Sunday, December 16, 2018

WBAI'S THE MORNING SHOW NEEDS YOUR HELP


There are potentially some big changes proposed, some from the top down from Pacifica. It could mean we lose The Morning Show and/or Michael G. Haskins altogether. We're asking people (former guests, listeners. donors etc.)  to send emails to three people in total over the next few days (up to Tuesday or Wednesday) to tell them why the show is so important to you both as a guest who didn't ordinarily get much press coverage, and/or as a listener.

Please let me know if you can help, as well as if you've emailed anyone so i can keep track. The rumor is they are trying to change WBAI in general into a more NPR/WNYC kind of place, so in other words, more mainstream and less coverage of full stories. NYC has enough pablum in its news and public affairs options, and i feel confident in saying we are one of the few places to really take on big real estate and allow actual grass-roots community groups to speak out. These are the three:
Pacifica Executive Director, Maxie Jackson (its a man) ed@pacifica.org;
Linda Perry, 
WBAI program director, pd@wbai.org and linda@wbai.org;
Berthold Reimers, station manager, berhthold@wbai.org;

It's probably best not to send a form email, so here are some research points, as well as a template:
Dear X:
I want to let you know why WBAI radio and particularly, The Morning Show, are so important. As a listener, WBAI offers out-of-the-box perspectives and angles often ignored by the mainstream media--and that includes WNYC radio.  The Morning Show and its host, Michael G. Haskins, air a program that's both educational and invaluable, and take that mission a step further, providing a service that breaks down public policy in NY State and NY City in its realest terms and without propping up the status quo. Real estate is king here, and TMS is one of the few shows--ever--to handle these relevant issues--from over-development and gentrification, to affordable housing, to landmarking and preservation, to homelessness--without pulling punches, cow-towing to powerful lobbies or elected officials, or compromising its content.

But TMS doesn't exclusively air segments about these related issues. (See list for examples)
Thank you for your time. Sincerely,
(NAME AND LOCATION)


Briefing Book
- list of guests (not all, but highlights--let me know if you want more)
- type of subject matter broached
Emphasis on local and especially housing, (over)development, real estate power, selling of city assets to private RE interests and connections to BDB/Glen, homelessness, landmarking and preserving the city’s history--but pretty much anything and everything to do with land use, which as you know, is all that matters these days.

-Why it's different from WNYC or mainstream media?
Because we go where most MSM outlets wont: we dont believe in accepting the status quo, or its explanations, and in NY, that means the RE industry; we try to go directly to the sources of authentic grass-roots community organizations. We also try to cover issues ignored, misreported or under-reported by the MSM.

-Why it's different than other WBAI shows.
As the only station-sponsored public affairs program, The Morning Show has a certain level of gravitas and is taken more seriously than a lot of other independently-produced shows are. We also take our responsibility to bring the full story to listeners very seriously. Plus bc we are a 2-hour show, we can include local, national and even international stories.

-How WBAI has affected the show with shifting of the hosts, etc.
One of the excuses being used most commonly right now to bump TMS is bc of poor numbers. This is kind of a red herring. First of all, my understanding is that even the most popular and famous WBAI show, Democracy Now, doesn’t necessarily have 'great' numbers.

Moreover, we don’t know how they are reading these numbers--is it comparing week to week, day to day? Because the shows currently running are quite different, as are their listenerships. Mimi Rosenberg (Weds) has been on air for about 15 years; Michael has one of the most recognizable voices at WBAI. How can these shows be compared with the ever-changing hosts on other days? It's a little like comparing apples to oranges.

Plus, entire shows are constantly preempted for fundraising drives. Even PBS and NPR don't do this: instead, they wrap the fundraising around a given show. It’s one thing to air re-runs, although that’s difficult for a daily public affairs show of such length (as opposed to a pre-taped segment, though the station hasn’t been very accommodating for pre-taping over the last year or two). WBAI keeps alienating any regular audience by these constant pre-emptions and by airing infomercials.

SOME NATIONAL GUESTS
Sherrod Brown, US Senator, re TPP;
Jim Dean, brother of Howard, Chair of Democracy for America;
Charles Evers, brother of assassinated civil rights icon Medgar; first AA elected to be mayor in the south post-reconstruction;
Grace Ge Gabriel, Regional Director, Asia International Fund for Animal Welfare re worldwide ivory ban; (former Deputy Director, Wildlife and Habitat Protection Program);
Jill Filipovic, renowned feminist journalist;
Dan Hartinger, Director of the National Monuments Campaign, Wilderness Society, appeared several times, discussing Trump administration selling off public lands, trying to ‘de-list’ certain national monuments;
David Cay Johnston, pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist, Founder of DCreport; has been covering Donald Trump for 30 years; last two books: The Making of Donald Trump and It’s Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America;
Arthur Leonard, Robert F. Wagner Professor of Labor and Employment Law, Editor at NY Law School, author LGBT Law Notes; discussing issues like SCOTUS and cake shop decision;
Michaelangelo Signoreli, renowned LGBT journalist and radio host;  editor-at-large for HuffPost, in August 2011, Signorile was inducted into the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association LGBT Journalist Hall of Fame.] In April 2015, Signorile's fifth book, It's Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance, Defeating Homophobia and Winning True Equality, was published, which is what he discussed;
Eleanor Smeal, Pres and co-founder, Feminist Majority Foundation;
Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone journalist, discussing his book, I Cant Breathe about the illegal chokehold death by the NYPD of Eric Garner;
Dick Van Dyke, actor, Bernie Sanders surrogate;
Aulani Wilhelm, Senior Vice President, Center for Oceans, Conservation International

Some of the above guest have appeared multiple times. We've also covered transgender and LGBT issues, a great deal about small businesses in NYC including several appearances by Jeremiah Moss, author of Vanishing NY, well before his book was published, and quite a lot about disability-related issues. Some of the others:
Dec 3, 2018

Nov 29, 2018

Nov 27, 2018

Nov 24, 2018
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Aug 21, 2018

Aug 14, 2018

Jul 11, 2018

Jul 10, 2018
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Jun 27, 2018

Jun 19, 2018
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Jun 13, 2018
 
Jun 7, 2018

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May 1, 2018
Apr 27, 2018
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Apr 18, 2018
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Apr 13, 2018
Apr 4, 2018

Mar 29, 2018
Mar 26, 2018

Mar 22, 2018
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Mar 14, 2018
Mar 13, 2018
Susan Dooha Seg 3 12 18 MGH In a state that prides itself on its progressivism, it’s rather ironic disabled and elderly New Yorkers have needlessly difficult lives--in part because of what our local governments do--or don’t do. The state has shortchanged and underfunded both independent living centers and theLong Term Care Ombudsperson Program for decades--which is really the only means residents and their families have for recourse, enforcement and oversight of New York’s nursing and adult homes and assisted living facilities. In New York City, it’s well documented how inferior the mass transit system is, in terms of an array of issues like accessibility and the dysfunction of Access-A-Ride. In fact, there’s currently a lawsuit pending against NYC Transit, the MTA and the city of NY because of the lack of subway access, and the lead plaintiff in that suit is here.

Jan 24, 2018

Jan 17, 2018

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Dec 20, 2017
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Dec 1, 2017

Nov 30, 2017

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