[Random-bits] memo to Pacifica from Amy Goodman

[James Love]

Interesting memo from Amy Goodman regarding censorship of Democarcy Now!
on Pacifica.   Jamie

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2000 19:24:34 -0500
From: Institute for Public Accuracy <ipamedia@nationalpress.com>
To: institute@igc.org
Subject: FYI -- memo to Pacifica from Amy Goodman

To: Pacifica Executive Director Bessie Wash and Board of Directors
From: Amy Goodman
Cc: Personnel File

Date: 10/18/00

                                 CRACKDOWN ON DEMOCRACY NOW!

A few days ago, I was given a shocking memo from Pacifica Program Director 
Stephen Yasko and Pacifica attorney Larry Drapkin. In the 3-page memo, 
Yasko listed a series of Pacifica policies and work rules that I was 
ordered to immediately adhere to or face "disciplinary actions up to and 
including termination." Yasko handed me the memo during a meeting in the 
law offices of my union, AFTRA, at a gathering that my union 
representatives and I had been led to believe was meant to resolve a series 
of escalating conflicts which have erupted in recent months between Yasko, 
Executive Director Bessie Wash, myself and the Democracy Now! staff. In 
fact, union officials dissuaded me two weeks before the meeting from filing 
a formal grievance against Yasko and Pacifica for harassment because they 
had been led to believe Pacifica wanted to resolve these conflicts amicably.

Instead, we were suddenly faced with this list of "ground rules" and the 
threat to fire me. My union lawyer accused Yasko and the Pacifica lawyer of 
acting in bad faith, immediately cancelled the meeting and approved the 
filing of a formal grievance. I have now filed grievances against Pacifica 
management charging harassment, gender harassment, and censorship, among 
other violations of the union contract. Several of the new "rules" target 
me with restrictions not applied to other Pacifica employees, and are 
outright attempts to curtail my constitutional rights of free speech. Some 
rules go against the very principles of community radio on which Pacifica 
was founded, while still others will have the effect of hampering Democracy 
Now!'s ability to reach the widest possible audience. Given their timing 
and seen in their totality, the ground rules are a transparent attempt to 
retaliate against me for seeking union representation in a management-labor 
dispute, a right protected by the National Labor Relations Act.

But in my opinion, there is something far bigger than a mere "work rules" 
dispute involved here, something which should deeply concern the Pacifica 
Board, our listeners and the greater community radio listenership. It is 
the desire of management to reign in and exert political control over 
Democracy Now! It intensified this summer when Pacifica Executive Director 
Bessie Wash had our press credentials pulled after we brought Ralph Nader 
into the Republican Convention to be interviewed and do color commentary. 
Management's action made it much more difficult to cover the Democrats in 
the same hardhitting, confrontational way we had reported on the 
Republicans, especially when it came to our focus on corporate control of 
the Conventions. This punishment was such an unprecedented act that it 
prompted my co-host and award-winning veteran journalist Juan Gonzalez to 
write an official protest to Steve Yasko, the new program director, the 
content of which Yasko never responded to.

Our election project, "Breaking With Convention: Power, Protest and the 
Presidency," was a milestone in Pacifica National Programming, encompassing 
the largest expansion of audience in Pacifica history. We engaged in an 
unprecedented collaboration with community public access cable tv stations 
as well as satellite television, beaming Democracy Now! into millions of 
homes across the country. Instead of building on that collaboration and 
continuing the televising of our radio program, and despite meeting and 
exceeding every stated objective for the show--i.e. audience growth, 
fundraising, new listeners, groundbreaking programming--Democracy Now! is 
being subjected to a withering assault by Pacifica management. The 
motivation is blatantly political. Democracy Now! is a hardhitting 
grassroots program that is not afraid of tackling controversial issues day 
after day in the Pacifica tradition. We are not only being censored for our 
critical coverage of the Democrats as well as the Republicans, but for 
giving voice to a growing grassroots movement that fundamentally challenges 
the status quo--people fighting sweatshops, police brutality, prison 
growth, and corporate globalization.

