More on Democracy Now

[Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is appalling.


    The Institute for Public Accuracy received this today:

    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 anyspeaking 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 agaJinst 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!

--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx