Pacificana.Org - all things pacifican

I received the following message from Aaron earlier today. Aaron hosted and co-produced Pacifica’s coverage of the Winter Soldier events in the DC area earlier this year. He has two books coming out in the next few months on the stories and testimony of returning veterans. Congratulations Aaron!

I’m very pleased to announce I’ve received a fellowship from the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program. The Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism will help fund my continued research and reporting, and provide me with continuing education and support on challenges Iraq and Afghanistan veterans face returning to school after serving in a war-zone.

Together, with the fellowship I received from the Hechinger Institute at Columbia University Teachers College, the Carter Center fellowship will free me up to continue in-depth, investigative journalism that highlights the human costs of the war at home and simple steps that can be taken to help ameliorate these problems.

Check out the work Aaron and others have done in this area at the KPFA site WarComesHome.org.

So the night before last, KPFT was the home of another potentially dangerous overnight happening - a man armed with a knife tried to get into the station and busted out a backdoor window to do so. No one was hurt, and the man was arrested. Program Director Ernesto Aguilar describes the incident at his blog. And pasted below is a story on the incident from Houston’s local ABC News affiliate. ~N

HOUSTON (KTRK) — A Houston radio station that’s been the target of crime before has had another bizarre incident.

According to station officials, there was a disturbance on 90.1 FM KPFT premises in the early morning hours today, involving a knife-wielding individual attempting to gain access to the building.

The individual in question arrived on station property and demanded access. After being rebuffed, he became agitated and punched out one of the window panes on the back door. He lost the weapon he was carrying when he punched through the glass.

He was apprehended without resistance and arrested. Police said the man did not express a motive or intent to harm those on property. Programmers, as well as police on site, each reported the man was incoherent.

This incident comes as the one-year anniversary approaches of a still-unsolved drive-by shooting that occurred at KPFT in August 2007.

The Green Party convention broadcast finished up a couple days ago — and it was really good, if I might say so. We received a lot of great feedback. In case you missed it, all three hours are now uploaded and available here for your listening.

Hour 1 is sort of a “Greens 101″, includes guests Ruth Weill and Scott McLarty from the GP, Pat LaMarche (2004 Green VP candidate), Mike Feinstein (Green and former mayor of Santa Monica), and others

Hour 2 includes speeches and sounds from the convention and a discussion of the Green Party in the political landscape. Guests include Kathy Kelly (of Voices for Creative Non-Violence), Malik Rahim (of Common Ground), Jill Stein (Physicians for Social Responsibility), Omar Lopez (immigration community organizer), and more.

Hour 3 focuses on a discussion of the nomination of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente. We hear from them, as well as Ralph Nader, Jared Ball, and others.

More information about the Green Party is online at gp.org or the GP’s convention last weekend at greenparty2008.org.

Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hear from former Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith and other guests Tuesday morning on the role that Bush Administration lawyers played in creating, developing, and implementing interrogation & torture policies at Guantanamo.

Feith was one of the architects of the Bush Administration’s legal and policy framework for interrogations. He was initially scheduled to testify in June, but cancelled on the morning of the hearing. His appearance is ensured by subpoena.

Pacifica Radio will broadcast the hearing live Tuesday, starting at 9:00 a.m. EDT. KPFA’s Larry Bensky will host this special, with Laura Prives producing. Tune into the live stream here.

Other guests scheduled for tomorrow’s hearing include Philippe Sands, Professor of International Law, University College London; and Deborah Pearlstein, Associate Research Scholar at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs.

Tuesday’s hearing follows up on previous coverage of this topic. Last month, Pacifica aired Judiciary Committee hearings that featured former White House Chief of Staff David Addington, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, and others.

Renowned anti-nuclear champion and Nobel-nominated Dr. Helen Caldicott has launched a new one-hour, weekly public affairs radio show called “If You Love This Planet.” The first show will air on KPFT in Houston on Monday July 14 at 7:00 PM Central time.

“If You Love This Planet” explores the many dangers of nuclear weapons, nuclear power, climate change and global environmental crises, and explores real solutions to these problems.

We have all heard Dr. Caldicott’s riveting speeches on our airwaves over the past several decades. Many of us have seen her powerfully engage audiences in person. Her radio show is a beacon of truth, a fresh, uncensored and courageous voice in a media landcape that has more-often-than-not ignored the dangers of all things nuclear.

Dr. Caldicott also takes on the global enviromental crises we all want and need to learn more about, “full frontal.” The time has come to cut through the media blackouts and accumulated lies.

She’s passionate, engaging, funny, extraordinary and powerful. And she has a guest list for this show that will make your head spin.

