The WBAI Treasurer's Report - October 11, 2017
An unvarnished blog that dips into the past and comments on the present of WBAI-FM, a once significant, intelligent New York radio station that for years has suffered chronic abuse from within and now nears extinction. Your comments are welcomed and will not be censored.
"The General manager said that WBAI was going to partner with the Apollo Theater for a semi-political event." I told you it wasn't a WBAI shindig but something they latched onto.
ReplyDeleteThe Yellow Magnet fiasco is interesting. Obviously, Yellow Magnet took WBAI for marks and profited off them. The question is how ignorant you have to be to hire and pay a group to publicize you on social media when there are plenty of "promoters" who will do it for free for just a link back to them or some such thing. Of course, maybe, someone at WBAI got an under the table kickback for hiring them.
I'd like to know the pledge fulfillment rate, too. I remember back in the early 1980s someone and his friends called in making up about 50% of the pledges during a beg-a-thon using fake names, addresses, etc. When discovered, WBAI had to immediately do another beg-a-thon.
SDL
If your organization accepts or processes payment cards, you must comply with PCI / DSS Standards.
DeleteSomehow I don't think a room full of WBAI volunteers meets the PCI Security Standards Council requirements
Do you think Babbling Bob is jealous that Jim Freund is having this celebratory shindig for him?
ReplyDeleteSDL
You were right regarding WBAI's link to the glorification of the people who call themselves "Afrika" and messed up a Philly neighborhood. That city's actual bombing of the house these dysfunctional lived in resulted in the outrageous destruction of the entire block, as I recall, but the opportunism that generated is not something to celebrate. As I theorized, WBAI's attachment was just more opportunism. Reimers doesn't know what the hell he is doing, but he may be in the early stages of realizing how much damage he has done to the station.
DeleteThe Yellow Magnet deal shows that outside opportunists can reverse the ill-gotten profits. Reimers and Bates should be made to face the music, even after being given the boot. Under the table kickback? I am sure that is a strong possibility—these are thugs and thieves.
Yes, they should absolutely be made to give accurate, detailed accounting of their handling of the listeners' money. This evening, I heard an out and out commercial for "Kingfish", a play based on Amos and Andy. The only thing missing from this non-WBAI-related business was the ticket price, but they gave out a number for buying admission.
Babbling Bob sees himself as a star, although he and his show haven't twinkled for many years. I wonder if WBAI pays for any of the setup that allows him do his sorry show from his house in Staten Island?
DeleteSo, yes, he was probably unhappy to see the spotlight—dim though it is at this point—directed at Jim Freund. I heard about an hour of that celebration—it had a "weren't we great" air about it, but I found it more interesting than most of the crap the station squeezes out between dead air encores.
Yes, the police burning up the block The Move's house was on was a major inept fuck up. Truth is the other people in the neighborhood had been asking the police to move in and do something for quite some time. Initially, the police had community support, but then the used a bomb and lost it all when they burned out all those innocent people. WBAI having to go back so far in time to this is just exploitation, however.
DeleteKingfish? Is he the next GM? He's certainly a scam artist and scoundrel, who would be fitting. Just ask Andy.
Babbling Bob is just a guy with an ego trying to hold on to his long gone stardom, like a child actor who hasn't meant anything in thirty years but goes to Chiller Theater conventions to try and sell some autographs to anyone who may remember him.
The Freund thing was a mixed bag, but I have to admit to liking the stories, especially from Max. I can relate to them since I was one of the people who would have to call in for the elevator to be sent down, while standing on the street hoping not to get robbed or killed. I remember one night, Lenny Lopate had a guest who got mugged while awaiting the elevator. Needless to say, the guest was kind of annoyed and the interview didn't go off well.
SDL
Your Bob analogy is, sadly, right on.
DeleteYes, the stories were good and, to me, illustrative of the mindset changes WBAI staff underwent—I probably sound old-fashioned, but I was horrified when I discovered that Frank Millspaugh (an admitted mescaline addict) allowed drugs to be used and sold at WBAI. My concern was for the FCC license, which was worth a lot more back then and made the station very vulnerable. We were offered as much as a million for the license alone—that is peanuts today, but for an FM signal in the mid-Sixties, it was almost unheard of. We resisted because we knew the enormous value of having a station in the NY area market.
