Amid rumors of Hennelly's firing (possibly just someone's wishful thinking) comes a somewhat shallow Politico article. It is a not so focused look through the WBAI keyhole, but it adds a couple of pieces to the puzzle.
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.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
A listener's comment on the severance outrage...
While my deleted post was highly critical, I hope I did not give the impression that I want the station to fail. I don't. There are a lot of voices and programs that I will miss terribly if the station is sold off and/or the slate is "wiped clean"... and even for those programs that don't particularly interest me, I believe it is an important part of the mission to give voice to the voiceless... celebrating fatness, empowering the disabled, telling the stories of First Nation people, the struggles of various ethnicities you otherwise never hear about... it's all good... that is what free speech is all about!
I love a lot of the music shows at night and on the weekends, Labbrish, Simon, Irsay, Bob Fass, David Rothenberg, Ifé and of course the highly underrated and ingenious Uncle Sidney, just off the top of my head... I would really miss hearing Max's voice and his show too. I would hope they would at least retain some of the more creative and interesting people for the programming schedule... there are a lot of very talented and hardworking people at WBAI who are not getting the credit or the respect they deserve mixed in with those who don't deserve what they get. But that's life, I guess.
My anger and frustration is really directed toward the Management and whoever else is responsible for screwing the workers out of their severance pay... even worse, behaving in such a cruel and heartless manner and putting them in a position to be thrown out in the street with no income... the management's wall of silence not addressing the issue and creating an unnecessary crisis in the lives of some of the most decent, loyal and hardworking people who have been with the station for 20+ and 30+ years. These are real people, human beings, friends, colleagues, comrades who have given WBAI the best years of their lives which have now been turned upside down, and adding insult to injury the immediate crisis they have been thrown into is being marginalized and ignored... that is an injustice of the highest order. If Summer Reese is indeed working hard to resolve the severance problem, she has my most sincere gratitude and respect for that.
I get the part that there is no money... really I do. But surely the management was fully aware of the length of time that the unemployment benefits would last and had plenty of time to act accordingly... to put SOMETHING towards funding that severance... to at least make sure the most vulnerable would be taken care of in some way... plus cutting off the medical insurance and medication of a former employee who had to be taken away in an ambulance as a result.. WHY??? The way this entire fiasco is being handled by a self serving and uncaring management is an outrage and no way or what you say can change the fact of that.
Severance issue and injustices aside, I have no dog in this race and would be perfectly happy if the station would have a successful fund drive and continue on just the way that it is. I love the kinder, gentler approach of fundraising.. and if only it had been tried a few years ago, when there was a higher listenership and less desperate situation, I believe it could have worked. I do believe Mr Hennelly, er, Bob, means well, has a lot of great ideas and is trying his best to do the impossible... I like the way he is encouraging more openness and dialog with the listeners but sadly the listeners are just not there in sufficient numbers to raise enough money for survival. Hopefully they will call out the cavalry soon... I mean they really do need to do that, like, yesterday... or is it gonna be "the big fool said to push on"? (Farewell, Pete)
I also wish Gary Null would come back on the air... I am sure he is aware how bad this thing is tanking and I bet he would not refuse if he were asked for help. I like him better when he is teaching and not pitching... it's not so much the health programming in general that is bad, but its constant association with pitching that is destroying the credibility of the subject. A reasonable amount of health programming is a very good thing... the constant dependency on it to raise money is a problem. The Gary Null show is excellent and really should be a part of the station and the network, however having his reruns take up 60+% of the airtime pitching premiums even grates on my nerves... and I like him.
As much as I wish the station could just continue the way it is, the writing has been on the wall for quite some time that it is simply unsustainable. I would consider Ken Freedman and WFMU partnership to be in the category of "best possible outcome" for sure. I do hope they would keep the best staff (like Max) and good producers... talk and politics in the daytime and all the cool music and madness at night.
I don't know why I even bothered to write all this stuff knowing it is only gonna be deleted...
Chris, you are welcome to grab it for a comment in your blog if you want.
Sorry I can't comment there because of my Google issues... in order to post a comment I have to unblock a number of google domains in several routers, IP Tables, browser blockers, etc... and then reblock it all again when I'm done... all that work and it just ain't worth it.
PS I liked your Xmas video card, also I have an old 78 that looks like it was signed by Jack Teagarden I always wanted to ask you about buried somewhere around the house... oh well...