“If You Love This Planet,” (also the title of her book, and her Academy Award-winning documentary film) is recorded weekly in Canberra, the capital of Helen’s native Australia. Her primary host station is Pacifica’s KPFT in Houston, Texas. Her target audience? Every last American, Canadian and European citizen, for starters.

Dr. Helen Caldicott, a pediatrician, was the primary founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility. As one of the most articulate and passionate advoctes of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, Helen has devoted the last 35 years of her life to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behavior to stop environmental destruction.

Her latest books include “War In Heaven” and “Nuclear Power is Not the Answer.”

For those in the Los Angeles area, check this out. You can buy tickets here. ~N

KPFK Pacifica Radio 90.7 FM presents: CLASH OF THE POCHOS — Sun., July 27 at 8:00 p.m.

Culture Clash ~ The Pochos
Kicking off KPFK’s 50th Golden Anniversary 1959-2009

A rollicking evening of political satire under the stars with Culture Clash in a benefit performance for KPFK featuring rare and indelible works from Culture Clash’s historical anthology, and KPFK’s Pocho Hour Of Power at the Ford Amphitheatre.

Enjoy performances by exciting Artists who are generously donating their creative time and extraordinary talent to support KPFK

KPFK 1959-2009 ~ 50 Years of Public Radio Powered by the People
Imagine, KPFK Pacifica Radio will reach its 50th year of continuous noncommercial community service in 2009. To kick-off our 50th anniversary year celebrations, KPFK presents Culture Clash, the hilarious and potent satirical trio (www.cultureclash.com), on July 27 in a benefit performance for KPFK at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood, also featuring KPFK’s own Pocho Hour of Power led by Lalo Alcaraz, creator of the daily comic strip “La Cucaracha” and the music of MEZKLAH. KPFK is immensely grateful that the artists are donating their time and talent for the evening as a benefit for KPFK.

The 13th annual Grassroots Radio Conference is happening later this month out in Portland, hosted by the good folks at KBOO. I won’t be able to attend, but GRCs are usually pretty fun - if you have a chance, check it out. The email below is from KBOO’s Ani Haines.
~Nathan

- - - - -

Registration for the GRC will be open on Thursday, July 24th, 2 - 8pm. We will have a reception /social gathering at the Native American Student and Community Center from 5 - 8 pm.

Breakfast & Registration will be ready at 8 AM, Friday, July 25th, with the Opening Plenary beginning at 9:30 am.

The conference ends Sunday, 1:30 pm, following the Closing Plenary on Sunday, July 27th.

Many, many more details forthcoming. I will post a list of workshops to this list tomorrow.

Further updates: The rooms that we blocked out at University Place (at a great price!) are going fast. Please reserve your room now if you want one! I am copying the information from our website to the bottom of this email for everyone’s convenience.

And finally, if you are planning to come to the conference, PLEASE REGISTER SOON!!! I am trying to get a good count for food, etc. If you register AFTER JULY 18th, YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MEALS! So don’t delay, register today! You’ll be glad you did and so will I.

The GRC 13 food planning crew has just asked me to ask you: If you are coming to the Grassroots Radio Conference, we ask you to bring your own re-usable water bottle and travel mug. We are trying to use very few disposables, in keeping with our commitment to the environment.

Thanks so much! We are very excited to host this conference, along with KPCN, Portland Center for Public Humanities at PSU, and the PSU Departments of English and Communications.

I look forward to seeing you in about 2.5 weeks!
ani

REVOLUTION REWIND: 1968 YEAR IN REVIEW
A three-hour documentary special

“Revolution Rewind” is a 40th Anniversary celebration of a year in which a radical wave crashed across the globe, changing the world and its people politically, socially, and culturally. Wars, marches, elections, assassinations, human rights, civil rights, women’s rights, the explosion of consciousness and creativity… And Pacifica Radio was there to capture it all.

Check back here for a link to the documentary program after July 10th. Or check with your local Pacifica station or affiliate for air time.

CONTENT BY HOUR:
Hour 1: Revolution Rewind: 1968 Year in Review, Part One consists of a broad overview of 1968, with audio selections ranging from Pacifica’s courageous and uncensored coverage of the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, Jr., members of the Black Panther Party, Cesar Chavez, Robert Kennedy, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Pete Seeger, Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Ayn Rand, and many more.

Hour 2: Revolution Rewind: 1968 Year in Review, Part Two showcases the powerful artistic contributions made within this year of turmoil: the sounds of Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Melina Mercouri, Sun Ra, Phil Ochs, Abbie Hoffman, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and others.

