Pacifica Radio

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Pacifica Radio Network.

Pacifica Radio is a network of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations in the United States that is known for its progressive political orientation. The network also includes under its umbrella one "associated" station, and over 100 affiliated radio stations; some other U.S. and Canadian community radio stations also carry some Pacifica programming. Pacifica was the first public radio network in the United States; it is operated by the Pacifica Foundation (a.k.a. Pacifica Radio Foundation), with national headquarters adjoining station KPFA in Berkeley, California.

The Pacifica Radio Archives, housed at station KPFK in Los Angeles, is the nation's oldest public radio archive, documenting more than five decades of grassroots political, cultural, and performing arts history. The archive includes original recordings of interviews with John Coltrane, James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, and Langston Hughes, among many others.

1 History
2 Programs
3 Stations
4 Board of Directors
5 See also
6 Further reading
7 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early History

Pacifica was founded in 1946 by pacifists Lewis Hill and John Lewis. During World War II both filed as conscientious objectors. After the war they and a small group of ex-conscientious objectors created the Pacifica Foundation. The foundation's first project, KPFA in Berkeley, California, was inaugurated in 1949.

[edit] Internal Conflict, 1990s-2002

For most of its history, Pacifica gave each of its stations independent control of programming. Then, during the 1990s, a major controversy arose over rumors that the Pacifica National Board and national staff were attempting to centralize control of content, in order to increase listenership. The rumors also included accusations that the board also proposed changing the network's funding model away from reliance on listener donations and toward corporate foundation funding. There were also accusations that the Board was considering selling both KPFA in Berkeley, California and WBAI in New York City, which operate on commercial broadcast channels, and whose frequencies are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This led to years of conflict, including court cases, firings and strikes of station staff, and public demonstrations. Many listeners to the individual stations — especially KPFA and WBAI — objected to what they saw as an attempt to tone down the overtly political content on Pacifica stations. The controversy included highly publicized disputes between listener organizations and Mary Frances Berry, the radio network's board chair.

The board eventually was embroiled in counter lawsuits by boardmembers and listener-sponsors, and after global settlement of the lawsuits in November, 2001, an interim board was formed to craft new bylaws, which it did in two tumultuous years of national debates among thousands of listener-sponsors and activists, finally giving listener-sponsors the right and responsibility to elect new Local Station Boards at each of the five Pacifica stations. These local boards in turn elect the national board of directors. Aside from some minor changes, the same 2003 bylaws remain in effect today.

[edit] Recent History, 2000s

Pacifica National News director Dan Coughlin was voted Interim Executive Director of the network in 2002 (the "Interim" was later dropped). But the years of internal legal battles and financial mismanagement had taken a toll. In 2005, Coughlin resigned, the network was still largely disorganized, and Pacifica reverted to operating with an interim executive director for most of the year.

In January 2006, Pacifica hired Greg Guma as the next executive director of the Pacifica Foundation. By the end of the year, it had fully recovered its financial health and had launched two new national programs: "Informativo Pacifica", a daily Spanish Language newcast, and "From the Vault", a weekly program drawn from Pacifica's extensive audio archives. Pacifica also produced "Informed Dissent", a 10-week series for the 2006 mid-term elections that drew from talent across the network.

Guma left his post in September 2007 [1]. The National Board unanimously chose former KPFA General Manager Nicole Sawaya as the next Executive Director. She was slated to begin in mid-November, with Oakland-based attorney Dan Siegel filling in as interim E.D. until then. Sawaya was among the staff members fired by the national board in 1999 amidst Pacifica's internal crisis. In early December, she abruptly changed her mind. Pacifica historian Matthew Lasar said she "found the level of internecine dysfunction at Pacifica overwhelming, and fled her job."