On September 14, Steve Yasko called me to a meeting with Pacifica General 
Managers. KPFK Manager Mark Schubb, expressed his repeated criticism that 
audiences don't want to hear graphic details of police brutality before 
breakfast, or as he said last year "before I have my coffee." He criticized 
our coverage of Mumia Abu-Jamal, East Timor and questioned why I asked 
Spike Lee about his affiliation with Nike. Pacifica's Chief Financial 
Officer weighed in with her criticism of American prisoner Lori Berenson in 
Peru, (we had just aired an exclusive interview with her that received 
widespread national press.) After the meeting, Yasko took me into the hotel 
lobby and shouted, "I am your boss! I am your boss!"

I'm being subjected to a concerted campaign of abuse and harassment by 
Pacifica management. Despite repeated appeals to Executive Director Bessie 
Wash, there has been no redress. Yasko regularly makes new demands on me 
and Democracy Now! with wild outbursts of unprofessional yelling and 
screaming. This has happened during a period when Democracy Now! has been 
unique in radio by reporting extensively on the refusal of the Commission 
on Presidential Debates or many in the corporate media to provide fair 
coverage and inclusion of third parties. It has also happened during a time 
when Democracy Now! is growing in audience, in media coverage, and in 
fundraising from both listeners and foundations. That is, we are growing in 
all the areas the Pacifica board says it is concerned with.

Just as the presidential campaign reaches its climax, we are confronted 
with new restrictions and threats. Among those new work rules are a 
requirement to provide Yasko each Friday "a list of possible shows the 
following week and a short status report on each," adding we must 
"determine the topics of at least three shows the preceding week." Yasko 
notes that "the Administrative Council (of Pacifica) stated that the show 
does not sound like breaking news either to the station staffs or the 
listeners." Are we living in the same world? Our show breaks more national 
news, as measured by actual press coverage in the mainstream media, than 
perhaps any show in Pacifica history, e.g., Chevron in Nigeria, the Lori 
Berenson interview, Seattle WTO coverage, Nader at the Republican 
convention, Tulia, Texas, East Timor, etc. etc.

But instead of congratulations and kudos for our many accomplishments, 
Pacifica has clamped down and threatens me at every turn with dismissal!

As I write this, Yasko is forging ahead with imposing two new producers on 
Democracy Now! with or without the consent of co-host Juan Gonzalez and me. 
The two producers--our only producers-- are the heart of this show. It is 
clear from all of management's actions, they are using this opportunity to 
change the political direction of the program. This is the first time that 
we have been clearly told that our consent is not necessary.

In his memo, Yasko goes on to demand, "All use of volunteers on Democracy 
Now! must cease immediately." Why?! Volunteers have always played a pivotal 
role in Democracy Now! and are the lifeblood of Pacifica. For violation of 
this ban or any of the other dictates management has laid down, I am 
threatened with dismissal!

Take this section from the Yasko memo:

"To establish an appropriate balance between your programming obligations 
and any speaking engagements and related travel, you are not to accept any 
speaking engagements without first informing the Foundation and obtaining 
approval. It is also important to know whom you are speaking to."

This is an outrageous intrusion into my personal life and an illegal 
attempt to control my right of free speech. Given the many large and 
enthusiastic audiences I am often invited to address, I would think 
Pacifica would be glad for the positive publicity. Instead, Yasko demands 
veto power over when I speak and whom I speak to, and he tries to 
camouflage the crackdown with concern for my welfare or statements such as 
"you are, of course, a valued voice in spreading the word of our mission, 
programs and goals." I am so valued that he is ready to fire me if I don't 
follow unethical and illegal orders. Yasko should be worried less about 
where I am speaking and more about why our Ku satellite system suffers 
avoidable catastrophic foul-ups, an area he oversees.

I thought the Pacifica board had learned from the bitter battle in Berkeley 
last year that attempts to silence free speech are the last things this 
network wants to revisit. But apparently not. Maybe the stakes are too high 
in this presidential election year to permit too free a press -- even at 
Pacifica. I truly hope that is not the case.

I plead with those of you on the board who still remain dedicated to the 
grand mission of Lew Hill to reject this poorly disguised attempt at 
censorship of Democracy Now! and of me personally. Please direct Steve 
Yasko to cease his harassment and retaliation against me immediately, and 
Pacifica's attempts to exert political control and undermine the editorial 
independence of this hardhitting grassroots program.

We are not NPR. We are not US government media. We are not the corporate media.

We are Democracy Now!: The Exception to the Rulers.

Sincerely,

Amy Goodman
Host, Democracy Now!