a whole lot about those two.

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    2. WBAI couldn't afford to send Reimers for financial coaching. Besides, Reimers is an accountant and should know better, after all.

      SDL

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    3. According to his résumé, he comes pre-coached in matters of finance. Unfortunately, his curriculum vitae, written by himself, is largely fiction. He has held that position at WBAI for a few years, but appears not to have learned anything

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    4. OK, turned on the radio a while ago and heard the financial coaching extendomercial (still going on). I know about this stuff and how it's an old sometimes scam, sometimes not. Basically, they get you in for a one time financial checkup. After that, they try to sell you on their ongoing regular financial service to help you, at a fee, of course. Some companies genuinely try to save and/or make you money, so as to justify what you're paying them. Some just take you for what they can while they can (i.e before you get smart). it's similar to Scientology - get you in the first time for a Campbell's soup can and wire test and then sell you the goods.

      SDL

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    5. The price is $100 for which you get a one-hour consultation and a DVD, "The Secret" which can be dowloaded free or bought elsewhere for a fraction of WBAI's price.

      When I heard that, concluded that the free one hour must be a hook. I have the same feeling about Null's "gifts"—they need to be renewed, so getting a bottle to a customer and adding a reorder coupon is as good as offering a free sample.

      Bates and the WFG guy sounded very much like a couple of con men.

      Here's how an anonymous blog reader put it:

      "They’re a MLM (‘Multi-Level-Marketing) scheme, neither more nor less, in plainest words a pyramid-structured ripoff, one of many that attempt to skirt regulations and the law while ripping off ‘little people’.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Financial_Group

      Avoid them like death."

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    6. Good information. Like I said, Bates and guest are selling you a service, not just a consultation. I wonder how this works out with FCC regulations, since it's a for profit enterprise.

      Don't tell WBAI about how all those supplement advertisements offer you a free sample if you pay the postage, and, in small print, tell you that you will be enrolled in their program that sends you a monthly shipment at full price, unless you cancel. Needless to say, you can never get the cancellation to actually work out, and you keep getting shipments and charges on your credit card.

      SDL

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  8. Glad that Paul DeReinzo is back on the air - he does good programming. He promised Reimers he would remove the stench of Mario Murillo from the air.

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  9. Now the question becomes , who's gonna remove the stench of reimers from the air?

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    1. His vandalism won't be repaired soon, but the spirit should rise at the mere reality of his trip to obscurity. That is, if they can get rid of him—there has to be a reason why such a deadweight idiot was able to stay for years.

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    2. Perhaps Reimers has threatened them with a "Vodou" curse if they don't desist the efforts against him.

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    3. Has anyone ever checked if he's involved with any Haitian gangs?

      SDL

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    4. Or the right wing stench of PDR whose MO includes writing calumnious comments about people like Mario and Samori and making unsubstantiated accusations about them. He also likes to write self promoting comments like the one above. No one else would.

      TPM
      --

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    5. There are a whole line of people who would like to sue WBAI for sexual harassment against Samori Marksman, unfortunately he is dead.

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  10. I too had to leave WBAI. I had a program for a long time in the middle of the night and loved doing the show, but the politics of the station and the lack of camaraderie of the staff finally made me wonder, "why am I doing this?". It was hard to quit, and I still miss it, but the atmosphere was not good.

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    1. I'm surprised you miss it. I guess I miss some of the friends I had at the station, but overall I am just so much happier. For me, I now work on similar topics as the theme of the show I worked on, so I still get that intellectual stimulation. But I feel so much more productive, and appreciated. I can see how one might miss the intellectual stimulation if you don't have any other creative outlet. Maybe you should think about doing a podcast, or journalism if that fits your interests...

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