WHEN THE LISTENERS SPEAK:
 
Direct Action and Street Level Democracy
in the Battle to Save Pacifica

by John Sheridan

(699 words)

________________________________

Like many listeners I was largely unaware of the erosion of local control of Pacifica stations until events at KPFA exploded onto the pages of local newspapers, into the streets and onto the airwaves themselves in April of 1999.

When I heard the voice of KPFA programmer C.S. Soong in May of 1999 announce over the air that community meetings were being held to help save the station from the corporate raid being staged by the Pacifica National Board - using the airwaves to organize and mobilize the listeners - it was a unique call to action. Here was a radio station actually sending out an SOS for the community to rise up, come together and act to preserve what we felt was vital to the culture we supported and which was and is in danger of disappearing entirely. The power of that call brought me into the struggle which we are now engaged in.

Since that time - and actually long before - many hundreds of members of the listening community have striven to find constructive, public and effective ways to place themselves between the Pacifica National Board and the member stations they seek to destroy. Over 100 people have been arrested at KPFA and in San Francisco, New York and Houston since then, placing their bodies on the line when the forces of the Pacifica Board have moved against the vital airways which rightfully belong to the listeners.

Of the many dimensions of the struggle to free ourselves of the yoke of the neoliberal and opportunistic elitists who dominate the Pacifica Board and their operatives at Pacifica and within the 5 member stations, one of the most effective has been the direct physical power of the people to stand up and speak out in their numbers - in streets, on sidewalks, on marches and even in the lobbies of the stations themselves.

Direct action - demonstrations, pickets, leafleting, rallies - and sitting-in at the law offices of Epstein, Becker and Green have brought these methods of protest and persuasion into the center of the rebellion. Add to this legal actions, some of the first-ever political organizing by email, webcasting, fundraising and the beginnings of democratization of the Local Station Boards, and the implications of the power of a popular movement cannot be ignored or underestimated - even by the Pacifica National Board.

In recent months, since before the "Christmas Coup" at WBAI and the formation of the Pacifica Campaign to persuade listeners to defund Pacifica, protests by the listeners have been a constant and unrelenting tactic to pressure the unscrupulous members of the Pacifica Board to relent and resign. John Murdock of Epstein, Becker and Green, Micheal Palmer of CB Richard Ellis, Frank Millspaugh and Andrea Cisco in New York, and David Acosta in Houston - soon to be followed by other members of the Pacifica Board - have all been the targets of highly spirited, highly ethical, totally non-violent and wonderful demonstrations and sit-ins, despite Pacifica's crude and deceitful campaign to paint them as being violent.

In San Francisco twice-weekly pickets are ongoing outside the offices of Epstein, Becker and Green - even though John Murdock is employed at Epstein's Washington, DC office! Called by San Francisco-based Media Alliance, then picked up by the listener group Coalition for a democratic Pacifica, and in New York, LA, DC, Newark - and hopefully in San Jose - these pickets continue and no doubt will until John Murdock is history as a Pacifica Board member.

We are all encouraged to help in whatever way we can to save and reconstruct Pacifica along truly progressive, democratic, non-corporate, accountable and transparent lines. Our ongoing physical presence in the streets, our palpable being, facing down armed thugs, the police and the very powers which are attempting to steal our culture is a sign that we are strong and that we will win. Consider contributing a little time with others of similar commitment. There is always room for you on the picket line!

For more on how you can participate in picketing Epstein, Becker and Green, help the lawsuits or to democratize Pacifica, please contact John Sheridan at 510 652-0272 or at johnsher@lanminds.com.
__________________