[lbo-talk] Why Not Sell WBAI?

Nathan Newman nathanne at nathannewman.org
Fri Jul 22 13:02:16 PDT 2005


----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com>
>I can understand where you're coming from but if the station's future
>is very rocky unless some serious money can be raised.

Okay, just to raise the boogeyman.

Does owning a radio license for a network that ends up reaching a relatively small number of listeners justify the opportunity cost of foregoing the value of the radio license for other purposes. I've seen estimates that the WBAI license is worth as much as $250 million, which means that the Pacifica trustees are probably on paper the wealthiest identifiably Left institution in existence.

Yet the results are pretty paultry.

Wouldn't it make more sense to sell the license, put the broadcast on the Internet or on XM or Sirius, who might cover the production costs and who are looking for niche stations. "Podcasts" could be the next big thing and, who knows, WBAI could end up with a rapidly depreceating asset worth very little in coming years as broadcast radio is replaced by these other systems of delivering audio content.

Instead, use the annual income from the sale, put the $250 million in a trust, and pump tens of millions of dollars yearly in grants into a wide range of left grassroots media or other political projects.

Do you really think WBAI's political influence serves the left more than what say $12 million per year devoted to alternative uses?

Nathan Newman



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