I wonder if those we heard paying tribute to Freund really believe that there is going to be a Pacifica station at 99.5 a year from now?
When did this air? I'd like to check it out in the archives.
Delete~ 'indigo'
I think it was Cat Radio Café at 2 this afternoon.
Delete3PM-5PM to be exact.
DeleteSDL
Got it now, both hours, thanks :)
Delete~ 'indigo'
Chris,
ReplyDeleteSteve Brown was very vocal about Bernard White; but he is silent on Reimers, Bates, and Katz?
Did Brown want a bankrupt WBAI?
Thank you.
Ed Manfredonia
I think Gary Null needs WBAI and that this is a factor. Pure supposition on my part.
DeleteI agree about drugs (or anything illegal) at a radio station. Back then, "they" really existed and did want WBAI off the air.
ReplyDeleteSome interesting twitter followers stats and how WBAI rates:
Alex Jones 729K
Democracy Now! 618K
WNYC 171K
Coast to Coast AM 128K
WFMU 86.3K
KPFA 10.2K
WBAI 7,872
KPFK 7.670
Gary Null 5,358
WPFW 3,842
Impacto 2 1,468 (low power Ecuadoran targeted pirate station)
Note: KPFT doesn't seem to have a twitter account.
I noticed that Geoff Brady's show hasn't been on for three weeks now, basically since the beg-a-thon started. Maybe there is a reason, maybe not.
ReplyDeleteSDL
It's a long-standing problem, actually. Many people get Reptilians and Republicans mixed up. The WBAI remnants have a problem owning up to the fact that the latter sometimes tickle their fancy.
DeleteBesides, they're pissed off because those refurbished auras have not been shipped—that's a waste of $250 per.
HAHA!
DeleteHowever, I wonder if Bates feels that he can make more money with the first Americans were African stuff. It's odd for someone to not be on three weeks in a row during a beg-a-thon.
Who knows. maybe Brady zapped himself into oblivion...
SDL
Self-inflicted zapping is quite common at WBAI. Ask the Yellow Magnets—it is rumored that one of them was a gung ho self-zapper whose overindulgence affected his sight. The other one was in the wrong spot when a misguided zap abruptly brought a levitating Kathy down to earth. Well, she bounced back up, but the now black and blue Magnet was crushed. That's when Reimers, ever the opportunist, grabbed back the cheque.
DeleteThere is much more to this story, but It's time to call it a day.
As Bates suggested last week, Brady is on now (9:30 AM, Monday), spreading his geo-engineering, chem-trail, weather control nonsense. I guess Bates decided to add a second lunatic fringe to his core of extreme Afrocentric idiots. What is next? Holocaust deniers?
ReplyDeleteI am listening to this irresponsible scam. Brady and Bates are stooping as low as possible, but this is an outrageous example of unlimited, unchalleged deceit designed for no other purpose than to pick the listener’s pockets.
DeleteWhere is the protest from others who profess to care about WBAI and, for that matter, telling the truth.
Totally disgusting!
WBAI should be shut down and taken off of the air as soon as possible.
DeleteMargaret Prescod is making yet another "last call" for "Cuba, An African Odyssey". And, newsflash - Fidel Castro is still alive. These people are beyond parody. The are too absurd as they are.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned .... tomorrow prescod will be covering the coffee habits of crossing guards in Kansas,
ReplyDeleteGonna have a black lives matter spokesperson on to give their perspective. lmao!
In other news.... They are rebroadcasting a shameful Brady/Bates fraud regarding homemade climate change. Last infomercial marathon's bogus gadget, the "zapper" (spell that with an "s") was yanked by Bill Crosier, as well it should have been, so Brady—and staff crook Bates, with whom he so effortlessly lies—have found and embroidered another swindle with which to victimize WBAI's gullible left-over listenership.
DeletePrescod? Well, she has her own assembly line going—people like her are not doing race relations a favor. It's all about maintaining access to a microphone and—unable to do so with worthwhile, intelligent radio programs—the resort to fraud, which seems to come naturally to such morally bankrupt hustlers.
Weather manipulation is a common topic on George Noory's Coast to Coast AM show. Brady is so non-creative that he must simply listen to Noory and decide to copy the topics he does.
