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The 13th annual Grassroots Radio Conference is happening later this month out in Portland, hosted by the good folks at KBOO. I won’t be able to attend, but GRCs are usually pretty fun - if you have a chance, check it out. The email below is from KBOO’s Ani Haines.
~Nathan

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Registration for the GRC will be open on Thursday, July 24th, 2 - 8pm. We will have a reception /social gathering at the Native American Student and Community Center from 5 - 8 pm.

Breakfast & Registration will be ready at 8 AM, Friday, July 25th, with the Opening Plenary beginning at 9:30 am.

The conference ends Sunday, 1:30 pm, following the Closing Plenary on Sunday, July 27th.

Many, many more details forthcoming. I will post a list of workshops to this list tomorrow.

Further updates: The rooms that we blocked out at University Place (at a great price!) are going fast. Please reserve your room now if you want one! I am copying the information from our website to the bottom of this email for everyone’s convenience.

And finally, if you are planning to come to the conference, PLEASE REGISTER SOON!!! I am trying to get a good count for food, etc. If you register AFTER JULY 18th, YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MEALS! So don’t delay, register today! You’ll be glad you did and so will I.

The GRC 13 food planning crew has just asked me to ask you: If you are coming to the Grassroots Radio Conference, we ask you to bring your own re-usable water bottle and travel mug. We are trying to use very few disposables, in keeping with our commitment to the environment.

Thanks so much! We are very excited to host this conference, along with KPCN, Portland Center for Public Humanities at PSU, and the PSU Departments of English and Communications.

I look forward to seeing you in about 2.5 weeks!
ani

REVOLUTION REWIND: 1968 YEAR IN REVIEW
A three-hour documentary special

“Revolution Rewind” is a 40th Anniversary celebration of a year in which a radical wave crashed across the globe, changing the world and its people politically, socially, and culturally. Wars, marches, elections, assassinations, human rights, civil rights, women’s rights, the explosion of consciousness and creativity… And Pacifica Radio was there to capture it all.

Check back here for a link to the documentary program after July 10th. Or check with your local Pacifica station or affiliate for air time.

CONTENT BY HOUR:
Hour 1: Revolution Rewind: 1968 Year in Review, Part One consists of a broad overview of 1968, with audio selections ranging from Pacifica’s courageous and uncensored coverage of the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, Jr., members of the Black Panther Party, Cesar Chavez, Robert Kennedy, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Pete Seeger, Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Ayn Rand, and many more.

Hour 2: Revolution Rewind: 1968 Year in Review, Part Two showcases the powerful artistic contributions made within this year of turmoil: the sounds of Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Melina Mercouri, Sun Ra, Phil Ochs, Abbie Hoffman, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and others.

Hour 3: Revolution Rewind: 1968 Year in Review, Part Three features two very special guests who found themselves on the forefront of change in 1968 — independent journalist Connie Lawn and activist Tom Hayden join us in the studio 40 years after the fact, to share thoughts and analysis on the lasting importance and impression of 1968, the year of sounds that changed the world.

PRODUCTION STAFF:
Executive Producer: Pacifica Radio Archives and Brian DeShazor
Produced and Edited by Mark Torres
Written by Joanne Griffith
Hosts: Brian DeShazor, Joanne Griffith, Sonali Kolhatkar, Mark Maxwell, Margaret Prescod, Aura Bogado, and Mark Torres

Pacifica Radio will air a live three-hour broadcast from the Green Party Convention in Chicago on Sunday, July 13th as the convention comes to a close.

The convention coverage will air live on Pacifica’s five sister stations this Sunday — 12n-3pm EDT / 11am-2pm CDT / 9am-12n PDT. If you listen to a Pacifica affiliate station, check to see if they’ll be carrying the broadcast live or tape-delayed.

In this Presidential election year, huge issues face the United States: wars in the Middle East and saber-rattling with Iran; the danger of environmental collapse; and the economy in recession with no end in sight… Yet on many of the most important issues facing us, only modest differences exist between the two major parties.

However, over the weekend of July 13th, the Green Party will chart a different course at its annual convention in Chicago. Hosted by Davey D from KPFA’s Hard Knock Radio and produced by KPFK’s Christine Blosdale, Pacifica Radio will be on site to bring you live coverage on Sunday, July 13th. We’ll air speeches, stories and sounds from the Green Party convention, as well as terrific live interviews and analysis of the Greens in the current political landscape.

Pacifica’s Green Party coverage is the first in the network’s summer coverage of the national political conventions. The Democratic National Convention takes place in Denver at the end of August, and the Republicans will be in St. Paul at the beginning of September. We’ll have a crew on-site for both.

I’m reposting this from Ernesto Aguilar’s blog. I briefly met Sean on a staff call last week, and I look forward to working with him. Welcome aboard this crazy ship, Sean! ~N

Sean Heitkemper has been announced as the new general manager of KPFK in Los Angeles. Sonali Kolhatkar notes:

At only 36 years of age, Sean has more than 13 years of experience managing public radio stations. He is a native of Southern California, majored in political science at Cal State Long Beach, and worked at KKJZ, formerly KLON, in Long Beach. Sean was hired to run KPFK by Pacifica Executive Director Nicole Sawaya, who picked him from a set of finalists chosen by the Local Station Board.

Sean served in various capacities at KLON/KKJZ, including as a membership manager. Sean hosted a program at KKJZ and was the station manager until the spring of 2007.

Congrats to Sean and KPFK!

SPECIAL LIVE COVERAGE: Pacifica Radio presents the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Bush Administration’s torture policies, live from Capitol Hill, anchored by Larry Bensky

DATE: Thursday, June 26, 2008
TIMES: 9:00AM - 2:00PM EDT (6:00AM - 11:00AM PDT)

Streamed live at Pacifica.org.

The House Judiciary Committee will hear from David Addington, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President, and Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John C. Yoo. Pacifica Radio will broadcast the hearing live, starting at 9:00AM Eastern (6:00AM Pacific), Thursday, June 26, with its veteran Washington correspondent Larry Bensky as anchor.

