-What left organization has shown the capacity to absorb such an amount of money & put -it to good use. Why not just send the proceeds to a select group of administrators & -advisors & be done with it.
What left group has that amount of money? If WBAI became a grant making operation, it would become probably the largest left-oriented, movement oriented foundation in the country.
For comparisons, the generally admirable New World Foundation has only $25 million in assets. The slightly less leftwing Florence and John Schumann Foundation has $60 million. etc.
To have an actual movement-based left group handing out far more money so that groups would not have to depend on the big Ford Foundation types, who encourage non-profits not to sound too activist, would make a big difference.
Doug might have hopes that WBAI can turn it around, but I think putting it is a bit insane for the Left to have such an amazingly amount of financial assets sunk in a single city-based asset, when distributing the potential income to a far larger base of different kinds of activism could be much more effective.
I just don't think folks at WBAI want to consider the opportunity cost of holding onto the license.
Nathan Newman
On Fri, Jul 22, 2005 at 04:02:16PM -0400, Nathan Newman wrote:
> ----- 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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-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu ___________________________________ http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk