RadioPoetics.org

Dear Listeners and Supporters of WBAI,

I have served as Public Affairs Director for WBAI Radio for six years, and I am completely dedicated to the mission of Pacifica and maintaining the integrity of WBAI. I do not support and would not support a takeover by forces from within the network. Neither will I support local forces which would risk the loss of our radio station and which wage a campaign of distortion in order to manipulate the hearts and minds of our listeners for their own personal gain or salvation.

During my tenure as PA Director I have always done my best to serve the needs of the producers and hosts. I respect their work and honestly believe that WBAI has some of the best programming in the Pacifica network, and the potential for vast growth. I also understand that there are some programs that need to be improved, producers who need to be trained, and new programming that needs to be developed.

Many stakeholders throughout the network have assumed that WBAI's failure to be self-sustaining is because of the local programming.

In my position as staff representative to the Pacifica National Board, I have defended the work of our producers and have maintained that the problems in New York have not been solely due to the programming, but rather the lack of efficiency in planning at the management level. Most producers have valiantly come to the air time and again to raise funds, despite the reality that our drives have gotten longer and longer, and become less and less successful.

In my role as a senior staff member at WBAI, I have on many occasions attempted to defend producers from the actions of management that I have perceived to be arbitrary and capricious. I have filed grievances during the administrations of Dan Coughlin and Don Rojas, Gregg Guma and Robert Scott Adams, and attempted to gain the attention of Nicole Sawaya during her short tenure as Executive Director -- all to no avail. The paid staff tried to get support for proper management of the drives by writing into our contract a requirement that the staff would have at least 30 days to plan our fund drives. This was ignored. We were merely instructed to tack on more days, and make the fund drives longer. And when this strategy played itself out, we were then led to lower the financial goals of the drives. For the most part, we have still not even met most of these lowered expectations, either.

During the last year and a half the premiums situation has completely broken down. We have received thousands of complaints. While engaged in fund raising, we have received as many as 50 to 100 complaints a day. Yet, for almost a year, nothing was done to improve the situation. At one point, as many as 6,000 listeners had not received their premiums.

As a consequence of this failure, the staff has had to face two phases of layoffs and cutbacks, WBAI has not contributed to, or upheld its obligation to help sustain the network, and the network has been drained of its resources, as the money to pay bills and salaries was taken from the other stations.

This situation has been developing for years, yet nothing was done about it. The status quo was held in place by previous administrations and political operatives throughout the network. I cannot begin to speculate on the motives, but I do know that the operative mechanism for keeping the status quo in place is by COINTELPRO-style divisive arguments, and personal attacks based on race, religion and political affiliations.

The strategy has been -- and continues to be -- to attack the person without providing a coherent argument on its merits. Engaging in mass campaigns asking people to copy and paste form letters. Using mass phone calling systems to contact supporters alleging their prevailing propaganda. Personal attacks. Engaging in hostile behavior, harassment and retribution toward staff that resist or speak out. The directive of our current Interim Executive Director, Grace Aaron, to prevent libelous statements from being made on the air is just that. *_There is no "gag rule" at WBAI._ *

The truth is that the network is unable to sustain this situation any longer. WBAI has recently fallen four months behind in rent on its facilities, and concurrently two months behind on rent for the transmitter. The station has received two notices to quit, which are basically notices to pay up or get out.

If the worst were to happen, it would not release the Pacifica network from its financial obligations. Pacifica is the license-holder, and would become liable for paying the full financial obligations of WBAI -- including the full obligation of our leases, and not just the back rent. Therefore, if this situation ends up in court, Pacifica would have to liquidate its assets -- which include five broadcast licenses, three buildings, and other financial assets. Once this thing gets started, all of the network's debtors will come out of the woodwork, and all of Pacifica could be lost, auctioned off to pay our debts.

Is this how we want to honor the legacy of this great institution?

These coming months are the last opportunity to get back on our feet, salvage WBAI and build a self-sustaining station and stronger network. No individual, political agenda or partisan politic is more important than the institution itself.

ACTION ALERT: Some things you can do to help WBAI:

1. Make a donation

2. Help in the phone room

3. Donate food and snacks for the volunteers

4. Give some time to help send out premiums

5. Use your email lists to promote WBAI and its fund drives

6. Put a link to WBAI on your website

7. Hold a fund raising party

8. Support WBAI fund raising events

9. Bring your creative ideas, talent and skills to the table

10. Run for a place on the WBAI Local Station Board

11. Vote in the upcoming Pacifica LSB elections.

12. Ask questions and investigate the truth of what you are being told.

13. Uphold and support the mission of Pacifica.

Best regards,
Kathy Davis, Public Affairs Director, WBAI
Independent, Staff Representative, WBAI LSB/Director, PNB