Among the issues expected to be discussed are the use of stress and torture in interrogations, why many senior FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials failed to take strong actions after identifying interrogation abuses, and the recent Supreme Court 5-4 decision upholding habeas corpus rights at Guantanamo.

Pacifica Radio will present constitutional and legal experts to discuss the issues involved in the hearing and will invite its listeners to present comments following the hearings. Possible pre-show and post-show guests include: Rep. John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin, Professor of Constitutional Law at American University, Mark Danner, Professor of Journalism, U.C. Berkeley, Scott Horton, Chair of the Committee on International Law of the Bar Association of New York City, Clive Stanford Smith, Founder and Director of “Reprieve,” London, David Bonner, Public Lawyer and Professor at University of Leicester in the UK, Laura Donahue, Fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, and Paul Glusman, Berkeley Employment Lawyer

I knew Don White primarily in his capacity as a member of the Pacifica National Board, and I was always struck by how up-front and genuine he was. In Board activities, he had a knack for disagreeing without being disagreeable. In conversations, he was charming and kind. It was several months later that I learned about Don’s other activism and his connections with progressive and radical movements throughout the hemisphere. He was a great guy, and his passing is a sad loss to us.

The following text is from KPFK’s tribute page to Don. If you visit the KPFK page, it includes several tributes to Don. The website for “Uprising” with Sonali Kolhatkar also features a memorial and several additional tributes.

~Nathan

It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of a wonderful member of the KPFK and Pacifica Family. Always cheerful, and incredibly generous, Don White will be sorely missed. We will be presenting special tributes to Don on the Air, check the [ Programming Highlights ] for the latest details.

DON WHITE died on about June 20th, 2008, apparently of a heart attack.

The Paul Robeson Community Center Honored Don White in 2004 and this obituary is drawn from the bio we put together then. Don will be sorely missed!

Born in Anacortes, Washington, his life was a reflection of the last 60 years of the progressive movement in the United States. From the time that he was a college student in the late 1950’s, fighting against the injustice surrounding the House of Representatives’ Un-American Activities Committee, Don remained engaged in the struggle for peace and justice for humanity.

As a dynamic speaker, he was a fixture of the left, often serving as Master of Ceremonies or moderator at events sponsored by a wide range of progressive organizations and coalitions. He was regularly the guy who made the pitch for money at demonstrations as well as social and political events — because he put people at ease, could make them laugh, and made them want to give and be a part of something much larger than themselves. As a result, Don raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for scores of progressive and humanitarian organizations.

Don came to Los Angeles in 1963 and taught history at Irving Junior High School there. As a charter and lifetime member of United Teachers of Los Angeles, he was deeply committed to issues of equity in educational opportunity, especially for children in the inner cities. Don participated in every teachers’ union strike from 1963 until his retirement in 1997.

In 1976, Don traveled to Guatemala in response to the devastating earthquake. He called that month-long journey “an epiphany, a life changing experience” which remained a vibrant part of his political psyche and which resulted in his friendship and faithful service to Central America. During the war in El Salvador, Don made 14 trips to that country and to Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Don was a member of the Echo Park Chapter of the Committee in Solidarity with the people of El Salvador, CISPES, since joining the group shortly after its founding convention in 1980. As an organizer, Board Member and leader of CISPES in Los Angeles, Don coordinated and addressed countless rallies, demonstrations, fundraisers, teach-in’s, delegations, material aid drives, congressional visits, civil disobedience actions demanding an end to U.S. intervention in El Salvador and Central America to Central America.

In addition, Don was an organizer of scores of city-wide coalitions addressing various other progressive causes including peace in the Middle East and the treatment of immigrants. As a “Legal Observer” working with the National Lawyers Guild, he could be seen wearing the fluorescent Green Hat worn by the NLG Legal Observers at virtually every major – and minor – demonstration in Los Angeles.

Don was a founding member of the Southern California Fair Trade Network which organized for the WTO protests in Seattle and similar actions around the U.S. He served on the Boards of the Coalition in Solidarity with the people of El Salvador, the Office of the Americas and Americans for Democratic Action, as well as the Local Station Board of Los Angeles community radio station KPFK, 90.7 fm and Pacifica Radio’s National Board, among others. He was also a lead organizer and coordinator in the recent historic mass demonstrations for peace and pro-immigrant solidarity rallies in Los Angeles.

From http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/nyregion/25wbai.html:

As the encomiums for George Carlin have rolled in from stand-up legends, celebrities and scholars, his death at 71 has also been noted at a diminutive, iconic and iconoclastic radio station in Manhattan, WBAI-FM.

Its broadcast of the comedian’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” became a landmark moment in the history of free speech. In a 1978 milestone in the station’s contentious and unruly history, WBAI lost a 5-to-4 Supreme Court decision that to this day has defined the power of the government over broadcast material it calls indecent.

“It’s a bad time here for us because George Carlin was part of the family,” said Anthony Riddle, the station’s general manager. “I think all the producers are dealing with it in their own way,” Mr. Riddle said, some doing commentary and others running archival material, including a bleeped-out version of the “Seven Words” routine.

The 1978 ruling, often termed “the Carlin case,” was actually called Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, and turned on a 12-minute Carlin monologue called “Filthy Words” that appeared on a 1973 album, “Occupation: Foole.”

After the Carlin album monologue was broadcast on WBAI in 1973 during “Lunch Pail,” an afternoon show, a listener objected that his young son had heard the words on a car radio. The corporate parent of WBAI, the Pacifica Foundation, received a letter of reprimand from the commission, which the company challenged in court.

The Supreme Court said that the broadcast was indecent, though not obscene, and gave the commission the right to determine the definition of indecency and to prohibit such material from being broadcast during hours when children were likely to be listening.

Despite this legal Dunkirk, “the fact that his seven dirty words having emanated from here is kind of a source of pride,” said Jose R. Santiago, the station’s news director.

The court decision “was about more than just radio,” Mr. Riddle added, “it was about the right to be human beings in the United States.”

“It was a gutsy thing for a radio station to do, taking that stand,” he said.

Though the station was not fined, Pacifica paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, said Larry Josephson, the WBAI station manager from 1974 to 1976.