Hour 3: Revolution Rewind: 1968 Year in Review, Part Three features two very special guests who found themselves on the forefront of change in 1968 — independent journalist Connie Lawn and activist Tom Hayden join us in the studio 40 years after the fact, to share thoughts and analysis on the lasting importance and impression of 1968, the year of sounds that changed the world.

PRODUCTION STAFF:
Executive Producer: Pacifica Radio Archives and Brian DeShazor
Produced and Edited by Mark Torres
Written by Joanne Griffith
Hosts: Brian DeShazor, Joanne Griffith, Sonali Kolhatkar, Mark Maxwell, Margaret Prescod, Aura Bogado, and Mark Torres

Pacifica Radio will air a live three-hour broadcast from the Green Party Convention in Chicago on Sunday, July 13th as the convention comes to a close.

The convention coverage will air live on Pacifica’s five sister stations this Sunday — 12n-3pm EDT / 11am-2pm CDT / 9am-12n PDT. If you listen to a Pacifica affiliate station, check to see if they’ll be carrying the broadcast live or tape-delayed.

In this Presidential election year, huge issues face the United States: wars in the Middle East and saber-rattling with Iran; the danger of environmental collapse; and the economy in recession with no end in sight… Yet on many of the most important issues facing us, only modest differences exist between the two major parties.

However, over the weekend of July 13th, the Green Party will chart a different course at its annual convention in Chicago. Hosted by Davey D from KPFA’s Hard Knock Radio and produced by KPFK’s Christine Blosdale, Pacifica Radio will be on site to bring you live coverage on Sunday, July 13th. We’ll air speeches, stories and sounds from the Green Party convention, as well as terrific live interviews and analysis of the Greens in the current political landscape.

Pacifica’s Green Party coverage is the first in the network’s summer coverage of the national political conventions. The Democratic National Convention takes place in Denver at the end of August, and the Republicans will be in St. Paul at the beginning of September. We’ll have a crew on-site for both.

I’m reposting this from Ernesto Aguilar’s blog. I briefly met Sean on a staff call last week, and I look forward to working with him. Welcome aboard this crazy ship, Sean! ~N

Sean Heitkemper has been announced as the new general manager of KPFK in Los Angeles. Sonali Kolhatkar notes:

At only 36 years of age, Sean has more than 13 years of experience managing public radio stations. He is a native of Southern California, majored in political science at Cal State Long Beach, and worked at KKJZ, formerly KLON, in Long Beach. Sean was hired to run KPFK by Pacifica Executive Director Nicole Sawaya, who picked him from a set of finalists chosen by the Local Station Board.

Sean served in various capacities at KLON/KKJZ, including as a membership manager. Sean hosted a program at KKJZ and was the station manager until the spring of 2007.

Congrats to Sean and KPFK!

SPECIAL LIVE COVERAGE: Pacifica Radio presents the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Bush Administration’s torture policies, live from Capitol Hill, anchored by Larry Bensky

DATE: Thursday, June 26, 2008
TIMES: 9:00AM - 2:00PM EDT (6:00AM - 11:00AM PDT)

Streamed live at Pacifica.org.

The House Judiciary Committee will hear from David Addington, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President, and Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John C. Yoo. Pacifica Radio will broadcast the hearing live, starting at 9:00AM Eastern (6:00AM Pacific), Thursday, June 26, with its veteran Washington correspondent Larry Bensky as anchor.

Among the issues expected to be discussed are the use of stress and torture in interrogations, why many senior FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials failed to take strong actions after identifying interrogation abuses, and the recent Supreme Court 5-4 decision upholding habeas corpus rights at Guantanamo.

Pacifica Radio will present constitutional and legal experts to discuss the issues involved in the hearing and will invite its listeners to present comments following the hearings. Possible pre-show and post-show guests include: Rep. John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin, Professor of Constitutional Law at American University, Mark Danner, Professor of Journalism, U.C. Berkeley, Scott Horton, Chair of the Committee on International Law of the Bar Association of New York City, Clive Stanford Smith, Founder and Director of “Reprieve,” London, David Bonner, Public Lawyer and Professor at University of Leicester in the UK, Laura Donahue, Fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, and Paul Glusman, Berkeley Employment Lawyer

I knew Don White primarily in his capacity as a member of the Pacifica National Board, and I was always struck by how up-front and genuine he was. In Board activities, he had a knack for disagreeing without being disagreeable. In conversations, he was charming and kind. It was several months later that I learned about Don’s other activism and his connections with progressive and radical movements throughout the hemisphere. He was a great guy, and his passing is a sad loss to us.

