Home

Details

CONTEXT – THE FINANCIAL DECLINE OF WBAI
By John Riley, Out-FM producer and staff representative on WBAI’s Local Station Board

John Riley at WBAI Studios

John Riley at WBAI Studios in Brooklyn

(Comments given at Manhattan Neighborhood Network in their El Bario Firehouse Studio on two occasions in December 2017 to dozens of WBAI Staff who had come to learn about MNN's proposal to Pacifica Radio for a partnership to preserve WBAI's signal, mission and infuse large amounts of money to rebuild the crisis plagued station.)

Thank you all for coming out for such a crucial conversation.

I’m hoping all of you saw the invitation to today’s meeting, signed onto by 29 producers. As we wrote, we organized this because we’re both terrified about both the crisis facing the station and the solution now being pushed hard by the Pacifica National Board – a WBAI signal swap to a much weaker frequency, which I’ll get to in a minute. But we’re also hopeful about the potential for a partnership with Manhattan Neighborhood Network to offer a path forward, which we think needs to be carefully investigated.

I’d like to give some of the financial background to the present situation. WBAI and Pacifica have been in a worsening financial downward spiral for the last 10 years, leading to the current crisis that poses a threat to the survival of both our station and our network. While all 5 stations have had various degrees of chronic shortfalls, WBAI has generated deficits of $500-600K every year for the last 6 years. In short, WBAI has a failing business model. Thus, at a national level WBAI is perceived of as a terrible threat to the other stations.
 
WBAI’s problems have partly been caused by the exorbitant Empire State transmitter rent and earlier, the huge rent on our former Wall Street studio, both far higher than those faced by any other station (in fact, 3 stations broadcast from buildings owned by Pacifica). These problems preceded Hurricane Sandy that drove us from Wall Street, which is often incorrectly blamed for our crisis.

In fact, our listenership has drastically declined. In parallel, our paid membership has also gone down -- from 18,000 in 2010 to 7,000 in 2017. So it’s no surprise that the per-day pledge rate has also cratered – in the current drive, down to about $8,000 a day versus an average of $20,000-$25,000 a decade ago. WBAI management has responded by constantly increasing the length of fund drives.
•    In 2009, we had 90-100days/year
•    By 2014 174 days (24 weeks)
•    Currently 135 (20 weeks

WBAI's Declining Membership Results In Long Pledge Drives

WBAI's Declining Membership Results In Long Pledge Drives

Surveys of public radio stations have found a fall-off of 50% of listeners, or more, during fund drives.

Management has blamed producers for failing to find premiums, but chronic, late premium delivery may be more of an issue. WBAI’s membership has dropped. Late premiums may not bother people who are long time supporters, but newer supporters may not be as understanding.

Because of this dramatic revenue decline, in 2013 Pacifica mandated the layoffs of three quarters

Details

Join Out-FM Tuesday, Dec., 5th at 9pm for a special fundraising show on which we’ll be raising money for WBAI which is a part of the non-commercial social justice Pacifica Radio Network.

We'll be playing excerpts from two premiums we hope you’ll donate to get.  It will be a hard choice as they are both stellar.

James Baldwin: American Prophet - 3 DVD Pack

The 3-pack was expanded to be a 4-pack and includes:

1. James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America in the aclaimed film “I Am Not Your Negro”

2. Historic debate between James Baldwin v. William F. Buckley Jr. at
Cambridge University on the question: "Is the American Dream at the expense of
the American Negro?"

3. Tim Wise, White Nationalism in the Era of Trump

Later in the show we’ll be highlighting the 1300 hour

Voices that Change the World - Flash Drive

Baldwin is featured in 5 important recordings.

The package is incredible. Wrap your ears around the largest and most comprehensive collection of historic audio ever compiled by Pacifica Radio Archives, now available for the very first time on a single USB memory drive. With nearly one thousand hours of meticulously curated audio, covering dozens and dozens of topics, listening will find you inspired, challenged, entertained, and educated - the true fulfillment of Pacifica Radio's Mission Statement!

It’s really an unprescendented premium and will offer 1300 hours of listening pleasure to some of the finest public intellectuals in America from this century and the past. Click here for more details.

Or give any amount (in $5 increments) in the name of the show. Click Here to go to that portal: http://www.give2wbai.org/category_s/1830.htm

  • Be sure to click on the amount to add the donation to the cart
  • Click on the drop down box whether you want to be thanked on-air
  • Click on the drop down box below that to Select Out-FM, you'll have to scroll a bit.
  • Click on add to the cart
  • In the gray box, click on check out.
  • Check the cart, to be sure the quanity is correct
  • If you are already a member, enter your email and password to log in.
  • If a new member, enter your enformation and complete the check out.

Thanks so much for supporting WBAI/NY. If you like Out-FM your contribution will help us stay on the air.