DeleteSDL
Just switched on the radio and hear Brady selling shit. However, I did hear a promo from Max mentioning a new fund raising committee. Yup, a Pacifica station needs yet another committee.
ReplyDeleteSDL
This new committee will undoubtedly seek more fraudulent ways in which to get something for nothing.
DeleteI hope the prison system is making room for this callous band of criminals.
The committee has been active for some time now trying to raise money off air and from major donors.
DeleteSo this committee is not all that new—has it had any success? If so, does it know how the money was spent?
DeleteWhat is it, Geoff Brady Lunacy Day on WBAI? Every time I turn the station on all I hear is his shit. Of course, I don't hear any genuine scientists or meteorologists.
ReplyDeleteSDL
The Brady bunch aren't into reality—if you hear anyone claiming to be a scientist, his/her "degree" had its origin in a matchbook lid. Meteorologist? That would trace back to Tex Antoine and Uncle Wethbee.
DeleteWBAI is even worse than televangelists hawking prayer blankets and such crap.
DeleteNow I'm hearing Bates doing the "they" are interfering with beeps on the WBAI telephones, and that "they" cut WBAI's lines so they couldn't broadcast. Oh, and Brady suffered "federal interference," whatever the hell that is. needless to say, he didn't elucidate.
It's funny these clowns make these nonsense claims. From what I remember, there really was some kind of arson against WBAI in the early 70s(?) that was done. If I recall it was done by a staff or former staff member.
SDL
They are working the weather scam pretty hard. I guess they decided the "Africans as indigenous Americans" scam was played out. What will they come up with next?
DeleteTheir scare tactics are unconscionable. Notice how Bates becomes chameleonic and takes on whatever colors Brady and other frauds show. There is no consideration given WBAI and its listeners. It's grab their money and run the next scam.
DeleteThey really do disgust me.
Where's Crosier on this one?
DeleteBates must sit back and laugh his ass off over the crap he pushes. In the end, I guess it's his revenge against WBAI for his having been pushed out.
SDL
It is now clear that any hope that Crosier would clean up the cesspool at WBAI was misplaced. Crosier doesn't know, or doesn't care, or is incapable of doing anything about it.
DeleteI know what WBAI needs to hawk next, that great early 1970s documentary Soylent Green, hosted by luminaries like Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson.
DeleteSDL
Regretfully, I have to agree. Too much vandalism has been allowed to continue at the hands of people like Reimers and Bates—Bob had enough evidence of their ineptitude and cross-purposes motivation to get them out of there from day one of his becoming iED.
DeleteSoylent Green? Isn't that a Null premium?
DeleteWhat's that Brady? Solar radiation producing vitamin D deficiency in humans? Really? Really?
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear the whole thing Chris even thought it was broadcast three times in one day. That's three times of Brady's conspiracy theater. Did Bates say that Bill McKibben's theories on climate change are bogus because he's funded by the Rockefeller Foundation? Did he call the Pacifica board, the ones that pay him, close-minded?
ReplyDeleteApparently so. I just came across a post by Rachel Barr that mentions this. It is lengthy, so I am going to start a discussion with it.
DeleteThank you, anonymous, thank you Rachel Barr, and thank you Frank Lefever for posting Rachel's observations on PaciticaRadioWaves, where I found it.
I know its recorded but it sounds like Bates is just camped out in the studio trying to sound interested in Gary Null's crap? Is he gulping down the coffee while pushing the de-stress stuff?
ReplyDeleteIs he struggling with his notes in order to keep all the conspiracy stuff straight in his head? Is he anxiously watching the clock waiting for the cafe to open downstairs?
Linked-In
ReplyDeleteBerthold Reimers
General Manager
Company Name WBAI Radio 99.5 FM
Dates Employed Jul 2010 – Present
Employment Duration •7 yrs 4 mos
Manage a staff of over 230 employees. Oversee the administration of personnel, programming, finance, public relation, and technical and general operation of the station. Work closely with the staff, the Local Station Board, and the community. Lobby major donors, well known artists, politicians and socialites to solicit grants and donations. Increased net cash input by 20%. Prepare budget, financial projections and coordinate strategic planning and analysis.
------------
That +20% net cash increase? Really??
I posted it as soon as I stopped laughing. :)
Delete