PACIFICA RADIO

'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 Archive', 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.

Contents

History

Programs

Stations

Board of Directors

See also

Further reading

External links

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.
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 national Pacifica board was 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 chairman.
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 boards at each of the five Pacifica stations, whose boards in turn elect the national board, all of which are now subject to accountability and recall by the listener sponsors.
Pacifica National News Director Dan Coughlin was voted Interim Executive Director of the network in 2002. But the years of internal legal battles and financial mismanagement had taken a toll. As of late 2005, the network was still on somewhat shaky financial ground, and was operating with an interim executive director. In January 2006, Pacifica hired Greg Guma as the new 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 -- as well as "Informed Dissent," a special election-season series that drew from talent across the network.
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. Meanwhile, the network expanded its schedule of national special broadcasts, covering the Gonzales hearings live, and sending production teams to the US Social Forum and Media and Democracy Conference. It also geared up to provide more information through multiple media platforms, using social networking technology and interactive media. One interactive website, Warcomeshome.org, began to offer hard-hitting stories about the true costs of the Iraq war, as well as innovative means of contributing to, and distributing information about, the impact of the conflict.

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 implementation 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'' 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.

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.

Board of Directors

'Pacifica National Board'	'Station'
'Mary Berg'	KPFA
'Chandra Hauptman'	KPFA
'Sarv Randhawa'	KPFA
'Lavarn Williams'	KPFA
'David Adelson'	KPFK
'Lydia Brazon'	KPFK
'Margaret Prascod'	KPFK
'Don White'	KPFK
'Dr. Evelyn Serwa Bethune'	KPFT
'Sandra Rawline'	KPFT
'Wendy Schroell'	KPFT
'Michael Woodson'	KPFT

'Pacifica National Board'	'Station'
'Lisa Davis'	WBAI
'Berthold Reimers'	WBAI
'Ray LaForest'	WBAI
'Bob Lederer'	WBAI
'Acie Byrd'	WPFW
'Ambrose Lane'	WPFW
'Rob Robinson'	WPFW
'Thomas Ruffin'	WPFW
'Rip Robbins' ★	KSVR
'Lori Taguma' ★	WOJB
( ★ Affiliate Stations Reps)

See also

★ F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation

★ List of Pacifica Radio Stations and Affiliates

★ List of progressive organizations

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

External links

★ Pacifica.org

★ Pacifica Network stations and affiliates

★ Pacifica Radio Archives

★ ''Democracy Now!''

★ ''Free Speech Radio News''

★ The Lengthening Shadow: Lewis Hill and the Origins of Listener-Sponsored Radio in America