The following text is from KPFK’s tribute page to Don. If you visit the KPFK page, it includes several tributes to Don. The website for “Uprising” with Sonali Kolhatkar also features a memorial and several additional tributes.

~Nathan

It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of a wonderful member of the KPFK and Pacifica Family. Always cheerful, and incredibly generous, Don White will be sorely missed. We will be presenting special tributes to Don on the Air, check the [ Programming Highlights ] for the latest details.

DON WHITE died on about June 20th, 2008, apparently of a heart attack.

The Paul Robeson Community Center Honored Don White in 2004 and this obituary is drawn from the bio we put together then. Don will be sorely missed!

Born in Anacortes, Washington, his life was a reflection of the last 60 years of the progressive movement in the United States. From the time that he was a college student in the late 1950’s, fighting against the injustice surrounding the House of Representatives’ Un-American Activities Committee, Don remained engaged in the struggle for peace and justice for humanity.

As a dynamic speaker, he was a fixture of the left, often serving as Master of Ceremonies or moderator at events sponsored by a wide range of progressive organizations and coalitions. He was regularly the guy who made the pitch for money at demonstrations as well as social and political events — because he put people at ease, could make them laugh, and made them want to give and be a part of something much larger than themselves. As a result, Don raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for scores of progressive and humanitarian organizations.

Don came to Los Angeles in 1963 and taught history at Irving Junior High School there. As a charter and lifetime member of United Teachers of Los Angeles, he was deeply committed to issues of equity in educational opportunity, especially for children in the inner cities. Don participated in every teachers’ union strike from 1963 until his retirement in 1997.

In 1976, Don traveled to Guatemala in response to the devastating earthquake. He called that month-long journey “an epiphany, a life changing experience” which remained a vibrant part of his political psyche and which resulted in his friendship and faithful service to Central America. During the war in El Salvador, Don made 14 trips to that country and to Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Don was a member of the Echo Park Chapter of the Committee in Solidarity with the people of El Salvador, CISPES, since joining the group shortly after its founding convention in 1980. As an organizer, Board Member and leader of CISPES in Los Angeles, Don coordinated and addressed countless rallies, demonstrations, fundraisers, teach-in’s, delegations, material aid drives, congressional visits, civil disobedience actions demanding an end to U.S. intervention in El Salvador and Central America to Central America.

In addition, Don was an organizer of scores of city-wide coalitions addressing various other progressive causes including peace in the Middle East and the treatment of immigrants. As a “Legal Observer” working with the National Lawyers Guild, he could be seen wearing the fluorescent Green Hat worn by the NLG Legal Observers at virtually every major – and minor – demonstration in Los Angeles.

Don was a founding member of the Southern California Fair Trade Network which organized for the WTO protests in Seattle and similar actions around the U.S. He served on the Boards of the Coalition in Solidarity with the people of El Salvador, the Office of the Americas and Americans for Democratic Action, as well as the Local Station Board of Los Angeles community radio station KPFK, 90.7 fm and Pacifica Radio’s National Board, among others. He was also a lead organizer and coordinator in the recent historic mass demonstrations for peace and pro-immigrant solidarity rallies in Los Angeles.

From http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/nyregion/25wbai.html:

As the encomiums for George Carlin have rolled in from stand-up legends, celebrities and scholars, his death at 71 has also been noted at a diminutive, iconic and iconoclastic radio station in Manhattan, WBAI-FM.

Its broadcast of the comedian’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” became a landmark moment in the history of free speech. In a 1978 milestone in the station’s contentious and unruly history, WBAI lost a 5-to-4 Supreme Court decision that to this day has defined the power of the government over broadcast material it calls indecent.

“It’s a bad time here for us because George Carlin was part of the family,” said Anthony Riddle, the station’s general manager. “I think all the producers are dealing with it in their own way,” Mr. Riddle said, some doing commentary and others running archival material, including a bleeped-out version of the “Seven Words” routine.

The 1978 ruling, often termed “the Carlin case,” was actually called Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, and turned on a 12-minute Carlin monologue called “Filthy Words” that appeared on a 1973 album, “Occupation: Foole.”

After the Carlin album monologue was broadcast on WBAI in 1973 during “Lunch Pail,” an afternoon show, a listener objected that his young son had heard the words on a car radio. The corporate parent of WBAI, the Pacifica Foundation, received a letter of reprimand from the commission, which the company challenged in court.

The Supreme Court said that the broadcast was indecent, though not obscene, and gave the commission the right to determine the definition of indecency and to prohibit such material from being broadcast during hours when children were likely to be listening.

