Clear vision

The following, posted elsewhere, is too much on the mark to be ignored by anyone who really cares about Pacifica's future. Like many of us, Stephen D. Cohen—a KPFA area eye doctor—is often driven to responding to Pacifica's current crisis in jest. That may seem inappropriate, but the laughter is a nervous one, a reflection of the drawn out, ludicrous scenario that is being played out while Pacifica sinks. This observation is no laughing matter, but a sobering look that I highly recommend you—especially the PNB players—read carefully and reflect on with the door open:

In my opinion, based on listening to the audio record so far, The Strategic Planning Committee, cannot, by definition, work and will not help. 

Why? Because this strategic planning committee, along with all its predecessors, is populated with the same old stubborn zealots who support each other’s same old magical thinking: that Pacifica programming, as currently produced, can succeed and lead to days of plenty—if only it can be deployed in the “right” configuration. 

Or this whopper: Content that has failed locally can succeed nationally. Even Travis’ idea of panels  to discuss issues of the day won’t work. Why? Because you know the only voices allowed on those panels will be those of the far left, who will no doubt spin up the same circular diatribe and Pacificanista  “debate” which is no debate at all.

It’s simply carping and shrill—as both sides circle up and fire upon each other in vicious “lefter than thou” hooliganism. 

Or seek to root out and destroy the racists and counter revolutionaries on the committee with them—or those who oppose the fantastical Afro-centric history and self delusion that are a signature Pacifica product. 

You see, Pacifica programming is perfect as is.  It’s perfect  if your goal is to engage an ultra-extremely small sliver of the public. A slice so small that if it were apple pie, Jenny Craig would blush and fear ridicule for her stinginess. A pancake so thin that if IHOP dared serve it, they’d be accused of serving a pancake that only has one side to it. 

A set of programs so narrowly appealing that the stations don’t even make the lowest rung on rating services such as Nielsen, Arbitron and the like. Pacifica’s ratings are lost in the noise at the bottom. They don’t rise to the stature of signal. 

That is how miniscule Pugililistica’s appeal is 

By the way, selling ads has only a glimmer of hope. Companies won’t pay much to reach a station with 300 people listening in each quarter hour; out of 30 million.  

Besides Pacifica is likely to only allow ads from Mama Claptrap’s Hashish Brownie shop. And eschew the big bucks offered by Texaco and its brethren.  Who only seek to teach super lefties that they should only trust their rickshaws to the man who wears the star. (And yes, theirs is a golden star, not Mao He’s Dung’s bloody red one)

As long as the same zealots and mentally disturbed members of its “therapeutic community” run the asylum of Puglistica...

....populate governance, 

....defrock and strip “voice from the voiceful”  executive directors who would dare speak truth to the brutally stubborn power mongers of Pugilistica, 

....insist that Pugilistica’s ED is a neutered lap dog who goes in the oven for dinner if he dares bark, 

....reject, factionalize in order to discredit, repudiate and then fire CPAs for their evidence based advice—advice that is of course suspect because it’s based in the science of finance rather than the tooth fairy economics of borrowing oneself into prosperity.. 

...the flushing of the network will continue and no doubt pick up speed. 

Without a broadening of message and hence appeal this circle cannot hold. 

 —Stephen D Cohen