The Future of the Pacifica Campaign Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Pacifica Campaign January 8, 2001 Dear Pacifica Campaign Supporter, As the Pacifica Radio network moves into a new period in the wake of last month's settlement of the lawsuits and the reconstitution of the Pacifica National Board, we in the Pacifica Campaign need to make a decision about our future. When we started the campaign, our goals were very clear -- to remove the corporate raiders that were trying to illegally seize control of the Pacifica National Board and to restore democratic accountability to the network. Our tactics for achieving this end were equally clear -- Turn Up the Heat and Cut Off the Water. In other words, a direct action pressure campaign aimed at individual board members coupled with a national boycott aimed at restricting the amount of money the raiders could play with. Today, the situation is radically changed. As a result of last month's settlement, a new interim board has been formed with nine reformers as the new majority. The newly elected board officers are all leading reformers. Leslie Cagan is the new chair, Carol Spooner is the secretary, and Jabari Zakiya is the treasurer. The old raiders are down to just five of the fifteen board seats. Most crucially, the settlement requires that the interim board organize over the next year a whole new governance structure for the network, one based on listener elections at the five local area stations. In essence, sovereignty at Pacifica will now reside with listeners. As the community radio movement moves forward to create what will be the first democratically run national broadcast network in the United States, we in the Pacifica Campaign need your feedback. Contrary to what you may have read in some recent postings on Pacifica reform list serves by other individuals, the Pacifica Campaign has yet to decide what our future course of action should be. And as we make a decision about the future, we need your help. First, we would like to hear what you think of the legal settlement reached last month. Many of you have already responded. Thank you. But for those of you who haven't, you can read the document at http://pacificacampaign.org/pacificasettlement.html. Have the goals that we in the Pacifica Campaign set out when we started back in February 2000 been met? We would especially like your feedback on what impact the settlement has for the future of the Pacifica Campaign. There is a debate now underway among many reform activists nationwide. Should the Pacifica Campaign disband? Should the pressure campaign on the raiders and the national boycott end? Clearly, much work lies ahead for the reform movement. At Pacifica station WBAI in New York, for instance, the Christmas Coup has not yet been reversed. Some activists are arguing that the boycott must continue until the situation at the station has been resolved. Others say continuing the boycott will impact the very survival of what is already hobbled network. Still others are arguing that local activists should make the decisions about continuing a boycott in their local area. What do you think? At a national level, elections at all five Pacifica stations will be organized and held within the next year and reformers must mount a strong campaign. As a result, some activists are arguing that the Pacifica Campaign reorganize as the Community Campaign with locally run chapters in Houston, LA, Washington and New York. These local groups would ensure that the stations in those cities, which are in the hands of backward managers, are reformed along Pacifica's traditional mission. What do you think? The Pacifica Campaign has only been what the tens of thousands of community radio activists around the country have made it. It has survived because of the activism and contributions of thousands of people nationwide. Please help us shape the future. We will post the viewpoints and positions up on our web site for all to read. It is important for us to receive your feedback within the few days, ideally before the start of the next Pacifica National Board meeting scheduled for Jan. 11-13. This will be a crucial meeting in this new transition phase of the struggle. Within days after that meeting our campaign will have to make an official decision as to how we will handle the upcoming Pacifica winter fundraising campaign. Again, many thanks for your support over the past year and we look forward to the new phase of struggle that lies ahead. Regards, Juan Gonzalez and the Pacifica Campaign staff ********************************** Pacifica Campaign 51 MacDougal St., #80 New York, NY 10012 Tel: 646-230-9588 http://pacificacampaign.org ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrad-01.08.02-15:55:43-2992