Despite this legal Dunkirk, “the fact that his seven dirty words having emanated from here is kind of a source of pride,” said Jose R. Santiago, the station’s news director.

The court decision “was about more than just radio,” Mr. Riddle added, “it was about the right to be human beings in the United States.”

“It was a gutsy thing for a radio station to do, taking that stand,” he said.

Though the station was not fined, Pacifica paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, said Larry Josephson, the WBAI station manager from 1974 to 1976.

Now, broadcasting the seven words “would cost us $360,000 per incident — so those seven words would cost us $2.5 million,” about equal to the station’s annual budget, Mr. Riddle said. “Now we’d be severely limited in taking a chance on protecting people’s free-speech rights.”

Recently Mr. Josephson had to abide by the consequences of the very commission decision he was involved in, as the independent producer of WBAI’s annual “Bloomsday” celebration on June 16, which honored James Joyce and his novel “Ulysses.”

Though the broadcast began at 7 p.m., the protagonist Molly Bloom’s famous lengthy monologue of erotic musings — which contains several forbidden words — had to be read after 10 p.m. during the “safe harbor” period when the F.C.C. allows the broadcast of what it terms “indecent” material.

The station that for generations has spoken truth to power is incongruously situated on the 10th floor of 120 Wall Street, and smack in the middle of the FM dial, at 99.5. Now in its 48th year, WBAI was both an expression, and ringleader, of the counterculture during its peak in the mid-1960s through the Vietnam War.

Observers have said that in its heyday, its on-air personalities, like Mr. Josephson, Steve Post and Bob Fass, extended the popularity of FM radio and explored the possibilities of the medium.

But its turmoil-filled subsequent history has featured a fiesta of staff clashes, board eruptions, station coups and protests. Amid accusations of every imaginable form of -ism, on-air personalities and producers have been summarily banned; on-air resignations have not been unknown.

These days WBAI, whose slogan is “Your Peace and Justice Community Radio Station,” has a paid staff of 25 and 200 independent volunteer producers, Mr. Riddle said, adding that WBAI has more than 200,000 listeners. He declined to say how many subscribers there are, but the number is believed to be fewer than 20,000; the minimum subscription rate is $25 a year.

Mr. Riddle, who joined the station in February, said that “it’s always difficult to run a democracy,” adding that “a lot of people believe in the kind of radio we provide,” since the station does not accept advertising, underwriting or grants.

If in many ways the station has changed, the legality of broadcasting the “Seven Words” has not.

“Now, 35 years later, we can’t take a chance of playing it,” Mr. Riddle said. “Discussion of the words is not acceptable, unless you cut the heart out of it.”

Like the headline? I think Carlin would approve.

There have already been thousands - maybe millions - of tributes to George Carlin over the last 36 hours since the great comic died in New York at age 71. As a comedian, he was blunt, profane, and hilarious in his critique of our often-absurd use of language.

It was one of those examinations of language use (and regulation) that got us in trouble over here at Pacifica. In 1973, WBAI host Paul Gorman broadcast, unedited, George Carlin’s “Filty Words” monologue — the one with the “seven dirty words” sprinkled throughout. A listener complained to the FCC, which in turn sanctioned WBAI/Pacifica. Pacifica challenged that decision and valiantly fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court, making the radical claim that free speech ought to also apply to broadcasting. Our lawyers argued that Carlin was a significant social satirist who uses the language of ordinary people. They argued: “Carlin is not mouthing obscenities, he is merely using words to satirize as harmless and essentially silly our attitudes towards those words.”

We lost. And the FCC has been in the business of regulating dirty words ever since.

Carlin said he was “perversely kind of proud of” being a footnote in American legal history. In fact, he maintained a compilation of documents from the case on his website, including this FCC-generated transcript of the “Filthy Words” monologue.

I think I can say that Pacifica was and is proud to have fought the Carlin case. Even if the Supreme Court didn’t rule in our favor, it was worth a shot and Carlin was certainly a great act to work with on it. He was a terrific observer of society and satirist, and we’ll miss him.

Last year, the Pacifica Radio Archives produced a one-hour program about the “Carlin Case”. The first half includes interviews with WBAI host Paul Gorman, former FCC Commissioners, a lawyer for the National Association of Broadcasters, and a minister. It also includes a healthy dose of the “Filthy Words” monologue — edited for language, naturally, as this was produced for broadcast.

The second half hour features two interviews with George Carlin himself - one in 1970 before his “Filthy Words” routine was broadcast on WBAI, and the other conducted by Larry Bensky at KPFA in June 1997, nearly 30 years later. Together, they provide an interesting time-lapse perspective.

