A little quiz for you: when was this statement made, and by whom? Answer below *
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“We need to remember the process that began in 1993 by the Pacifica National Board to ‘professionalize’ Pacifica and to replace member contributions with foundation grants.
We framed the struggle with the old board as [us] wanting to enlarge our audience by deepening our analysis of the US imperium, including the role of the Democratic Party in eliminating our social network and maintaining an aggressive foreign policy, versus the PNB wishing to eliminate overtly radical voices from the network to appeal to a broader non-progressive audience.
All of this occurred during the period when Reagan was shifting the political landscape of the US to its present right-wing landslide.
Opposition to Pacifica’s realigning itself to this rightward shift increased, particularly after the firing of dozens of programmers from KPFA in 1995. As opposition to the PNB increased, it voted in 1999 to eliminate even the Local Station Boards from electing representatives to the PNB. This would allow the self-nominating Board the power to do whatever it wished without institutional opposition, including selling Pacifica stations.
As this self-appointed board began firing those who questioned its decisions, opposition increased to the point where the PNB locked out and arrested staff and listeners from KPFA, beginning a nationwide struggle to reclaim the network.
The thousands of staff and listeners of the network won a legal and political struggle to reverse many of the changes that were made to our little but significantly important network, and just in time.
As the Democrats drove their party more and more in a conservative direction, a voice for the powerless was needed more than ever”. .
* Answer: 2006, Les Radke’s report as National Election Supervisor
“DISCLAIMER: This is not an official Pacifica Foundation website nor an official website of any of the five Pacifica Foundation radio stations (KPFA Radio, KPFK Radio, KPFT Radio, WBAI Radio, WPFW Radio). Opinions and facts alleged on this site belong to the author(s) of the website only and should NOT be assumed to be true or to reflect the editorial stance or policy of the Pacifica Foundation, or any of the five stations (KPFA Radio, KPFK Radio, KPFT Radio, WBAI Radio, WPFW Radio), or the opinions of its management, Pacifica National Board, station staff or other listener members.”
I’D LIKE A WAY TO GET IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH RESCUE PACIFICA (RP) SUPPORTERS INSTEAD OF THIS CONFUSING WEBSITE.
What attracted me to RP is it’s opposition to the rightward drift of so many KPFA programs into the orbit of the corporate Democrats. There has been an abandonment of any semblance of an anti-imperialist focus in the reporting by the news department and the morning shows. For example, Amy Goodman regularly carries CIA/State Dept propaganda stories about the “valiant struggles” of the anti-government demonstrators in Nicaragua and Syria, and “news” reports by the White Helmets (NATO-supported al-Nusra front fighters) are taken as good coin. Like with the so-called progressive Dems, most coverage of Venezuela is front-loaded with statements about how bad Maduro is, without specifics about how he is bad, followed by criticism of potential US intervention. But no analysis is provided about the wealthy Venezuelan opposition groups and how they work hand in glove with the CIA. Defense of Julian Assange is pro-forma and unenthusiastic, with frequent mentions of his “unfriendly, egotistical” personality. Do the Democrat-feminists really believe he committed rape in Sweden? The Sunday morning show continues to have Karen Greenberg, defender of the “good” CIA/FBI, pontificate as an expert on Russia. It’s bad enough we’re bombarded by Russiagate bullcrap on the bourgeois media, but must we have it on KPFA also? Only Dennis Bernstein and a handful of other hosts speak out forthrightly against the Empire.
How can we organize to make our anti-imperialist opinions known to the staff and listeners?
I continue to contribute $10/month because I want to keep KPFA on the air. It’s better than nothing, but we’ve got to make it better.
Thanks for contacting us.
Do you agree with our platform? If so, would you like to join our Rescue-Pacifica email list where we discuss the role of the Local Station Board and other governance matters, programming, and more?
If you fill out the form on the right hand side of the page, we’d love to be in touch with you.
Our primary approach is to get more people who feel the way we do onto the Local Station Board, where they present proposals and vote on them. We also try to push the envelope by publicizing our positions using this website and distributing flyers at events where there are likely to be KPFA listeners, in order to keep listeners informed about what is happening at KPFA.
Right now we are urging people to renew their memberships before June 30 so they can vote in the upcoming election, and are seeking more candidates who align with us. Presently we have only 6 seated delegates on the LSB who are with us, while the “other side”, has a majority, including members of our former group, United for Community Radio, who have “defected” to that side, which is going along with a program designed to gain control of KPFA through bankruptcy proceedings. Yes, they are aligned with the Democratic Party, and perpetrate the fiction that the LSB has nothing to do with programming! And that programming is not subject to the wishes of listeners.
Maybe you are aware of the recent sudden unilateral program terminations, partly replaced by more NPR type offerings. We need to stop this process, or the programs you cite could be on the chopping block. Previously, we had a semi-democratic Program Council involved in programming, but the other side, then called Save KPFA (now UIR), removed the Program Council and would not reconstitute it as a democratic (small d) group. For this to pass we need more people on the Local Station Board.
We have few venues for putting out opinions to the community, and fewer people to write such articles.
Some places to look for more such facts and views:
A recent article in the Berkeley Daily Planet, online at * Berkeley’s KPFA is a Private Radio Club. Category: Extra from The Berkeley Daily Planet – also republished on IndyBay.org
RescuePacifica.net
PacificaInExile.org
Make public comments at the Local Station Board meetings, make personal contact with our delegates there. Next meeting: Saturday, August 17, 2019 11:00 AM
South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis Street Berkeley, near North Berkeley BART
We may be able to have a “meet and greet” gathering soon as we prepare for the election
If you sign up on the list, we will keep you informed
♥ Mara