Now, broadcasting the seven words “would cost us $360,000 per incident — so those seven words would cost us $2.5 million,” about equal to the station’s annual budget, Mr. Riddle said. “Now we’d be severely limited in taking a chance on protecting people’s free-speech rights.”

Recently Mr. Josephson had to abide by the consequences of the very commission decision he was involved in, as the independent producer of WBAI’s annual “Bloomsday” celebration on June 16, which honored James Joyce and his novel “Ulysses.”

Though the broadcast began at 7 p.m., the protagonist Molly Bloom’s famous lengthy monologue of erotic musings — which contains several forbidden words — had to be read after 10 p.m. during the “safe harbor” period when the F.C.C. allows the broadcast of what it terms “indecent” material.

The station that for generations has spoken truth to power is incongruously situated on the 10th floor of 120 Wall Street, and smack in the middle of the FM dial, at 99.5. Now in its 48th year, WBAI was both an expression, and ringleader, of the counterculture during its peak in the mid-1960s through the Vietnam War.

Observers have said that in its heyday, its on-air personalities, like Mr. Josephson, Steve Post and Bob Fass, extended the popularity of FM radio and explored the possibilities of the medium.

But its turmoil-filled subsequent history has featured a fiesta of staff clashes, board eruptions, station coups and protests. Amid accusations of every imaginable form of -ism, on-air personalities and producers have been summarily banned; on-air resignations have not been unknown.

These days WBAI, whose slogan is “Your Peace and Justice Community Radio Station,” has a paid staff of 25 and 200 independent volunteer producers, Mr. Riddle said, adding that WBAI has more than 200,000 listeners. He declined to say how many subscribers there are, but the number is believed to be fewer than 20,000; the minimum subscription rate is $25 a year.

Mr. Riddle, who joined the station in February, said that “it’s always difficult to run a democracy,” adding that “a lot of people believe in the kind of radio we provide,” since the station does not accept advertising, underwriting or grants.

If in many ways the station has changed, the legality of broadcasting the “Seven Words” has not.

“Now, 35 years later, we can’t take a chance of playing it,” Mr. Riddle said. “Discussion of the words is not acceptable, unless you cut the heart out of it.”

Like the headline? I think Carlin would approve.

There have already been thousands - maybe millions - of tributes to George Carlin over the last 36 hours since the great comic died in New York at age 71. As a comedian, he was blunt, profane, and hilarious in his critique of our often-absurd use of language.

It was one of those examinations of language use (and regulation) that got us in trouble over here at Pacifica. In 1973, WBAI host Paul Gorman broadcast, unedited, George Carlin’s “Filty Words” monologue — the one with the “seven dirty words” sprinkled throughout. A listener complained to the FCC, which in turn sanctioned WBAI/Pacifica. Pacifica challenged that decision and valiantly fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court, making the radical claim that free speech ought to also apply to broadcasting. Our lawyers argued that Carlin was a significant social satirist who uses the language of ordinary people. They argued: “Carlin is not mouthing obscenities, he is merely using words to satirize as harmless and essentially silly our attitudes towards those words.”

We lost. And the FCC has been in the business of regulating dirty words ever since.

Carlin said he was “perversely kind of proud of” being a footnote in American legal history. In fact, he maintained a compilation of documents from the case on his website, including this FCC-generated transcript of the “Filthy Words” monologue.

I think I can say that Pacifica was and is proud to have fought the Carlin case. Even if the Supreme Court didn’t rule in our favor, it was worth a shot and Carlin was certainly a great act to work with on it. He was a terrific observer of society and satirist, and we’ll miss him.

Last year, the Pacifica Radio Archives produced a one-hour program about the “Carlin Case”. The first half includes interviews with WBAI host Paul Gorman, former FCC Commissioners, a lawyer for the National Association of Broadcasters, and a minister. It also includes a healthy dose of the “Filthy Words” monologue — edited for language, naturally, as this was produced for broadcast.

The second half hour features two interviews with George Carlin himself - one in 1970 before his “Filthy Words” routine was broadcast on WBAI, and the other conducted by Larry Bensky at KPFA in June 1997, nearly 30 years later. Together, they provide an interesting time-lapse perspective.

I’ll close here with a quote Carlin gave to The Onion A.V. Club in 2005. I think it sums up where Carlin was coming from and why we found him so endearing:

“There is a certain amount of righteous indignation I hold for this culture, because to get back to the real root of it, to get broader about it, my opinion that is my species — and my culture in America specifically — have let me down and betrayed me. I think this species had great, great promise, with this great upper brain that we have, and I think we squandered it on God and Mammon. And I think this culture of ours has such promise, with the promise of real, true freedom, and then everyone has been shackled by ownership and possessions and acquisition and status and power… And perhaps it’s just a human weakness and an inevitable human story that these things happen. But there’s disillusionment and some discontent in me about it. I don’t consider myself a cynic. I think of myself as a skeptic and a realist. But I understand the word ‘cynic’ has more than one meaning, and I see how I could be seen as cynical. ‘George, you’re cynical.’ Well, you know, they say if you scratch a cynic you find a disappointed idealist. And perhaps the flame still flickers a little, you know?”

We’ll keep it flickering as best we can, pal.

Seems like almost every year, Bush proposes slashing all of most of the budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That’s the entity that provides annual “Community Service Grants” to public and community radio stations around the country — including your beloved Pacifica stations. This year is no exception — as the note below explains, Bush has proposed cutting the CPB budget by 56 percent this year.

Even though the CPB has survived through seven years of Bush, this could be the year it gets hammered unless you help. Free Press has put together a handy form for you to contact your Senators and tell them what you think.

~Nathan

Tell Congress to Save Public Broadcasting
June 23, 2008
By Megan Tady

Throwing the remote at the TV or yelling at the radio after another unbelievable comment from a TV anchor (terrorist fist-bump, anyone?) sure does help to relieve some pent up frustration against the news media. But a busted remote certainly won’t get us any closer to getting more real news on our airwaves.

And neither will letting the Bush administration get away with their slash-and-burn tactics to stifle public broadcasting. The administration has proposed cutting the public broadcasting budget by 56 percent — putting at risk vital news, educational and cultural programming that millions of Americans say they prefer to commercial media.

