For on-air updates on the WBAI/Pacifica crisis, listen to "Wake Up Call" on WBAI, 99.5 FM, every weekday morning from 7:00 to 7:15 a.m. A teach-in on the air about the struggle will occur this Sat., December 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Remember: Station Manager Valerie van Isler has been terminated as of December 31. After that, only we, the grassroots community movements, can stop the Pacifica juggernaut from moving in to WBAI and starting the process of sweeping radical voices off the airwaves. Stay in close touch, spread the word, and keep the pressure on the Pacifica management and board. For updates, call the hotline at 718-707-7189. WBAI can now be streamed on the Internet at www.wbai.org.
-- Bob Lederer
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PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
DEMONSTRATION TO PROTEST ASSAULT ON WBAI RADIO AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Contact: Concerned Friends of WBAI, 800-825-0055 When: Wednesday, December 20 Where: Outside the law offices of Epstein, Becker & Green, 250 Park Ave between 46/47th Time: 5 p.m.
Weeks after Pacifica's undemocratic actions against New York station WBAI---99.5 FM, the Pacifica Foundation has refused to budge from its attempted removal of WBAI's long-time General Manager, Valerie Van Isler. While the staff at WBAI continues to refuse to honor the decision, the listeners are taking to the streets to re-claim their radio station. Outraged listeners say it is up to them to rescue the people's radio from an increasingly corporatized Pacifica National Board.
The removal of Van Isler is not the first, but the most recent, assault on the autonomy of WBAI and other Pacifica stations. Many fear that Pacifica's attack on the station echoes the 1999 removal of KPFA's general manager. This firing led to the temporary closing of the station, the arrests of staff and listeners, and Pacifica's controversial hiring of armed security guards who prevented staff and volunteers from broadcasting for several weeks.
The protest will take place outside the law firm of John Murdock, who is a recent addition to the Pacifica National Board. Murdock's law firm, Epstein, Becker & Green, proudly specializes in "maintaining a union-free work place." At the same time, Murdock's law firm is currently representing the Pacifica Foundation in several law suits filed against Pacifica.
Concerned Friends of WBAI is committed to freedom of speech and the democratic founding principles of Pacifica Radio.
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