I’ll close here with a quote Carlin gave to The Onion A.V. Club in 2005. I think it sums up where Carlin was coming from and why we found him so endearing:

“There is a certain amount of righteous indignation I hold for this culture, because to get back to the real root of it, to get broader about it, my opinion that is my species — and my culture in America specifically — have let me down and betrayed me. I think this species had great, great promise, with this great upper brain that we have, and I think we squandered it on God and Mammon. And I think this culture of ours has such promise, with the promise of real, true freedom, and then everyone has been shackled by ownership and possessions and acquisition and status and power… And perhaps it’s just a human weakness and an inevitable human story that these things happen. But there’s disillusionment and some discontent in me about it. I don’t consider myself a cynic. I think of myself as a skeptic and a realist. But I understand the word ‘cynic’ has more than one meaning, and I see how I could be seen as cynical. ‘George, you’re cynical.’ Well, you know, they say if you scratch a cynic you find a disappointed idealist. And perhaps the flame still flickers a little, you know?”

We’ll keep it flickering as best we can, pal.

Seems like almost every year, Bush proposes slashing all of most of the budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That’s the entity that provides annual “Community Service Grants” to public and community radio stations around the country — including your beloved Pacifica stations. This year is no exception — as the note below explains, Bush has proposed cutting the CPB budget by 56 percent this year.

Even though the CPB has survived through seven years of Bush, this could be the year it gets hammered unless you help. Free Press has put together a handy form for you to contact your Senators and tell them what you think.

~Nathan

Tell Congress to Save Public Broadcasting
June 23, 2008
By Megan Tady

Throwing the remote at the TV or yelling at the radio after another unbelievable comment from a TV anchor (terrorist fist-bump, anyone?) sure does help to relieve some pent up frustration against the news media. But a busted remote certainly won’t get us any closer to getting more real news on our airwaves.

And neither will letting the Bush administration get away with their slash-and-burn tactics to stifle public broadcasting. The administration has proposed cutting the public broadcasting budget by 56 percent — putting at risk vital news, educational and cultural programming that millions of Americans say they prefer to commercial media.

Getting serious, independent journalism is already hard enough – now can you imagine the media landscape we would face if Bush chops down public broadcasting? It’s going to look pretty bleak.

But Congress has the ability to protect noncommercial media by not only restoring but increasing funding for diverse public media. The Senate is going to vote on the Bush cuts tomorrow. Tell your Senators to save public broadcasting now.

The Grand Rapids Community Media Center (WYCE-FM) is seeking qualified applicants for two new positions:
1. Community Relations Coordinator - 1/2 time position
2. Program Director - 3/4 time position

Community Relations COordinator

Summary
The Community Relations Coordinator will be the main customer service and public relations communicator for WYCE.

Responsibilities
- Serving as the primary point of contact for general station inquiries and interactions
- Coordinating personnel, presence and promotions for station events (concerts, blood drives, fundraisers, etc.)
- Working with Development Director and Station Manager to organize and maintain donor appreciation programs
- Assisting staff with production and scheduling of on-air fund drives
- Assisting Program Director with production and scheduling of on-air announcements
- Creating and coordinating production of promotional materials (Web listings, quarterly newsletter, e-mail blasts, advertisements, etc.)
- Developing, with Station Manager and Development Director, WYCE merchandise sales system

Required Qualifications
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Friendly, outgoing demeanor
- Meticulous attention to detail
- Desire to examine and streamline practices and processes
- Ability to efficiently manage highly varied workload

Desired Qualifications
- At least two years of college-level education or comparable work experience
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and other standard office systems
- Proficiency in a foreign language (especially Spanish) is by no means mandatory, but would be helpful

Compensation
The Community Relations Coordinator is a half-time position (20 hrs/wk). Compensation for this position includes competitive pay, flexible scheduling, and a fun, laid-back working environment.

Program Director

Summary
The Program Director will provide primary creative and functional direction for WYCE’s programming, on-air and online.

Responsibilities
- Working with Station Manager and Executive Director to define/refine overall programming goals, values and priorities for WYCE
- Working with Music Director to ensure musical programming fits programming goals
- Creating/evaluating specialty programs for on-air and online broadcast
- Coordinating volunteer staffing for on-air/online broadcast schedules
- Coordinating ongoing program review process
- Reviewing/Revamping scheduling of Public Service Announcements, community calendar and other non-musical programming elements
- Working with Station Manager and Development Director to produce on-air fund drives

Special Projects
In addition to ongoing responsibilities, the Program Director will work closely with the Station Manager and Music Director to implement two new technological advances at WYCE: the creation of a secondary online program stream, and the digitization of WYCE’s music library.