Getting serious, independent journalism is already hard enough – now can you imagine the media landscape we would face if Bush chops down public broadcasting? It’s going to look pretty bleak.

But Congress has the ability to protect noncommercial media by not only restoring but increasing funding for diverse public media. The Senate is going to vote on the Bush cuts tomorrow. Tell your Senators to save public broadcasting now.

The Grand Rapids Community Media Center (WYCE-FM) is seeking qualified applicants for two new positions:
1. Community Relations Coordinator - 1/2 time position
2. Program Director - 3/4 time position

Community Relations COordinator

Summary
The Community Relations Coordinator will be the main customer service and public relations communicator for WYCE.

Responsibilities
- Serving as the primary point of contact for general station inquiries and interactions
- Coordinating personnel, presence and promotions for station events (concerts, blood drives, fundraisers, etc.)
- Working with Development Director and Station Manager to organize and maintain donor appreciation programs
- Assisting staff with production and scheduling of on-air fund drives
- Assisting Program Director with production and scheduling of on-air announcements
- Creating and coordinating production of promotional materials (Web listings, quarterly newsletter, e-mail blasts, advertisements, etc.)
- Developing, with Station Manager and Development Director, WYCE merchandise sales system

Required Qualifications
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Friendly, outgoing demeanor
- Meticulous attention to detail
- Desire to examine and streamline practices and processes
- Ability to efficiently manage highly varied workload

Desired Qualifications
- At least two years of college-level education or comparable work experience
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and other standard office systems
- Proficiency in a foreign language (especially Spanish) is by no means mandatory, but would be helpful

Compensation
The Community Relations Coordinator is a half-time position (20 hrs/wk). Compensation for this position includes competitive pay, flexible scheduling, and a fun, laid-back working environment.

Program Director

Summary
The Program Director will provide primary creative and functional direction for WYCE’s programming, on-air and online.

Responsibilities
- Working with Station Manager and Executive Director to define/refine overall programming goals, values and priorities for WYCE
- Working with Music Director to ensure musical programming fits programming goals
- Creating/evaluating specialty programs for on-air and online broadcast
- Coordinating volunteer staffing for on-air/online broadcast schedules
- Coordinating ongoing program review process
- Reviewing/Revamping scheduling of Public Service Announcements, community calendar and other non-musical programming elements
- Working with Station Manager and Development Director to produce on-air fund drives

Special Projects
In addition to ongoing responsibilities, the Program Director will work closely with the Station Manager and Music Director to implement two new technological advances at WYCE: the creation of a secondary online program stream, and the digitization of WYCE’s music library.

This will involve extensive research, planning and communication to develop and launch these initiatives, and to provide appropriate support and education for WYCE staff and volunteers, to ensure smooth transition and operations.

Required Qualifications
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Creative vision, and willingness to take risks
- Emphasis on advance planning, avoidance of reactive behavior
- Ability to deliver constructive criticism, and to praise good work
- Capacity to successfully manage multiple projects at all times
- Dedication to continuous improvement
- Desire to create excellent programming

Desired Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Science, Media/Communications, English or other related field of study, or comparable professional/educational experience
- Experience in the broadcast industry, specifically in noncommercial, music-oriented programming
- Knowledge of WYCE’s history, philosophy and programming
- Understanding of current and cutting-edge media technology
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Internet content creation/editing, and audio/video software
- Proficiency in a foreign language (especially Spanish) is by no means mandatory, but would be helpful

Compensation and Benefits
The Program Director is an exempt part-time position (30 hrs/wk), which may expand to a full-time role in the future. Compensation for this position includes a competitive salary, flexible scheduling, and a fun, laid-back working environment.

Application Procedure for Both Positions:
Please submit a letter of interest and resume by Friday, July 18, 2008 to:
Kevin Murphy
WYCE Station Manager
jobs@wyce.org

In your application please elaborate on your experience and expertise as it pertains to the required and desired qualifications for this position.

Please also include the names and contact information of at least three references.

(Note: If you would like to provide samples of past work, please do not send multimedia attachments. Please submit any audio/video materials on CD or DVD by mail: WYCE Program Director Search, 711 Bridge St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49507)

THE GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. WOMEN AND MINORITIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about WYCE and the Community Media Center we invite you to visit our website: www.grcmc.org

Berkeley, California (June 16, 2008) – On Thursday, June 26, Pacifica Radio will broadcast the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on torture. David Addington, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President, and Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John C. Yoo will testify. Pacifica’s broadcast will start at 9:00am EDT (6:00am PDT), anchored from Capitol Hill by its veteran National Affairs Correspondent Larry Bensky.

Among the issues to be discussed are the use of stress and torture in interrogations; why many senior FBI and Department of Justice officials failed to take strong actions after identifying interrogation abuses; and the newly recent Supreme Court 5-4 decision upholding habeas corpus rights at Guantanamo.

Pacifica will present constitutional and legal experts to discuss the issues involved in the hearing and will invite its listeners to present comments following the hearings.

List of Potential Guests:

• Jamie Raskin, Professor of Constitutional Law at American University
• Mark Danner, Professor of Journalism, U.C. Berkeley
• Scott Horton, Chair of the Committee on International Law of the Bar Association of New York City
• Clive Stanford Smith, Founder and Director of Reprieve
• David Bonner, Public Lawyer and Professor at University of Leicester in the UK
• Laura Donahue, Fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School
• Paul Glusman, Berkeley Employment Lawyer

Tentative Broadcast Schedule:
Pre-show: 9-10am EDT / 6–7am PDT
Hearing: 10am-1pm EDT / 7-10am PDT
Post-show: 1-2pm EDT / 10-11am PDT

NOTE: Depending on the number of witnesses and how many rounds of questioning by committee members, the hearing can either end earlier or later than the specified schedule.

SPECIAL BROADCAST:
CELEBRATING MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Live Broadcast of a Same-Sex Wedding

From KPFK/ Pacifica Radio, “Celebrating Marriage Equality” will make history as one of the first live broadcasts of a legally recognized same-sex wedding in California.

