General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe slow lingering death of a local, progressive, independent radio station.
WBAI, 99.5 FM in New York City
An official from Pacifica Radio which controls WBAI came on the air today at 4 p.m. to explain that the station has incurred a six-figure debt for the past decade. And because listener financial support cannot pay the bills, especially the staff and broadcasters, changes will be instituted starting this Monday. 75% of staff has been laid off. Most shows are going off the air. Pacifica will air syndicated shows regardless of their merit for the benefit of the WBAI community and local interests. It may be temporary. Maybe not.
This station has been on the air for decades. It launched Lynn Samuels. Al "Grandpa" Lewis from The Munsters had a dynamic program on Saturdays. Amy Goodman got started on WBAI before "Democracy Now". It had shows that regularly warned about Fukishima and fracking and BP in the Gulf while other stations ignored such stories. The station had programs for newly arrived and established immigrants, particularly Dominicans. A show for atheists.
Maybe these shows were esoteric and could not command a majority of listeners and hence financial support.
It's sad to see the end of an era. It's one less non-MSM, conservative talk station. It joins WEVD and Air America in the NYC Media Cemetery.
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)Link Speed
(650 posts)KPFT in Houston was bombed off the air twice in the early 70s.
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)brooklynite
(94,950 posts)PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Jenoch
(7,720 posts)more support from the progressive community in NYC.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)there have been full-on Pier 6 brawls between station management and its unionized staff, and bitter proxy fights between rival slates seeking control of the stations' board. Some of this stems from the fact that the better-funded KPFA has been subsidizing WBAI, and to some extent the other Pacifica stations.
Now, it appears, WBAI is in for more of this, in spades.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)used to listen to Pacifica in Austin (I think it was some weird cooperation with NPR) I live in Gohmertlandia now and am thankful for NPR
KharmaTrain
(31,706 posts)...WBAI has stood tall for nearly 60 years but, just like the rest of over-the-air radio, it's no longer attracting the listeners it once did. Operational costs have increased while donations have taken a big hit and this is the sad result. The station's frequency has always been of value...at one time it probably would have fetched $250 million but today is probably worth 25% of that. Still...the sale of the station could go towards helping prop up financial difficulties at other Pacifica stations.
In the age of satellite and internet radio, Pacifica can still maintain its quality programming on fewer stations and reach more people...
BowlLikeAChicken
(69 posts)for about 6 years. I am now in Norfolk, Va home of Sinclair communications.
Radio is still an important media that ties together a lot of the local political/business power structure. That is the secular and religious radio stations.
BAI was instrumental in my early education in that it was opposite of stations like WABC (home of Limbaugh, Hannity, The NYPD's mouthpiece in celebrating each of the many shootings of unarmed black men) WOR, WMCA etc.
BAI had its loons and they were very entertaining, but people like Bill Lynch, Elombe Brath, and so many others had a voice too.
I still have boxes of cassette tapes from the 80's with a lot of BAI shows. They also had some of the best humor that would not be allowed on any air now, some (James Irsay, Citizen Kafka, and more I can't remember now).
Sad but predictable given that there is no organized structure of nearly the power of the conservative side.
Glad I have my tapes, pity I'll be the only hearing them.
no_hypocrisy
(46,300 posts)If you want to listen to the last hours of WBAI, here is the link: http://www.wbai.org