by Patty Heffley
The listeners can't get a word in edgewise;
I first noticed it back in 1996 when I tried to say something. Now, I'm certain that it goes back longer than that. It's the culture, man, the way things are. But if we are going to save Pacifica, that attitude has to change. Power concedes nothing without a fight - everyone knows that.
Anti-listener sentiment has always been around at Pacifica but now that a transfer of power through the legal settlements may be coming, this fact should become central to the conversation and deserves analysis. It is not limited to NYC but since that is my frame of reference, our situation may perhaps serve as boilerplate for the rest of the network.
The democratization movement in NYC as represented by direct listener elections of the LAB is getting its butt kicked. Since calling for elections two years ago (and after working on elections at WBAI for 8 months), I have to conclude that the successful direct listener election at KPFA/Berkeley last year was a miracle. Without success in the Listeners' lawsuit call for voting rights and membership, I fear it is going to be more "taxation without representation" at the four remaining Pacifica stations
Only in the month leading up to the "Xmas Coup 2000" (when many programmers became "fired and banned") did the average WBAI listener find out what the Pacifica dissident movement around the country already knew. Namely, that it was inevitable that Pacifica would finally roll up its sleeves and dig in to gut WBAI, the last of its five stations to resist corporate control. This was a government raid disguised as a corporate takeover - "Corpintelpro" as exiled WBAI producer Robert Knight calls it.
So who is against listener control, anyhow?
Direct election of the local board by the listeners is hardly an exclusively progressive idea. It is very basic and really just the beginnings of democracy. The idea should not even be contested in our "radical and progressive" radio stations. Indeed, many for-profit corporations and most nonprofits elect their boards.
Yet no other element in the reform community (except the "enemy") has been fought like the elections committee at WBAI. To me, it has become apparent that is because power can be had in manipulating or better yet derailing elections until they can be controlled. I see no other reason for such resistance. Perhaps it is because there is a half billion-dollar network at stake and that jobs, prestige and airtime are the prizes.
Here I am not referring to the current Pacifica Foundation Board or its cronies who will be gone as soon as we can get them out. I am addressing those among the reformers who oppose elections. We cannot claim ignorance that they do not exist within our ranks. In New York, there is serious resistance to listener participation in ANY aspect of the station except donating to WBAI or to the groups trying to save it. Listen to the words that are used to characterize donations: "outreach money", "hard-gathered money" but never "listeners' money", So I ask what has changed in the relation of the listeners to their monies? Nothing - just where it goes.
Those producers and protest leaders that have a vested interest in the outcome of a reformed Pacifica may want to institute changes to benefit themselves or have the attitude that they alone are going to revive the network. But if that is to be the way for WBAI (or KPFT) it simply will not work. These groups are the least equipped to bring Pacifica into safety. Anyone that does not see the need for meaningful listener participation in the network risking repeating the situation we are in now. Radio is a very strange and ego-driven animal. To be successful it needs the balance that comes with acknowledgement of the role of the listener.
We are in a fight for democracy at Pacifica and at our local stations. This is no different than the fight for democracy we undertake in our everyday lives against the government and the forces of capital. We all want to live in a civil society. Yet, in New York, this essential truth has not managed to trickle into the "take back WBAI" leadership. There is no desire to give us- the voiceless/the listeners - our rights UNLESS the leadership can control it. At many WBAI demonstrations, the spokesperson for listener elections is scheduled to speak at the end of a 2-hour demonstration for only 3 minutes. Even the lawsuits are given short shrift and history is re-written to minimize the role of listener protests.
The push for democracy has taken a backseat to focus on tactical job actions and hate campaigns against the "Utricians". This refers to the group of WBAI staff that supports Utrice Leid- the interim general manager at WBAI-who are doing the work of Pacifica management along with Utrice’s own "sense of "what is right". However, the obsessive focus on the "Utricians" has been yet another way that the listeners have been denied the information that they need to see the big picture.
Some here in NYC want to wait until we have the station back and can use the subscriber list and the airwaves to organize elections. That may come too late for democracy. At KPFA, it was the pressure of 10,000 listeners marching in the streets that re-opened the station. However, although carts were played and announcements were made, the candidates for KPFA LAB elections were hosted on only two KPFA programs. No other programmers would give up their airtime to promote the listener elections. Hopefully, the atmosphere for the new upcoming elections at KPFA will be more generous.
It is up to the listeners to direct this movement.
Some feel that we are favoring elections over getting rid of the current National Board but listeners are smart enough to push for both at the same time. If power is shared with the listeners, a vibrant community will emerge with input from all who want to further Lew Hill's mission. I believe that should be the litmus test for candidacy of the LAB. There might even be more participation if those that have given so generously for years were included in the future of the network.
In New York, if we are not able to get the current LAB’s participation or the WBAI subscriber lists, we must seek to have as democratic an election process as possible. The pool of listener subscribers and LAB candidates will surely grow with awareness that listeners can have their say. The listeners have the numbers, the money and the desire to create a network that serves the people and nobody else, and to ensure that Pacifica is there for the next generation.
These are the reasons we must work for direct election of the LAB in all Pacifica cities as soon as possible and forever change the Pacifica culture to include the listeners. It will be a slow process but one that must begin now.
Make up your own mind, lead yourself, get informed, empower yourself. Because ain't nobody else going to do it for you.
Patty Heffley is a member of CdPNY Coalition for a democratic Pacifica-NY)- serving the listeners since 1996. Visit wbai.net for more information on WBAI elections and everything else Pacifica.
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