In mid-May, the California Supreme Court ruled that people have a fundamental right to marry the person of their choice. On Friday, June 20th, Pacifica will broadcast the wedding of Linda Martinez and her partner Regina Rodriguez, as well as discussion with the happy couple, their minister, friends, and family.

The broadcast will also features discussion and analysis with Los Angeles-area LGBT activists about the implciations of the Court decision and the looming November referendum that would constitutionally ban same-sex marriages in the state if passed.

Hosted by Sonali Kolhatkar of KPFK’s morning show “Uprising, the broadcast will air live on KPFK and other stations next Friday, June 20th, 11am-12n EDT / 8-9am PDT.

SPECIAL BROADCAST:
RADIO BLOOMSDAY: A JAMES JOYCE CELEBRATION
Starring Alec Baldwin, Anne Meara & Amy Stiller, Kate Valk and Alvin Epstein

From WBAI/Pacifica Radio, RADIO BLOOMSDAY is an intimate radio program featuring readings of James Joyce’s Ulysses plus selections from Joyce’s entire canon, performed by leading actors. Bloomsday is celebrated every year on June 16, the day Ulysses takes place.

WBAI will air a nine-hour Radio Bloomsday special, beginning at 7pm on Monday, June 16th. The first three hours — all FCC-clean — will be distributed live to the Pacifica network via satellite. Later hours will be posted on the web on Tuesday.

“Radio Bloomsday will make the works of Joyce accessible to a 21st century audience, the newly initiated and devoted stalwarts alike,” explains producer Larry Josephson. “This year’s show begins with a survey of all of Joyce’s works, followed by a spotlight on the holy trinity of characters in Ulysses: Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom and his wife, Molly.”

ACTORS & PERFORMERS:
– Alvin Epstein (the original Lucky in “Waiting for Godot”) reads a tribute to Samuel Beckett, Joyce’s former secretary
– Amy Stiller will do a tribute to the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh
– Alec Baldwin reads The Citizen
– Anne Meara will perform the role of Gertie MacDowell
– Kate Valk as Gertrude Stein

In addition to these stars, others scheduled to perform in Radio Bloomsday include John O’Callaghan from Stargate Atlantis, Obie award winner Aaron Beall, Faux Real Theatre’s Mark Greenfield, performance artist ZeroBoy, and actors Jim Fletcher, Patricia O’Connell, Emily Mitchell, Vera Beren, David Pincus, Laura Simms, Bob Dishy, and Alana Newhouse.

PRODUCERS & DIRECTORS:
–Radio Bloomsday is produced by Larry Josephson, winner of the prestigious Peabody Award and three Grammy nominations for his work with Bob & Ray. Larry co-created (with Isaiah Sheffer) the first Bloomsday broadcast from Symphony Space 26 years ago, which he produced for radio until last year.
– The broadcast is directed by Caraid O’Brien, who will also perform the complete Molly Bloom monologue (in the upload-only hours). She wrote and directed “Bloomsday on Broadway” at Symphony Space for three years. Caraid was born in Galway, Ireland and, at 33, is the same age as the fictional Molly Bloom.
– Artistic Director is Janet Coleman, author of “The Compass,” host & producer of The Cat Radio Cafe, and WBAI Arts Director.

Pacifica couldn’t make it to this year’s National Conference on Media Reform, but I wanted to mention that Free Speech TV is there doing some live broadcasting, and that Free Press will post lots of audio and video from the conference to their website after it happens. ~Nathan

Bill Moyers, Amy Goodman, Van Jones, Phil Donahue, Laura Flanders, Dan Rather, and many other media luminaries are in Minneapolis, joining thousands gathered to challenge corporate media monopolies.

Free Speech TV, the nation’s first independent progressive television network, is offering 21 hours of live coverage from the National Conference for Media Reform.

The National Conference for Media Reform, hosted by Free Press, marks the epicenter of a growing national movement challenging corporate control of U.S. media systems.

DATES: June 6 – 8, 2008

TIMES (EDST): LIVE Friday 11am – 1pm; 2pm – 6:00pm
LIVE Saturday 9am – 2pm; 3pm – 7pm; 9pm – 11:30pm
LIVE Sunday 10:30am – 2:00pm
Repeats Friday 6pm – 9:00am Saturday
Repeats Saturday 11:30pm – 10:30am Sunday
Repeats Sunday 2:00pm – 3:00am Monday

Plays on Free Speech TV, DISH Network Channel 9415, with a live netcast at http://www.freespeech.org

Program Schedule - all times Eastern Daylight Time

Friday June 6
11:00am - 1:00pm Opening Plenary
2:00pm - 2:30pm Interview #1
2:30pm - 4:00pm Media and Election: Uncovering 2008
4:00pm - 4:30pm Interview #2
4:30pm - 6:00pm How Far Have We Come: People of Color in the Mass Media

Saturday June 7
9:00am - 10:00am Keynote: Bill Moyers
10:00am - 10:30am Interview #3
10:30am - 12:00pm From Broadcast to Broadband
12:00pm - 12:30pm Interview #4
12:30pm - 2:00pm Media and the War: An Unembedded View
3:00pm - 3:30pm Interview #5
3:30pm - 5:00pm Media Policy in a New Congress
5:00pm - 5:30pm Interview #6
5:30pm - 7:00pm Owning Our Own and Reaching the Masses
9:00pm - 11:30pm Keynote: Media Begins with Me

Sunday June 8
10:30am - 12:00pm TBA
12:00pm - 12:30pm Interview #7
12:30pm - 2:00pm Closing Plenary

For more information: freespeech.org, freepress.net

Just read this post at Ernesto Aguilar’s blog, thought I’d repost it here. Congratulations to KPFT on both of these counts — I look forward to hearing Helen Caldicott’s new program, and I’m excited that KPFT will become Pacifica’s first station with multiple channels in HD. Nice work, Ernesto!

I made our two biggest announcements on Monday’s KPFT Report to the Community, the monthly managers’ call-in show I host with General Manager Duane Bradley. Along with that information, in case you missed it, I have an update since Monday to share.

