The Folio Yellow Sheet
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Who’s the Bosses’ Boss?
We recently learned of an "emergency" Pacifica Board meeting called by Mary Berry. This meeting was conducted in an unusual conference call arrangement. The arrangement allowed only MFB to speak while everyone else had to punch a number and wait to be recognized. Tomas Moran did this yet he was never allowed to speak. This was MFB’s last official board meeting as her term expired that very day. Moran describes the phone meeting as follows: "The Board took a vote to appoint two Board members, ...Micheal Palmer and Bertram Lee, to go around to each General Manager and start setting up what they call an ‘alternative’ or a ‘second’ Local Advisory Board. This is a move to disempower the Local Advisory Boards that have apparently now uniformly, across the five affiliates, leveled criticism on some of the behavior that the Pacifica Foundation has taken." Both Micheal Palmer, a Houston real estate agent and Bertram Lee a wheeler dealer in the buying and selling of sports teams and television stations, sit on other Boards of Directors and we must assume that they are busy as well in their professions. How is it that Mary Berry can give orders to these two to travel to all five station areas and create new shadow LABs? How important can it be for these fellows? What is the reward? It seems that MFB gives orders and her cabal jumps. No one in the Executive Committee questions her orders. It would appear that these followers know that MFB is not to be questioned. The big question is - who gives Mary Berry her orders? Someday soon we may find out.
Tamin’ Amy
A very unpleasant picture is becoming clear. Pacifica management is now attempting to censor their last credible program, Democracy Now!. Lyn Gerry has this to say: "In recent months, there have been a number of moves by Pacifica management to make Amy Goodman's life more difficult, including written reprimands (one for bringing Nader onto the floor of the RNC, another for honoring our strike [the Pacifica Stringers’ Strike] by refusing to file a story for PNN on Castro's visit to New York)."
Carol Spooner, who was at the recent Pacifica Board Meeting, confirmed that Amy Goodman is being harassed by her bosses, rather openly: "I overheard heated conversations in the hallway at the PNB meeting Saturday [9/16]. New Pacifica National Program Director, Steve Yasko, was berating Amy in an extremely hostile manner for ‘insubordination.’... the Pacifica board failed to pass a motion (brought by Leslie Cagan, director from New York) to commend Amy for her extraordinary work on the conventions and with the Berenson interview, and for her collaborations with other media -- all bringing positive recognition to Pacifica. Mary Berry, in voting against the motion, commented that Amy also ‘brought a lot of trouble’ to Pacifica with her ‘unprofessional’ conduct, or words to that effect. (Editor’s Note: Mary’s comments this time contrast sharply with her statement at the February meeting, when she said "Democracy Now! is a shining example of what we can do," and personally praised Amy for her work.) Sure looks like Amy's days are numbered -- but that they are trying to drive her to quitting rather than firing her."
Robin Urevich adds this: "The bottom line is that Pacifica management (with the support of the Board majority) increasingly interferes in the content of Pacifica public affairs programming, discouraging coverage of controversial/left-oriented subjects - in the name of reaching out to a bigger audience. With PNN cleared of its more principled and politically committed voices, only Democracy Now! continues to cover those issues, so it's the target for Pacifica management." Pacifica has specifically prohibited Amy from covering the death penalty, Mumia, Lori Berenson, and Peru.
On a related note, Lyn Gerry observes: "Marc Cooper is extremely displeased that his daily program on KPFK is not being distributed on the Pacifica satellite and went to a ‘program directors’ meeting at Pacifica to say so - It is my belief that Cooper, who has criticized Amy Goodman personally, is positioning himself to oust Amy from her position at Democracy Now!. He has been working behind the scenes on that for a while, beating the drum of ‘unprofessionalism,’ a word that provokes Pavlovian responses from Pacifica's board, most of whom are neither activists, journalists or community radio people."
So, should Amy be removed from Democracy Now!, Pacifica stations and affiliates will be faced with a critical decision - should the Pacifica National News and Democracy Now! be dropped?
Centralizing the Purse
In response to the attack on KPFA and the challenge to demonstrate listener-sponsor support of Pacifica stations, fundraising over the past year has surpassed all expectations. Because of Pacifica’s expenses defending itself against the growing number of lawsuits filed by former employees, listener-sponsors, local Board members and now by the Board’s own members and because of Pacifica’s ever increasing operating expenses, the foundation will have a deficit of more than $100,000 at the end of this year.
Pacifica will recoup this shortfall by taking more than the usual seventeen-percent cut from its stations. This is supposed to be an emergency measure but it could easily become a habit. The Board approved a budget for 2001 that will be more than $174,000 in the red. Much of this deficit is made up of useless market studies, unnecessary public relations expenses, Arbitron ratings, expensive hotel accommodations and other costs unrelated to the mission of non-profit, listener-supported radio. Even though Mary Berry promised that none of the expenses incurred in the closing of KPFA last summer would be charged to the station, we have learned that Pacifica is charging KPFA over $100,000 per year until the $500,000 plus cost of that action is repaid.
We now know that Pacifica has taken control of WBAI’s books. Apparently KPFA must have approval from the national office for most expenditures. We don’t know if the books at KPFK, KPFT and WPFW are already under Pacifica’s control. An element of the 2001 national budget set at the recent meeting is to centralize the accounting system making future surcharges to the individual stations impossible to track.
Pacifica continues to methodically pursue a well-planned program that originated somewhere in the dark halls of D.C.
Important NY City Event
Leslie Cagan, Pacifica Board member representing the WBAI station area has called a public meeting to discuss recent developments in the Pacifica Network. The meeting is set for 6:30 PM, Tuesday, October 10th, at the offices of DC 1707 - 75 Varick St. - 14th floor, New York City. Cagan says that this is "an opportunity for us to let you know what’s going on."
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DON’T FORGET TO VOTE IN THE KPFA LAB ELECTION!
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