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WBAI Struggles

T

Theater of My Mind

Star Participant
People on the WBAI blue board are reporting massive layoff notices have been handed out via certified mail. They've been given 30 days and are told they will get severance pay. One employee states it is the entire staff, including the manager. He says the Dept. of Labor gave them a cease and desist order after learning staff wasn't getting paid, although it's unclear whether it was an actual C&D or just a figure of speech.

July 15th is reportedly D-day, unless of course they pull another rabbit out of their hat by then.
 
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Re: WBAI massive layoffs

Good. Sell the station to anyone that will get an actual audience for it. It would be great for WQXR to land there, and 105.9 can go to someone else. Tony can get that dance station he's always wanted...
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

WNTIRadio said:
Good. Sell the station to anyone that will get an actual audience for it. It would be great for WQXR to land there, and 105.9 can go to someone else. Tony can get that dance station he's always wanted...
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Let XCountry have it for his alternative.
Terrestrial radio really hasn't figured out what to do with dance/EDM anyway.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

Let XCountry have it for his alternative.
Terrestrial radio really hasn't figured out what to do with dance/EDM anyway.
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Tony, at this point, just about ANYTHING on 99.5 would get higher numbers than what it is now. Pacifica may as well play EDM while the staff is laid off.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

WBAI: Cause of death. Self-inflicted wounds.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

On a conserv. messageboard some were saying the foundations that were supposed to help prog talkers were looted by the likes of Bernie Madoff.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

raccoonradio said:
On a conserv. messageboard some were saying the foundations that were supposed to help prog talkers were looted by the likes of Bernie Madoff.
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Typical!

This has been coming for a long time. All the infighting among various groups and individuals, each with his own agenda and own show. All trying to protect his own turf. Nobody in charge or at least nobody able to get anything done.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

What a tragedy! Another non-commercial biting the dust. There seems to be so many sad things about public radio stations these days. This is the worst one yet! :'(
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

I tuned in a couple nights ago to see what they were up to. The host was doing her show over the phone for some reason. Yes, she was literally phoning it in.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

July 15 (Monday) they will be officially dead so the weekend of July 12-15 will be WBAI's final weekend so who knows by 12:01am or 6am a new station will be born.

WBAI FM 99.5 R. I. P. January 8 ,1960 - July 15 ,2013 Cause(s) of Death : Too many to mention.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

If Pacifica ever gets its act together (good luck..) they'd be best served swapping 99.5 with Cumulus for a moved in 103.9 + Cash.

Cumulus would have options, and Pacifica would have a signal and some cash to keep on...whatever it is they think they do. Time to watch for a filing for NCE to C I suppose.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

TVCOOL said:
July 15 (Monday) they will be officially dead so the weekend of July 12-15 will be WBAI's final weekend so who knows by 12:01am or 6am a new station will be born..
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Even if it goes silent, WBAI is still licensed to the Pacifica organization. They can file for an authorization to remain silent while they reorganize or recapitalize or even while they sell the station. They are still responsible for the ongoing expenses, on or off the air...

There will be no new station unless Pacifica sells... a long multi-month process (or maybe shorter if there is an LMA, but who would trust an LMA with Pacifica's dysfunctional board?).
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

As I was about to post I saw David's post - it's likely too short a period of time for Pacifica to strike a deal with another broadcasting company, although I'm sure that those companies have been keeping a keen eye on the situation and have been ready to pounce when the time is right, which would be right now. Likely 99.5 would go silent (likely) or rerun past programs (unlikely) for a stretch before a sale (very likely) or an LMA (highly unlikely) could take place).

All the other recent deals in NYC radio seemed to come together quickly; it's probably more like there were dealings going on behind the scenes for a long time before we (the public) found out what was transpiring.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

WBAI should have heeded the old aphorism: "If you want to send a message, call Western Union."

I suppose the WNYC Foundation could always take it over. The only way to save WBAI is to get rid of the current board and management and start over from scratch. It would be good to have the station stay non-commercial. New York has a long history of advocacy broadcasting (i.e., WEVD) and it doesn't have to end now. Even better would be to have another public broadcaster take over: WGBH (owns PRI), Minnesota Public Radio (owns APM, operates KPCC) and give WNYC a run for its money.

Technically, WBAI is a public broadcaster but they really are a different breed from the various NPR "member stations" (including those who take little or no actual NPR programming).
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

will it be funny if we see WBAI-FM 99.5 being on eBay up for auction starting off at $0.01 and up one can own this once-important station.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

WBAI just signed a lease for new studio space at 388 Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn for $4,800/month, and even as the layoff notices were going out management was talking about moving in as soon as the wiring etc. can be done. In fact some of the message board posts from management, even from the past day, are talking about the future almost as if it's business as usual. So they must have something up their sleeve.

I think they may well have some kind of frequency swap deal in the works as I remember seeing the value of 99.5 being discussed in the notes from one of their LSB meetings posted recently, I think in their Yahoo group.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

Just to elaborate on the point above, IIRC the LSB discussion I read put the value of 99.5 anywhere from $5-15 million. My take on that is that they were talking about the cash they would net in addition to the new frequency/tower they'd get in the swap. But there was no indication in the post of what frequency that might be. Seems like they must be talking to someone though.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

Theater of My Mind said:
WBAI just signed a lease for new studio space at 388 Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn for $4,800/month, and even as the layoff notices were going out management was talking about moving in as soon as the wiring etc. can be done. In fact some of the message board posts from management, even from the past day, are talking about the future almost as if it's business as usual. So they must have something up their sleeve.

I think they may well have some kind of frequency swap deal in the works as I remember seeing the value of 99.5 being discussed in the notes from one of their LSB meetings posted recently, I think in their Yahoo group.
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Well if anything staying on FM would be for the best 'because AM Radio is dying and smartphones ,MP3s ,etc have FM Radio tuners built in only.
 
Re: WBAI massive layoffs

I wonder if the laid-off WBAI-99.5 employees might continue as volunteers.

This way, the money that would have gone to salaries could be diverted to transmitter rent and competing the new studios.

One possible wild card: Could Pacifica sell-off 99.5 then in turn buy noncommercial WNYE-91.5 from the New York School system??

WNYE doesn't transmit from the Empire State Building, but does transmit from mid-Manhattan (4 Times Square), and while it's signal area isn't as large as WBAI's, it still covers most of the metropolitan New York area.

WBAI signal map: http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WBAI&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

WNYE signal map: http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WNYE&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

Pacifica still would have some money---maybe quite a bit of money---left over after making such a deal.

Short of the scenario above, I can't see WBAI staying on the air.

And if the FCC declares the frequency vacant, 99.5's status as a commercial allocation might result in perhaps as many as three dozen applications form it, despite the consolidation of radio ownership in recent years. I can see lots of companies going for 99.5 because it's in New York City. I suspect that every broadcaster not over the "FCC cap" in the Big Apple would apply for 99.5.
 
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