First, KPFT is pleased to announce that it launched its HD-2 additional programming stream during the recent pledge drive. Last year, KPFT began delivering CD-quality audio to listeners via its HD-1 feed. The HD-2 schedule permits those who own HD Radios to hear programming concurrent with what you normally hear on our FM and HD-1 streams. Our current HD-2 schedule is as follows: Weekdays, Democracy Now! airs live at 7 a.m. and is repeated at 8 a.m.; Free Speech Radio News airs at 3 p.m.; Hard Knock Radio airs live at 6 p.m.; and Flashpoints airs live at 7 p.m. On Saturdays, hear Uprising Weekly at 10 a.m. and Explorations at 11 a.m. Sundays, KPFT presents the hour-long edition of the Pacifica Radio Archives’ popular From the Vault program at 10 a.m. At 11 to 1 p.m., tune in for Sunday Salon, live from Berkeley. Local programs on HD-2 include radio theater with Electromatic Radio, Mondays afternoons at 3:30 and freeform music with Transmissions from Mars, Sundays at 11 p.m. At this time, KPFT offers BBC news and features throughout the rest of the schedule.

Expect to see more on the HD-2 schedule in the coming weeks. Programs in the works include bringing our popular weekday community access hour, Open Journal, to the weekends, and more local additions.

Second, I am pleased to write about an exciting new national show, hosted by Dr. Helen Caldicott, launching with KPFT as its home station.

Dr. Caldicott is a noted scientist, author and activist whose honors include a Nobel Peace Prize nomination by Dr. Linus Pauling and being named by the Smithsonian Institution as one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Her new show, If You Love This Planet, will call KPFT its home, and it has already been picked by five more stations. Dr. Caldicott will bring some of the most important thinkers on science, the environment and nuclear issues to the airwaves. Tune in for promotion of If You Love This Planet with Dr. Helen Caldicott very soon. If you are outside of KPFT’s signal area, please encourage your local station to air If You Love This Planet.

On Monday’s Report to the Community, I announced that If You Love This Planet would replace Michio Kaku’s Explorations on our schedule. There was quite an outcry from listeners. Rightfully so. Dr. Kaku does an important program. The feedback was wonderful, and helped guide us down a new course. As a result, KPFT expects to maintain Explorations in its current spot and present a new, even more ideal, place for If You Love This Planet. The goal is to bring you great programming. We hope that you support both programs in future fund drives, and enjoy the perspectives Drs. Caldicott and Kaku offer.

KMUD Music Director

Redwood Community Radio (RCR) – KMUD, KMUE, KLAI and K258BQ in Shelter Cove is in search of a Music Director to maintain the music library.The Music Department is part of a dynamic, alternative, established community radio station that’s driven by a mission “to entertain, to inform, to inspire”.

The Music Director must have : a wide variety of musical expression and demonstrate an eclectic knowledge of music; excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to establish rapport with music company reps as well as KMUD’s valued music library volunteers; knowledge of or ability to learn music reporting data bases.; computer literacy and familiarity with community radio.

This is a part time (15 to 20 hrs/wk) non-exempt position with benefits. Salary range is $12-14 an hour. Deadline for application is June 23, 2008. Please email cover letter and resume to bstarr@kmud.org or mail to GM, KMUD, POB 135, Redway, CA 95560. RCR is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. For a more detailed job announcement visit our website at kmud.org or call Brenda Starr At (707) 923-2513 ext. 106.

Reposted from Ars Technica:

By Matthew Lasar — June 05, 2008 -

If the Federal Communications Commission wants to prevail in its crusade to get United States Supreme Court approval of its new “fleeting expletive” policy, it is going to have to convince the High Court of two things. First, the FCC must prove that the broadcasting of dirty words said on the fly somehow actually hurts people, especially children. Second, the agency must demonstrate that it had the legal right to radically alter its policy towards these naughty phrases, which up until the recent past has been relatively benign.The Commission must show that The Law has always granted the agency permission to prosecute abbreviated dirty talk, whether the FCC has historically availed itself of this tacit approval.

Solicitor General Paul Clement’s brief to the Supreme Court on behalf of the FCC, submitted on Monday, accomplishes the second task adequately, I think, and the first task not at all. I doubt his arguments will convince many Ars readers. But don’t forget: all the DoJ and FCC have to persuade are the Supremes. The Supreme Court will consider the FCC’s appeal of a circuit court decision to strike down its recent fleeting expletive rulings this fall. Here’s a recap of how we got to this place:

My son asked me what [bleep] means

Five years ago, the rock singer Bono got a little out of control upon receiving the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. “This is really, really fucking brilliant,” he had the bad taste to exclaim, adding “Really, really great”–just in case you didn’t get it the first time. The FCC did not approve of millions of television viewers seeing and hearing Mr. Bono convey his happiness in this manner, and said so. The “‘F-word’ is one of the most vulgar, graphic and explicit descriptions of sexual activity in the English language,” the agency declared in 2004. It “invariably invokes a coarse sexual image” and broadcasting it on a national telecast was “shocking and gratuitous.”

But the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau knew that it had a problem. Here was a Rock God exclaiming the F-word just once, which shows pretty restrained behavior, actually. So the Commission made it clear, for the first time, that Once Is Enough. “The mere fact that specific words or phrases are not sustained or repeated does not mandate a finding that material that is otherwise patently offensive to the broadcast medium is not indecent,” the FCC warned.

The agency imposed no sanction, however, noting that its stance was new. “Prior Commission and staff action have indicated that isolated or fleeting broadcasts of the ‘F-word’ such as that here are not indecent,” the Commission conceded. The Golden Globe broadcaster, NBC, “did not have the requisite notice to justify a penalty.”

But the human race kept testing the FCC’s patience on this issue. In 2002 and 2003 Fox Television broadcast the Billboard Music Awards, during which Cher and Nicole Richie acted like themselves. “I’ve also had critics for the last 40 years saying hat I was on my way out every year,” Cher explained in 2002. “So fuck ‘em.” In 2003, Richie had yet to get caught sitting in a Mercedes facing backwards in a freeway carpool lane while on pills, but she did have the presence of mind to ask the Billboard audience if they had “ever tried to get cow shit out of a Prada purse? It’s not so fucking simple.”