To all the people here [on the BlueBoard] who have been nice to me (Wendy, and others) I just want to thank you all for your kindness and taking the time to read and talk to me. I don't like to hang around places I know I'm not welcome, but I had fun here for a while and I only came back because for once I had something of actual importance to say.
Best wishes to everyone... and to quote the words of a famous and legendary friend:
"Be nice to each other"
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
The WBAI Severance Pay Mess
The following was posted anonymously to the BlueBoard this evening. Someone should have the courage to read it on the air.
WBAI should do a show about the emergency situation now facing the laid off workerswhose unemployment benefits are now expiring and the Federal/State extended benefits program was terminated at the end of 2013, meaning they get only 26 weeks of benefits and thats it. Period. No extensions of any kind. No further help from the state.
The purge happened the second week of August, 2013
... do the math.
(If anyone has any news or evidence to the contrary, I am sure all of your unemployed comrades would be very happy to learn about it)
The silence is deafening on the question of severance, leaving all of these people out in the cold to fend for themselves... many of these people are older, unable to find work of any kind due to the shifting sands of technology, obsolete skill sets, age discrimination and the horrendous economy. Some have serious health issues... I wonder how many people here are even aware that our beloved Uncle Sidney almost died a few weeks ago after his medical insurance was illegally terminated and he was unable to obtain a very expensive medication that he has been taking for years and unfortunately at this time can not live without.
This shit is no joke. You are playing too many games with peoples lives. If Sidney dies because of your negligence, the blood is on YOUR hands, Pacifica management.
I was going to say, I hope you can live with your conscience, but I know my words will be wasted because you heartless bastards clearly don't have any.
The total disregard for the lives and well being of your laid off colleagues and all of this empty talk about unions and solidarity is making me sick. The hypocrisy surrounding this organization never ceases to amaze me. You have the need for some serious social activism right here, right now taking care of your own... so where the fuck are all of these so called social activists? And these laid-off employees faithfully paid their Union dues for years and years, so where is the Union now when they need the help most? Why is severance not being treated as a priority and the dire emergency situation that it now has become?
If you want an idea for a truly worthwhile project, how about taking some of that precious airtime being wasted on the endless recitation of meaningless slogans, repeated rebroadcasts of mindless blather and annoying hour long programs of ADD inducing sound bytes, etc, and use it to do a show to advise former employees some tactical skills on survival, how and where to apply for further benefits they may possibly be eligible for, where to find additional resources and help, free or low cost legal representation, (especially for those who are soon facing eviction), as well as other relevant issues I haven't thought of yet.
How about brainstorming the creation of some kind of opportunity for these laid off workers to generate some income for themselves while they are waiting for their severance (obligatory maniacal laugh), or retirement or disability or public assistance to kick in. These people need something to live on NOW.
To my fellow listeners, I would like to offer this appeal:
Take that money you were going to donate to the station, and give it directly to your favorite laid off producer instead. Please believe me when I say, they need it a hell of a lot more and will put it to far better use then this perpetually sinking ship of a station.
Sadly, the WBAI of the past is gone forever and it ain't never coming back. It has been a noble struggle, but times have changed and it is simply not possible to reclaim what has been lost. The radio station will be reborn as some new incarnation... we all mourn the loss, but due to so many years of infighting, incompetence and mismanagement, change is inevitable at this point. Let's all keep working towards the best possible outcome, but considering the most positive use of our resources and not waste what little we have on an impossible pursuit.
The radio station will survive, but that favorite producer of yours may not be quite so lucky. So look them up, reach out and get in contact with him or her, find out if there is anything you can do to help them get through this tough time imposed on them through no fault of their own... I know there are a lot of good people out there who really do care and who do keep that spirit of activism alive and sincerely want to help.
Also, let's keep the issue of the severance obligation in the forefront... the management has gotten away with ignoring it for far too long and it is causing too many people to suffer, possibly to die or become homeless. Please help.
Drive tallies for Monday, Feb. 10, '14 (Day 9)
With $476,825.00 still to be pledged and 17 days to go....the $500,000.00 goal needs about $28,010 a day to make it. In his colossal naivité, Berthold Reimers also came up with a lower goal of $400,000.00, which would require $22,166 in daily intake if that goal is aimed at. These clowns can't do anything right.
Monday, February 10, 2014
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