interesting quotes from Murdock ... --------------------------------------------- WBAI's Former Dissidents Are Back in Control By Peter Goodman STAFF WRITER January 30, 2002 THE DISSIDENTS at WBAI/99.5 FM and its owner, the Pacifica Foundation, have won a huge victory in their struggle against a board they feared was turning a "progressive," left-leaning radio network into a liberal outpost of the Democratic Party. Nearly all the programmers and announcers forced from the station since a "Christmas coup" in December 2000 have been restored, most of their outspoken foes have been fired, and the top-rated show "Democracy Now!" is back on the air, according to new (previously fired) program director Bernard White. The national board has been almost completely re-instituted, with dissidents now in the majority, and steps are being taken to create a new, more "democratized" network (Pacifica's other stations are in Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles and Berkeley, Calif.). "This is an exciting time for Pacifica," interim executive director Dan Caughlin said yesterday from the WBAI studios in lower Manhattan. "It's also a period of huge financial difficulties, with more than $3 million in debt. Our first challenge is to stabilize the finances and then to move forward the process of reform to a democratically accountable Pacifica." The dissidents blame the former administration for much of that debt, spent on lawyers and public relations in its fight against the protestors. Besides rallies and demonstrations, the dissidents' campaign involved hostile mailings, phone calls and e-mails against the former board, many of whom ultimately resigned under the pressure. Former board member Robert Murdock said that when the old board agreed last month to a final settlement, "It didn't have to do with a debate or points of view, but the tactics of harassment." Prominent dissidents Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman "campaigned publicly at rallies, to get the foundation to spend itself to the point where it had to capitulate. If they bemoan their debts, they can thank themselves." The situation at WBAI is almost completely back to where it had been before then-executive director Bessie Wash and then-general manager Utrice Leid changed everything over Christmas, 2000. Even Leid's predecessor, Valerie van Isler, has returned. The station has also hired a conflict-resolution adviser to help the staff get over the trauma of the last two years. White said he expects a fund- raiser, to begin Feb. 4, to break all records. On the other hand, Murdock, a lawyer, said that if there are too many changes to some stations, "I think there will be challenges to their licenses." New Pacifica Working Group http://www.egroups.com/group/NewPacifica 'Save Our Stations!' To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: NewPacifica-unsubscribe@egroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/