People complained to the FCC about these broadcasts. “My son and I were watching the 2003 Billboard Music Awards the other night… ” one protest began. “[M]y son asked me what f*cking meant.” Apparently the agency agreed that the last thing that television should do is prompt parents to teach their children about sex. After a long complex process that involved a public proceeding and some back and forth with the courts, in late 2006 the FCC applied its new Golden Globe standard to Fox Television. Granting an “automatic exemption for ‘isolated or fleeting’ expletives” would permit broadcasters “to air any one of a number of offensive sexual or excretory words, regardless of context,” the Commission said. The FCC found both broadcasts indecent, although it imposed no sanction or fine on Fox affiliates.

Sensing that this could be the beginning of something really expensive, Fox appealed the decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which all but called the FCC’s logic ridiculous. The court’s majority declared that the Commission had failed to produce “any evidence that suggests a fleeting expletive is harmful.” It laughed down the Commission’s insistence that any invocation of the words “shit” or “fuck” immediately force visions of number two or the wild thing upon TV viewers. “[T]his defies any commonsense understanding of these words, which, as the general public well knows, are often used in everyday conversation without any ’sexual or excretory’ meaning,” the Second Circuit declared. The court also found “divorced from reality” the agency’s claim that lenience on this matter would encourage broadcasters to slather the TV public with dirty words.

Most importantly, the court ruled that the FCC had run afoul of one of the most important and least noted laws around: the Administrative Procedures Act, which empowers courts to strike down “arbitrary” and “capacious” decisions by government agencies. The Second Circuit declared that the Commission had made this kind of bad decision because it failed to adequately explain why it changed its policy on fleeting expletives.

FCC Chair Kevin Martin could barely restrain his rage at this ruling. “I find it hard to believe that the New York court would tell American families that ’shit’ and ‘fuck’ are fine to say on broadcast television during the hours when children are most likely to be in the audience,” he said in a statement after the decision came down. The agency appealed the court’s ruling–and logic–to the Supremes.

Inescapably sexual

Perhaps the strongest part of the Solicitor’s brief is its refutation of the APA violation argument. Government agencies have the right to change their minds, Justice explains. The Commission acknowledged in Golden Globe that it had changed its policy. The agency had gone easy on its first victims in recognition of its change of course. It had offered reasons and arguments for the change. And the new policy remains true to the basic statutory authority given to the FCC, to prohibit the broadcast of “any… indecent… language” (the full text says “any obscene, indecent, or profane language”). “The word ‘any’ does not lend itself to a safe-harbor policy in which some indecency is permitted if it is not repeated,” the DoJ declares. What is arbitrary and capricious about enforcing the letter of the law?

But from this point of departure, the DoJ brief offers nothing but dogmatic arguments that will make sense to the decency regulation in-crowd, but won’t play anywhere else. Clement argues that the FCC recognizes context, having forgiven the broadcast of expletives in Saving Private Ryan. But the brief repeatedly asserts that “in certain contexts even a single word can be so offensive that it should be subject to regulation; that is why a one-free-expletive rule is incompatible with the proper application of a contextual analysis.”

The problem is that the Solicitor has to tune this logic to the words of Cher and Nicole Richie, proving their phrases have an “inescapably sexual connotation” and were designed to shock or titillate. To do this, DoJ lamely quotes various books, such as Steven Pinker’s The Stuff of Thought: Language As a Window into Human Nature, into which the brief strangely inserts an additional phrase: “If you’re an English speaker,” Justice quotes Pinker as saying, “you can’t hear [words such as the F-word] without calling to mind what they mean to an implicit community of speakers…” But so what? Pinkers’ observation doesn’t make it true to a court of law. And it doesn’t make it true for you and me, we supposedly being the arbiters of the “contemporary community standards” part of indecency regulation.

The brief goes so far as to repeatedly quote complaining parents (”Mommy what is f[ ]ing?”) to make its point. “The [Federal Communications] Commission was not required to conduct further proceedings to arrive at the inescapable conclusion that such language presents a threat to children in the audience,” Justice says. How? And as for the fear that “the broadcast of vulgar expletives would increase in the absence of a change in policy,” the DoJ offers data that the networks used “offensive” language 98 times between 8pm and 9pm in 1990 and 216 times during the same hour in 2001? Again, so what? Is this a substantial increase in a country with over 2,200 television broadcast stations?

But whatever you or I might think of the DoJ’s logic, don’t forget: it’s the Supreme Court that will decide where this goes. And it was the Supreme Court that almost 40 years ago, in Pacifica vs. FCC, upheld the Commission’s indecency sanction against Pacifica station WBAI in New York City, even without being presented with evidence of any harm done by George Carlin’s famous “Seven Dirty Words” monologue.

Broadcasting is “uniquely accessible to children, even those too young to read,” the court narrowly ruled on July 3, 1978. “Pacifica’s broadcast could have enlarged a child’s vocabulary in an instant.” Rest assured that the fate of children will be invoked numerous times when the High Court hears oral arguments in this case.

Further reading:
* The Solicitor General’s brief to the Supreme Court

KFAI is a Pacifica affiliate, and Janis has been a great help in working with me on planning Pacifica’s coverage of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September. ~N

Interview: Janis Lane-Ewart, the breath of Fresh Air Radio
By Patricia Webb-de la Cadena , TC Daily Planet
June 03, 2008

Operating at 90.3 in Minneapolis and 106.7 in St. Paul, KFAI-FM is a non-profit, volunteer based community radio station that has been broadcasting since 1978.

The station produces programming in 12 different languages–a mix of music, discussion, and political and cultural news. On any given day or night, listeners can tune in to such eclectic shows as Khmers in Minnesota, African Rhythms, and Scandinavian Cultural Hour. Crap From the Past highlights pop hits from the 70s and 80s. Songs of Praise offers up gospel and Christian music each Sunday morning. I spoke with KFAI’s executive director, Janis Lane-Ewart.

Daily Planet: The Internet has drastically changed how people are getting their news and music. In today’s crowded media universe, what’s the unique role of radio?

