EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT!

PLEASE WRITE PACIFICA NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS AND CONGRESSMAN OWENS

The recent censorship of Congressman Major Owens and Ken Nash by WBAI Interm General Manager Utrice Leid, during the "Building Bridges" program on Monday March 5th is an outrage. Major Owens was concerned about the situation at WBAI before the incident, and now is even more angry about the situation. Representative Owens wants to continue to fight the curtailment of free speech at the station.

Please email the Pacifica National Board and express your outrage over the disrespect of, and censorship shown to Congressman Owens when he was cut off LIVE, while discussing free speech radio on "Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report" program. Ask the board to take action against the new management at WBAI. Please take a moment to protest the firings, bannings, censorship and armed guards at the station.

Tell the eleven corporatized Pacifica National Board members to resign. Please cc your comments to Congressman Owens and urge him to continue to help us fight for free speech radio. Representative Owens can be reached at the following email address: debbie.aledo.simpson@mail.house.gov.

Make sure to sign your name and send copies to ALL PACIFICA NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS. (The press release describing what happened and the e-mail addresses and contact information of the Pacifica National Board Members and Executive Director are listed below. The six dissident board members are listed at the bottom) Don't forget to cc: the Congressman.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 6, 2001

U.S. CONGRESSMAN CENSORED AT WBAI (99.5 FM)
Rep. Major Owens (D-NY) to Make Statement on House Floor; Long-time WBAI Program Cancelled

Contact:
Concerned Friends of WBAI: John Riley (917) 653-7267, www.wbaiaction.org
Pacifica Campaign: (646) 230-9588, www.pacificacampaign.org

New York: Congressman Major Owens (Brooklyn, 11th District) was interrupted without warning and pulled off the air yesterday when he called in as a guest on Pacifica radio station WBAI (99.5 FM). Speaking on "Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report," Owens was several minutes into a discussion on recent changes at the listener-sponsored station when WBAI's interim general manager Utrice Leid came into the master control studio and seized the microphone.

Leid then told listeners that the information broadcast by co-host Ken Nash and Congressman Owens was untrue. Later, Congressman Owens said he was "outraged, and caught without any explanation or apology." He said he was hoping to talk about independent media when the interim general manager took control. "I intend to make the statement I was going to make today on WBAI, on the floor of the House of Representatives and put it into the congressional record," Owens stated.

Owens, who has been an outspoken critic of what is now dubbed the "Christmas Coup" at WBAI, said he was "amazed" by today's on-air events. "It's like something in a totalitarian country with the fuhrer intervening," Owens added.

According to Nash, Leid came into the master studio unexpectedly. "She tried to talk to my guest without warning or invitation," he said. "I reminded her that the producer is in charge of the program. I asked her to leave the studio. Leid then permanently cancelled the program." "Building Bridges" is WBAI's only labor show.

The 52-year-old listener-sponsored Pacifica radio network has been embroiled in censorship battles in recent years. The Washington Post has described Pacifica management's actions as "cowardly radio" and "Soviet-style journalism," while dozens of journalists from around the world struck the Pacifica Network News one year ago to protest rampant censorship.

The late-December, midnight take-over of WBAI by the parent foundation created a storm of controversy. Locks were changed, veteran staffers were fired and banned and security guards have been installed at the station. A gag rule has been imposed, and access to the station is restricted. Critics say the New York take-over represents Pacifica management's continuing effort to alter the political content of the entire network.

List of Current Board Members (and others) to Write at Pacifica