This will involve extensive research, planning and communication to develop and launch these initiatives, and to provide appropriate support and education for WYCE staff and volunteers, to ensure smooth transition and operations.

Required Qualifications
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Creative vision, and willingness to take risks
- Emphasis on advance planning, avoidance of reactive behavior
- Ability to deliver constructive criticism, and to praise good work
- Capacity to successfully manage multiple projects at all times
- Dedication to continuous improvement
- Desire to create excellent programming

Desired Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Science, Media/Communications, English or other related field of study, or comparable professional/educational experience
- Experience in the broadcast industry, specifically in noncommercial, music-oriented programming
- Knowledge of WYCE’s history, philosophy and programming
- Understanding of current and cutting-edge media technology
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Internet content creation/editing, and audio/video software
- Proficiency in a foreign language (especially Spanish) is by no means mandatory, but would be helpful

Compensation and Benefits
The Program Director is an exempt part-time position (30 hrs/wk), which may expand to a full-time role in the future. Compensation for this position includes a competitive salary, flexible scheduling, and a fun, laid-back working environment.

Application Procedure for Both Positions:
Please submit a letter of interest and resume by Friday, July 18, 2008 to:
Kevin Murphy
WYCE Station Manager
jobs@wyce.org

In your application please elaborate on your experience and expertise as it pertains to the required and desired qualifications for this position.

Please also include the names and contact information of at least three references.

(Note: If you would like to provide samples of past work, please do not send multimedia attachments. Please submit any audio/video materials on CD or DVD by mail: WYCE Program Director Search, 711 Bridge St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49507)

THE GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. WOMEN AND MINORITIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about WYCE and the Community Media Center we invite you to visit our website: www.grcmc.org

Berkeley, California (June 16, 2008) – On Thursday, June 26, Pacifica Radio will broadcast the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on torture. David Addington, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President, and Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John C. Yoo will testify. Pacifica’s broadcast will start at 9:00am EDT (6:00am PDT), anchored from Capitol Hill by its veteran National Affairs Correspondent Larry Bensky.

Among the issues to be discussed are the use of stress and torture in interrogations; why many senior FBI and Department of Justice officials failed to take strong actions after identifying interrogation abuses; and the newly recent Supreme Court 5-4 decision upholding habeas corpus rights at Guantanamo.

Pacifica will present constitutional and legal experts to discuss the issues involved in the hearing and will invite its listeners to present comments following the hearings.

List of Potential Guests:

• Jamie Raskin, Professor of Constitutional Law at American University
• Mark Danner, Professor of Journalism, U.C. Berkeley
• Scott Horton, Chair of the Committee on International Law of the Bar Association of New York City
• Clive Stanford Smith, Founder and Director of Reprieve
• David Bonner, Public Lawyer and Professor at University of Leicester in the UK
• Laura Donahue, Fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School
• Paul Glusman, Berkeley Employment Lawyer

Tentative Broadcast Schedule:
Pre-show: 9-10am EDT / 6–7am PDT
Hearing: 10am-1pm EDT / 7-10am PDT
Post-show: 1-2pm EDT / 10-11am PDT

NOTE: Depending on the number of witnesses and how many rounds of questioning by committee members, the hearing can either end earlier or later than the specified schedule.

SPECIAL BROADCAST:
CELEBRATING MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Live Broadcast of a Same-Sex Wedding

From KPFK/ Pacifica Radio, “Celebrating Marriage Equality” will make history as one of the first live broadcasts of a legally recognized same-sex wedding in California.

In mid-May, the California Supreme Court ruled that people have a fundamental right to marry the person of their choice. On Friday, June 20th, Pacifica will broadcast the wedding of Linda Martinez and her partner Regina Rodriguez, as well as discussion with the happy couple, their minister, friends, and family.

The broadcast will also features discussion and analysis with Los Angeles-area LGBT activists about the implciations of the Court decision and the looming November referendum that would constitutionally ban same-sex marriages in the state if passed.

Hosted by Sonali Kolhatkar of KPFK’s morning show “Uprising, the broadcast will air live on KPFK and other stations next Friday, June 20th, 11am-12n EDT / 8-9am PDT.

SPECIAL BROADCAST:
RADIO BLOOMSDAY: A JAMES JOYCE CELEBRATION
Starring Alec Baldwin, Anne Meara & Amy Stiller, Kate Valk and Alvin Epstein

From WBAI/Pacifica Radio, RADIO BLOOMSDAY is an intimate radio program featuring readings of James Joyce’s Ulysses plus selections from Joyce’s entire canon, performed by leading actors. Bloomsday is celebrated every year on June 16, the day Ulysses takes place.

WBAI will air a nine-hour Radio Bloomsday special, beginning at 7pm on Monday, June 16th. The first three hours — all FCC-clean — will be distributed live to the Pacifica network via satellite. Later hours will be posted on the web on Tuesday.

“Radio Bloomsday will make the works of Joyce accessible to a 21st century audience, the newly initiated and devoted stalwarts alike,” explains producer Larry Josephson. “This year’s show begins with a survey of all of Joyce’s works, followed by a spotlight on the holy trinity of characters in Ulysses: Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom and his wife, Molly.”

ACTORS & PERFORMERS:
– Alvin Epstein (the original Lucky in “Waiting for Godot”) reads a tribute to Samuel Beckett, Joyce’s former secretary
– Amy Stiller will do a tribute to the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh
– Alec Baldwin reads The Citizen
– Anne Meara will perform the role of Gertie MacDowell
– Kate Valk as Gertrude Stein

In addition to these stars, others scheduled to perform in Radio Bloomsday include John O’Callaghan from Stargate Atlantis, Obie award winner Aaron Beall, Faux Real Theatre’s Mark Greenfield, performance artist ZeroBoy, and actors Jim Fletcher, Patricia O’Connell, Emily Mitchell, Vera Beren, David Pincus, Laura Simms, Bob Dishy, and Alana Newhouse.

PRODUCERS & DIRECTORS:
–Radio Bloomsday is produced by Larry Josephson, winner of the prestigious Peabody Award and three Grammy nominations for his work with Bob & Ray. Larry co-created (with Isaiah Sheffer) the first Bloomsday broadcast from Symphony Space 26 years ago, which he produced for radio until last year.
– The broadcast is directed by Caraid O’Brien, who will also perform the complete Molly Bloom monologue (in the upload-only hours). She wrote and directed “Bloomsday on Broadway” at Symphony Space for three years. Caraid was born in Galway, Ireland and, at 33, is the same age as the fictional Molly Bloom.
– Artistic Director is Janet Coleman, author of “The Compass,” host & producer of The Cat Radio Cafe, and WBAI Arts Director.

Pacifica couldn’t make it to this year’s National Conference on Media Reform, but I wanted to mention that Free Speech TV is there doing some live broadcasting, and that Free Press will post lots of audio and video from the conference to their website after it happens. ~Nathan

Bill Moyers, Amy Goodman, Van Jones, Phil Donahue, Laura Flanders, Dan Rather, and many other media luminaries are in Minneapolis, joining thousands gathered to challenge corporate media monopolies.

Free Speech TV, the nation’s first independent progressive television network, is offering 21 hours of live coverage from the National Conference for Media Reform.

The National Conference for Media Reform, hosted by Free Press, marks the epicenter of a growing national movement challenging corporate control of U.S. media systems.

DATES: June 6 – 8, 2008

TIMES (EDST): LIVE Friday 11am – 1pm; 2pm – 6:00pm
LIVE Saturday 9am – 2pm; 3pm – 7pm; 9pm – 11:30pm
LIVE Sunday 10:30am – 2:00pm
Repeats Friday 6pm – 9:00am Saturday
Repeats Saturday 11:30pm – 10:30am Sunday
Repeats Sunday 2:00pm – 3:00am Monday

Plays on Free Speech TV, DISH Network Channel 9415, with a live netcast at http://www.freespeech.org

Program Schedule - all times Eastern Daylight Time

Friday June 6
11:00am - 1:00pm Opening Plenary
2:00pm - 2:30pm Interview #1
2:30pm - 4:00pm Media and Election: Uncovering 2008
4:00pm - 4:30pm Interview #2
4:30pm - 6:00pm How Far Have We Come: People of Color in the Mass Media

Saturday June 7
9:00am - 10:00am Keynote: Bill Moyers
10:00am - 10:30am Interview #3
10:30am - 12:00pm From Broadcast to Broadband
12:00pm - 12:30pm Interview #4
12:30pm - 2:00pm Media and the War: An Unembedded View
3:00pm - 3:30pm Interview #5
3:30pm - 5:00pm Media Policy in a New Congress
5:00pm - 5:30pm Interview #6
5:30pm - 7:00pm Owning Our Own and Reaching the Masses
9:00pm - 11:30pm Keynote: Media Begins with Me

Sunday June 8
10:30am - 12:00pm TBA
12:00pm - 12:30pm Interview #7
12:30pm - 2:00pm Closing Plenary

For more information: freespeech.org, freepress.net