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WBAI Radio Internal Conflict Collection

Call Number

TAM.290

Date

2000-2001, inclusive

Creator

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives (Role: Collector)

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English .

Historical/Biographical Note

WBAI Radio (New York, N.Y.) is a radio station that is part of of Pacifica Radio, a small national network politically left radio stations in the United States, including stations in Berkeley (KPFA), Los Angeles a(KPFK), Houston (KPFT), New York (WBAI), and Washington, DC (WPFW). Pacifica was founded in 1946 by pacifist Lewis Hill. For most of its history, Pacifica gave each of its stations independent control of programming. Then, during the 1990s, a major controversy arose over allegations that the Pacifica National Board and national staff were attempting to centralize control of content, in order to increase listenership, and that the board 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, public demonstrations, firings and strikes of station staff. Many listeners to the individual stations, including WBAI, objected to what they saw as an attempt to tone down the overtly political content on Pacifica stations. The board eventually was embroiled in counter lawsuits by board members 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 Station Boards at each of the five Pacifica stations. These local boards in turn elect the national board of directors. Aside from some minor changes, the same 2003 bylaws remain in effect today.

Arrangement

This collection had not been arranged by an archivist. Materials are in the order in which they were received from the donor.

Scope and Content Note

This small collection contains materials generated by left activists at WBAI who opposed the activities of the Pacifica National Board and its allies in the management of WBAI. The collection includes fliers, meeting notes, leaflets, circulars, posters, clippings and a folder containing the book-length "The Pacifica File: A Reference Manual for Activists on the Crisis at the Pacifica Radio Network." Other materials pertains to the "Boycott Pacifica!" campaign; Concerned Friends of WBAI Outreach Committee, leaflets, posters, and meeting notes.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Materials in this collection, which were created in 2000-2001, are expected to enter the public domain in 2121.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; WBAI Radio Internal Conflict Collection; TAM 290; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials found in repository; provenance unknown. The accession number associated with this collection is 1950.035.

Collection processed by

Peter Filardo

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:28:31 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

Container

Box: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012