This morning, Sunday, November 18, 2018, WBAI's Program Director, Linda Perry, gave the station's Morning Show hosts notice, and posted the following.
I am trying to have a new schedule in place to begin in January, but it's all exhausting. On a positive note we have our old 212 phone numbers back, most of the phones have been installed and just need to be tweaked this coming week. We have also begun to build Master in the front space. So far windows have been sound proofed. Equipment has been ordered and the room has been painted. Rugs come this week. Begathon begins in December for two weeks again however and I don't think I can change how this is done much between now and then. Regards,Linda
You may have noticed positive changes already, but you more than likely remain skeptical. Having been there and done that, I know what an enormous, time-consuming task it is to revamp the program schedule, even without being in any way hampered by Pacifica or coworkers at the station. We had a good-sized salaried and volunteer staff back in the Sixties and there existed a spirit of unity—a dedication to serve our listener-sponsors with quality programming. Only later would I discover how tenuous that common goal was—that we had among our 25 salaried staff two or three harmful opportunists. Today, it is not a matter of making a good station better, it is more of a rescue effort aimed at making WBAI a good station again and restoring a disenchanted departed listenership. To achieve that, it is imperative that WBAI regard the community as a whole and aim at intellect rather than race-based in-groups.
If the powers that be give Linda the financial and moral assistance she needs, and leave her free to make final program decisions, she stands a chance to take the essential turnaround to a point where people once again begin to look to WBAI for intellectual stimulation. If she is allowed to do this without interference, talent will seek out the station—New York, of course, is a wellspring of creativity and original thought.
I strongly urge that we help, even those of us who are disgusted with the way WBAI has been vandalized and rendered inconsequential. If it takes the firing of Berthold Reimers and/or others to fuel listener assistance, I suggest that people make that known to Pacifica. Yes, I know that ineptitude and corruption also has infested the Foundation, but there are a few good people left. —Chris Albertson
If the powers that be give Linda the financial and moral assistance she needs, and leave her free to make final program decisions, she stands a chance to take the essential turnaround to a point where people once again begin to look to WBAI for intellectual stimulation. If she is allowed to do this without interference, talent will seek out the station—New York, of course, is a wellspring of creativity and original thought.
I strongly urge that we help, even those of us who are disgusted with the way WBAI has been vandalized and rendered inconsequential. If it takes the firing of Berthold Reimers and/or others to fuel listener assistance, I suggest that people make that known to Pacifica. Yes, I know that ineptitude and corruption also has infested the Foundation, but there are a few good people left. —Chris Albertson
***We have also begun to build Master in the front space. So far windows have been sound proofed. Equipment has been ordered and the room has been painted. Rugs come this week.***
ReplyDeleteNot a word on Fybush, NYRMB, or any of the other industry websites.
And most importantly, not a building permit to be found on line for that street address.
Programming certainly needs improving. Here's the listening figures for WBAI (& all stations bar KPFK), maintained by National Office dude, Otis Maclay.
ReplyDeletehttp://stats.pacifica.org/
Unfortunately the source of the data isn't given, nor the size of listener sample, the methodology used, & whether the figures include programme downloads from the station website (or elsewhere). Also the y-axis isn't labelled – can it really be the absolute number of (estimated) listeners?
The data can be displayed over various time periods: intra-hourly, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, & the last 12 months. (Older data don't seem to be available.)
Cursory inspection shows:
1) WBAI today, Tuesday, had two hourly peaks, Democracy Now!, & Gary Null. Roughly, DN! = 420, GN¡ = 190. (WBAI's New Hope, Mr Lopate = 150.) The rest of Tuesday is 45 before 6am, & otherwise 80; &
2) today, the other stations (KPFK is absent, remember) rarely exceeded 140, with the norm during daylight being KPFA 140, KPFT 50, & WPFW 45. Can this really be the number of listeners, estimated minute-by-minute???
The existence of this mine of info was disclosed during last Sunday's KPFK LSB by director Grace-from-South-Central (1:04):
https://kpftx.org/archives/pnb/kpfk/181118/kpfk181118c.mp3
Important data, Jara. I'll post it up front where more visitors will see it.
DeleteThose numbers are streaming. Over the air stuff shows KPFK and WBAI with about a .1% share of listeners (they are only stations subscribing to ratings - so other stations are not publicly available). that works out to 110,000 to 130,000 unique listeners per week for each for over the air.
ReplyDelete*** Over the air stuff shows KPFK and WBAI with about a .1% share of listeners ***
ReplyDelete0.1 is the bottom edge of the Arbitron Scale. It does not go any lower.