[edit] Recent initiatives

In 2007, the FCC announced that it would accept new applications for non-commercial radio licenses for the first time in more than a decade. In response, Pacifica joined forces with other advocates for independent media in the "Radio for People" campaign, helping local groups apply for these full-power licenses.
Pacifica has expanded its schedule of national special broadcasts, distributing more audio documentaries, covering the Attorney General Alberto Gonzales hearings live, and sending production teams to the United States Social Forum and the National Conference for Media Reform.
Pacifica expanded its offerings in multiple media platforms, using "Web 2.0" technology. In September 2007, one interactive website, KPFA's Warcomeshome.org, began to offer hard-hitting stories from reporter Aaron Glantz about the human costs of the Iraq War, as well as innovative ways of contributing to, and distributing information about, the impact of the conflict.

[edit] Programs

A show which has for years been considered the flagship of Pacifica Radio's national programming is Democracy Now!, an independent talk show that covers democracy, human rights and justice issues, and questions the motives of U.S. foreign and domestic policy. Hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan González, this program is a compilation of news, interviews, and documentaries. Democracy Now! is heard and seen on more than 450 radio and TV stations across the U.S., on satellite television networks on the progressive networks Free Speech TV and Link TV.

In 2002, as Pacifica implemented its new listener-sponsor-accountability structure and as Pacifica and Democracy Now settled out-standing disputes from previous years, Democracy Now spun off with substantial funding from Pacifica. It is now an independent production.

The Pacifica network, in addition to extensive community-based productions at its various stations around the United States, also features a daily newscast Free Speech Radio News. FSRN is a radio program founded by Pacifica Reporters Against Censorship, a group of mostly Pacifica Network News reporters who went on strike against the Pacifica board policies of the late 1990s. FSRN is primarily funded by Pacifica, and includes headlines and news features produced by reporters based around the United States and in scores of countries around the world.

In 2006, Pacifica added two new national programs: From the Vault from the Pacifica Radio Archives, a weekly program that thematically repackages archival material, making it relevant to contemporary listeners; and Informativo Pacifica, based at KPFK in Los Angeles, a daily Spanish-language newscast that includes reporters from the U.S. and many Latin American countries.

Local Pacifica stations also produce many programs that are available to network stations and affiliates. These include: Sprouts, a weekly showcase of producers and stations around the network, often in documentary format; Explorations in Science with Dr. Michio Kaku, a weekly radio program on science, politics, and the environment; Dennis Bernstein's FlashPoints a daily drive-time public affairs program; and many other regular programs.

Pacifica also produces a wide variety of special broadcasts. These include live coverage of major U.S. Congressional hearings, national mobilizations against war, and other important events like the United States Social Forum. Special programs also include news documentaries, holidays & commemorations, and archival audio from the Pacifica Radio Archives.

[edit] Stations

Pacifica Radio Network
Station	Dial Number	Location
KPFA	94.1 FM	Berkeley, California
KPFK	90.7 FM	Los Angeles, California
KPFT	90.1 FM	Houston, Texas
WBAI	99.5 FM	New York City, New York
WPFW	89.3 FM	Washington D.C.

[edit] Board of Directors

Pacifica National Board	Station
Bonnie Simmons	KPFA
Joe Wanzala	KPFA
Sarv Randhawa	KPFA
Sherry Gendelman	KPFA
Jack VanAken	KPFK
Grace Aaron	KPFK
Margaret Prescod	KPFK
Yosh Yamanaka	KPFK
Dr. Evelyn Serwa Bethune	KPFT
Mike Martin	KPFT
Wendy Schroell	KPFT
George Reiter	KPFT

Pacifica National Board	Station
Lisa Davis	WBAI
Carolyn Birden	WBAI
Nia Bediako	WBAI
Bob Lederer	WBAI
Acie Byrd	WPFW
Ambrose Lane	WPFW
Rob Robinson	WPFW
Thomas Ruffin	WPFW
Efia Nwangaza*	WMXP
Lori Taguma*	WOJB
(*Affiliate Stations Reps)

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

Lasar, Matthew, Pacifica Radio: The Rise of an Alternative Network, Temple University Press, April, 2000. ISBN 1-56639-777-4
Lasar, Matthew, Uneasy Listening: Pacifica Radio's Civil War, Black Apollo, October, 2005. ISBN 1-900355-45-0
Walker, Jesse, Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America, New York University Press, June, 2004