[lbo-talk] WBAI

knowknot at mindspring.com knowknot at mindspring.com
Wed Aug 7 14:53:38 PDT 2013


On 8/7/2013 Arthur Maisel wrote:

> * * * I wanted to raise the issue of WBAI's survival here.

With genuine deference to what you go on to suggest by your semi-rhetorical question, the station in almost any/every meaningful sense related to its founders' visions and what you seem to recall during the periods to which you refer died quite some time ago.

> I am very ambivalent. The station seems to be in the hands of

> complete imcompetents, conspiracy nuts, and shameless promoters

> of quack cures (in some cases one and the same person).

"seems" ?!?!?!?!

> Maybe letting it die is the best thing.

The formality of it dying would be a sad thing and the likelihood if it eventuates of persons affiliated with the institution trying to make a buck if (when?) the organization petitions for bankruptcy relief or tries to sell the license directly, etc., will not be pretty.

> And yet...where else can you hear someone reading Nathanael

> West on the radio, . . .

. . . and you've heard this recently? . . . and, BTW, how many of the station's "producers" have even heard of Nathaniel West? . . .

> . . . or two hours every week of music composed before 1700, . . .

. . . among other sources, YouTube, WOMR (Provincetown, Mass., which streams on www), and, almost certainly, not a few comparatively easy to find (via the Internet) college and Indy streaming radio stations . . .

> . . . or a computer hacker program . . .

. . . at the 2600.org web site for the reasonably current archives and at the online streaming links "Goldstein" et al provide there.

> Maybe Doug Henwood will disagree (having been associated

> with the station), . . .

It was inexcusable not only for the schmucks administratively running the station at the time to force him away and deprive the station's on-air listeners of his programs but all the worse for Pacifica and its (putatively) less crazed Board members to allow that to happen.

> but it's hard for me to imagine life without the place that

> gave us Amy Goodman *and* Bob Fass *and* a show put on

> by people from OWS. And...and...

Except that as of course you know, Amy Goodman left WBAI years ago and, besides her and her colleagues' strong www presence, have arranged for the broadcast of "Democracy Now" on lots of college and independent stations and also, for those who subscribe, on various cable- and satellite-TV channels.

> So I decided to ask the people on the list to consider sending

> some money to help them survive, as I have done.

It might be interesting to know whether you have actually fact-based reason to believe that, despite what undoubtedly is your well-intended solicitation, the station doesn't face (formal) death imminently and that a substantial portion of the funds now being raised is going to find their way into the pockets of the incompetents, conspiracy nuts, and shameless promoters of quack cures, et al., and their cronies. Meanwhile in its present "Zombie" state, it remains a large financial and administrative burden for what is left of Pacifica.



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