> Chuck0 wrote:
>
>> Why fight over WBAI when we could aspire to something bigger and better?
>
>
> Because it's a 50,000 watt station in the middle of the FM dial in the
> biggest metro area in the U.S.? How much bigger can you realistically
> get than that? Better, well yeah, there's lots of room for improvement.
> But bigger?
>
> It's a damned outrage that while The Nation's circ is at record levels
> and leftish books (other than mine) clog the bestseller lists, WBAI's
> listenership is shrinking. And unlike print pubs, there's no
> distribution issue with a 50,000 watt station at 99.5 FM. People listen
> for a bit then tune out. And few people around the station seem
> disturbed by that fact.
Good points, but I should have been more clear. When I said "bigger and better" I was thinking about a national network of progressive/radical radio stations. Yes, I can understand why WBAI is a fat target for different factions, but why can't they band together to fight for *more* stations in the New York area to air progressive news and programming?
You can do this either through official channels or through direct action. For example, there are now two pirate stations on the air in Washington, DC and more are going on the air around the country. If you don't want to go that route, how about challenging the licenses of existing stations for not carrying public affairs programming? Or putting together a fundraising campaign to buy a station? We also need more original programming and content, so how about throwing our creative juices behind a network of content similar to NPR or American Public Radio?
There is widespread dissent right now over the media monopoly. It shouldn't take much to tap into that.
<< Chuck0 >>
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