Leonard Peltier
Johanna Fernandez
Cindy Lubar Bishop
Richard Uzzell
Pete Farruggio, PhD
Oceana Christopher
Daniel Borgstrom
Vanessa Dixon-Briggs
Michael D. D. White
Jim Dingeman
King Downing
Steve Zeltzer
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Katea Stitt
Ralph Poynter & Lynne Stewart
John Samuelsen
Marsha Feinland
Janet Kobren
Dennis A. Williams
Lenny Foster
DeeDee Halleck
Berthold Reimers, WBAI General Manager
Marilyn Langlois
Alex Steinberg
Mary Ratcliff
Milton Allimadi
Peter Phillips
Tracy Rosenberg
fernando-velazquez
Steve Brown
Ann Garrison
Eric C. Jacobson
Fred Blair
Cindy Sheehan
Linda Perry
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Bonnie Faulkner
Polina Vasiliev
Louis Wolf
Tom Voorhees
Ralph Poynter
King Reilly & Sue Romo
Gar Smith
Gary Null
Lawrence Reyes
Grace Aaron
Julie Hewitt
Nube Brown
Oscar López Rivera
James Igo
Chandra Hauptman
Kathryn Davis
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Robert Gartner
Jim Lafferty
James Sagurton
Alejandro Molina
Verna Avery-Brown
Professor Bill Davis
Joan Sekler
Abby Martin
Amy Harlib
Heather Gray
Anthony Fest
Carolyn Birden
Mumia Abu Jamal
Ron Pinchback
Mimi Rosenberg
Otis Maclay
Dr. Pete Farruggio
Ziri Rideaux
Ken Aaron
Nick Mottern
Sue Cohen Johnson
Eileen Rosin
Jan Susler
Mitchel Cohen
Michael Novick
Paul Roberson
Dennis Bernstein
Petition Endorsers and a ‘NO’ position on the New Day Bylaws:
THE PACIFICA BYLAWS PROPOSAL–IT’S ABOUT PROGRAMMING
Like the bylaws proposal that was defeated last year, the “New Day” version would basically end democracy at Pacifica and hand the network over to a group of gatekeepers. This is a fight which has been going on since the 1980s, a fight which did not begin with the hijacking attempt of 1999 and certainly did not end with the current bylaws of 2003.
Issues in this struggle include: declining listenership, programming, democracy at Pacifica and the debt.
The debt gets the most attention. It was caused by multiple bad decisions made during the last three decades. One of those was an atrociously bad deal made with the Empire State Building for WBAI’s antenna. That was negotiated nearly two decades ago by a former Executive Director who has passed away, but the results live on and continue to haunt us. However, if Pacifica finances had otherwise been healthy, that debt would not be such a death threat. The New Day people are the protégés of the people who made many of the unwise decisions which led to the financial problems we’re seeing today. It has been suggested that putting the network in a risky financial situation is a customary and deliberate tactic in trying to gain total, undisputed control of our station.
Money is the hay that feeds the horse that pulls the wagon. We sometimes get so distracted by the look of the horse and so worried about feeding it enough good hay that we forget what’s in the wagon — the programming. Programming is what radio is all about. Programmers in the “New Day” camp have been echoing an increasing amount of security state propaganda from the corporate media, or feature guests who tell us the FBI and the CIA are there to protect us, and that the U.S. intervenes in elections of foreign countries to promote democracy. That is the direction in which KPFA programming has been sliding, and if “New Day” gains full control, the Pacifica network will slide a lot faster, till the last vestiges of independent, non-corporate news analysis are gone.
The eternal “infighting” at Pacifica is not about personalities who can’t get along. It’s about very differing visions for Pacifica. Although it often looks like a fight over finances, it’s really about programming.
This referendum is coming up soon, and April 7 is the very last day to subscribe in order to be eligible to vote. Here’s the KPFA link https://secure.kpfa.org/support/
Daniel Borgström, member of Rescue Pacifica
Can we add your name to Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier, Cindy Sheehan and many others on our list of declared No voters? Simply sign our Petition to Protect Pacifica from Being Corporatized.
Please, Sign the Petition:
To: Pacifica Foundation,
Petition from the Pacifica Democracy Project
As concerned Pacifica Members from all 5 stations we believe:
- The Pacifica Foundation should remain united as a strong network of 5 radio stations, a historical archive and over 200 affiliated stations
- New, more diverse programming should be developed nationally and at all 5 stations
- Conflict resolution should be used to resolve disputes and find common ground
- Local and national boards should continue to be elected democratically
- Local boards should include staff
- The National Board should continue to include staff and Affiliate representation
- Pacifica should maintain its democratically elected local governing boards to provide meaningful oversight over radio station management and budgets
- A public, network-wide effort to improve the Pacifica Bylaws that includes all concerned stakeholders should be conducted
As concerned Pacifica Members from all 5 stations we reject:
- Lawsuits and threats of legal action which divide us and waste our resources
- Bylaws revisions that diminish democracy, eliminate local oversight and concentrate power in the hands of a few
- Efforts to shut down or sell any of the 5 Pacifica stations
If you agree, sign here:
After Signing...
Please consider posting a few words as a testimonial "Endorsement" about why you signed the petition and perhaps, a few words on why you voted "No" on the New Day Bylaws.
And/or: use the Social Media share buttons on this page to share the petition with others!
Scores of Activists have signed our petition and Voted 'No', here are some of them:
