March 3, 2001, 9:08PM
Rally rips changes at Pacifica network
Radical radio losing its edge, they say
By DANNY PEREZ
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle
Demonstrators with signs reading "corporate hacks off the Pacifica Board" and "Pacifica: Stop wrecking free-speech radio" called Saturday for Pacifica Chairman David Acosta of Houston to resign.
The rally, which involved protesters from across the country, came outside the Double Tree Post Oak hotel, site of the Pacifica Foundation's annual meeting.
Pacifica, based in Washington, D.C., operates five stations nationwide, including KPFT (90.1 FM) in Houston. It often has carried programming that could be construed as anti-establishment.
Critics complain that management in recent years has censored political commentators and replaced newscasts with music.
"I'm here and dozens of other people are here because this group inside the hotel is trying to destroy the only independent radio network in the United States," said Andrea Buffa of Media Alliance, a nonprofit media advocacy group. "It is being attacked from the inside."
Police were stationed in the hotel lobby and near meeting rooms for security.
Some board members and their families received threats before the convention, Pacifica spokesman Fred Winters said, but he said that was not the reason for the security.
To try to defuse tension during the convention, Pacifica's board allowed protesters to speak at an unscheduled open forum. The speakers complained about the station's management and the direction its programming has taken.
After listening to several complaints, the board adjourned the meeting.
One of the issues raised was Pacifica's transformation over the past five years. A small clique who have more in common with corporate vultures than with working-class Americans has hijacked the Pacifica board, asserted Juan Gonzalez, former co-host of the Pacifica program Democracy Now.
Amy Goodman, current host of Democracy Now, which is nationally syndicated on radio, also decried the changes at Pacifica.
Goodman, a 16-year employee, has dealt with such topics as police brutality, corporate globalization and the death penalty.
"We give voice to union activists, people who fight for racial, social and economic justice in a regular way," Goodman said.
Goodman said management at WBAI, the Pacifica station in New York City, have censored, harassed and verbally abused her.
She said she has filed labor grievances with her union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Goodman said Pacifica has tried to create "an extremely hostile work environment" for her.
Instead of resigning like her former co-host Gonzalez, she said she decided to carry on and join in the call for improvements.
"We believe deeply in the original mission of Pacifica," she said. "We are the only independent media network in this country, and we have to move forward and protect this public space that is dedicated to bringing out the voices of those who are rarely heard."
The meeting room where protesters chastised board members was filled to capacity. Many of the speakers, including Gonzalez, demanded the resignation of certain board members, and vowed to keep fighting Pacifica's administration.
Pacifica officials discounted the notion that the network has abandoned its original mission. "Pacifica has an important mission and an important message, and we have made programming changes at all of our stations to bring that message to a larger audience," said Garland Ganter, general manager of KPFT, the Pacifica station in Houston. "We have been very successful with it here locally in Houston."
Ganter was quick to add, however, that nothing was being compromised to enhance the network's audience.
"We do want to try to accommodate as many voices as we can," he said. "I'm optimistic and confident that, despite some of the controversy, I think eventually things are going to work out for the better."