Janis Lane-Ewart: Radio is still the main source for news and information as people drive from point A to point B; it remains a primary source for immigrant cultures, especially as they rely on local and international news updates; and radio provides unique access to train the next generation of citizen journalists.

DP: What, specifically, do you think the community would be likely to miss most if KFAI’s programming were to cease?

JLE: The community would likely miss the actual voices of on-air programmers who are their neighbors, friends, and colleagues. There would be no other source for programming in other languages; there would be less opportunity to be informed of news at the grassroots or local level; there would be fewer sources to hear the voices of young people in news reporting.

DP: You coin yourself Radio Without Boundaries. Since your goal is to appeal to many different people, how would you define your average audience?

JLE: There is no core audience. In the past ten years, our multi-language programming has increased, and in the near future, we expect our biggest growth in the Somali community. Our Asian audience is also up. Results from a 2005 survey revealed our average listener is male, age 20-54, and a college graduate. We are now reaching out to a younger audience, ages 13-18, by offering programming variety of interest to that group. One segment of this effort, Girls of Color, focuses on journalism training for young girls.

DP: Mainstream radio measures success by the amount of time listeners are tuning in. Since a listener will likely change stations if they can’t understand the language, how do you keep them coming back?

JLE: We have a fixed schedule, so listeners know they can turn on the radio at six to nine a.m. on Mondays and hear Good Noise. We also aim to schedule common programs during certain time frames. For instance, on Sunday afternoons we focus on news and music from the East African community. These listeners can hear a range of programs of interest during a set block of time.

DP: Aside from funding, what unique challenges do you face that commercial radio doesn’t?

JLE: Attracting new listeners. In the next few months, we will be hiring an outside public relations and marketing firm to help us achieve this goal. Also, over the next three months the station will convert to digital. We are excited about this development. There will be a separate channel, available by streaming from the Internet or on digital radio, so we can simultaneously produce another 24 hours of new, different programming.

DP: What are you looking forward to learning at the National Conference on Media Reform? What do you think the conference will accomplish?

JLE: I’m looking forward to learning how other communities are energizing and mobilizing citizens around media reform and how others are engaging the younger generation via all the available media platforms to care about the media…what’s right with the media and what’s wrong.

DP: How do you think freeform radio may evolve in the future?

JLE: With the possibility of Low Power FM radio, the future may be crowded with small wattage stations in communities or conclaves of communities. People may have more access to news and information on a micro level–not only nearby but from other communities as well.

In case you missed the news, Utah Phillips died late last week of complications related to congestive heart failure. He was 73.

Utah Phillips was one of my favorite performers and inspirations. I got the opportunity to see him perform in Madison a few years ago one of his last tours, and it was terrific. More than terrific - it filled me with joy, gave me a dose of labor & folk history, and inspired me to do good work. And it was fun! It’s a rare performer who can deliver all that in a single evening performance. In fact, I can’t say I’ve been as impressed with any show since.

Scooter wrote the following comments to the Grassroots Radio Coalition, and I think they provide a great epitaph:

Utah Phillips was the Kind Uncle of the entire human race.

Which is one hell of a thing to be, but I noticed Utah Phillips because he did radio that didn’t suck, which is not easy.

Utah Phillips talked right into the best feelings about yourself and the world. He knew how to make you love yourself. He was just an old hobo, pissed off at the system, and full of love for me and the rest of us. Seek his pissed offedness.

And find his love.

A good start for anyone’s journey

Now for the audio…

KPFA folk show host Robbie Osman did a two hour tribute to Utah Phillips on last Sunday’s “Across the Great Divide.” You can listen to the show here:

On Tuesday’s Democracy Now, they replayed a January 2004 they conducted with Utah Phillips. Listen here:

Utah hosted a show called Loafer’s Glory from KVMR in Nevada City in the late 1990s/early 2000s, which was syndicated on the Pacifica network. Information about the show and CD sales info can be found at utahphillips.com. Also, Steve Baker from KVMR has posted three classic episodes at the KVMR Loafer’s Glory page.

The family requests memorial donations to Hospitality House, P.O. Box 3223, Grass Valley, California 95945; (530) 271-7144; www.hospitalityhouseshelter.org

Media Advisory: May 27, 2008
Contact: Brian DeShazor 800.735.0230 ext 263, bdeshazor[at]pacificaradioarchives.org

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Historic Speeches 1968:
Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation & Access Project

A young and vital Democratic United States Senator battles to win his party’s nomination for President. He speaks out against an unpopular war, environmental destruction, racial inequality and mounting economic injustice. About to deliver a pivotal speech, he was assassinated on June 4, 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

“For all of our wealth, and all of our power, all of our statistics of our gross national product [GNP], cannot make up the satisfaction, the purpose, and the dignity of our lives… [T]he gross national product…counts air pollution, jails, the destruction of the redwoods…the equipment for police to put down riots, and television programs that glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.”

– Robert F. Kennedy, June 4, 1968

RFK’s words convey a relevance and urgency as true to us now, as they did 40 years ago. In the temperature and humidity-controlled vaults of the Pacifica Radio Archives in Los Angeles are his compelling and prophetic words as broadcast on the first alternative, listener-supported radio stations in the nation: KPFA (Berkeley), KPFK (Los Angeles), WBAI (NYC), WPFW (D.C.), KPFT (Houston, TX).

The Pacifica Radio Archives (PRA) has recently discovered and restored three historic reel-to-reel audio tape recordings which capture and transmit RFK’s message:

1. June 4, 1968, moments before his assassination, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles
2. May 24, 1968, with Republican business executives at the Beverly Hilton, Los Angeles
3. April 19, 1968, speech at the Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles before business and financial executives sponsored by the Town Hall of Southern California. Includes Q & A.

These recordings are available to students, scholars, educators, authors, artists and documentarians.

For more information about these, and other recently restored recordings from the Pacifica Radio Archives, check out the 1968 Revolution Rewind Project on your local Pacifica Radio station, or go to:
http://www.pacificaradioarchives.org/projects/revolution/index.html

CONTACT: Brian DeShazor, Director, Pacifica Radio Archives
(800) 735 0230 X 263, pacarchive[at]aol.com

Funded, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.