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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Democracy Now Staff Letter to Pacifica Board |
Current rating: 0 |
by leaky
(No verified email address) |
21 Aug 2001
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the following letter was sent to the Pacifica Board by the staff of Democracy Now, explaining the context for their decision to produce the program from outside the studios of Pacifica's NYC station, WBAI. |
TO: Pacifica National Board and Pacifica management
FROM: Democracy Now! Staff
DATE: 8/20/01
RE: safety
As you know, the Democracy Now! staff spent last week negotiating with
Pacifica management over how our safety could be guaranteed. The talks came
after two attacks, one physical and one verbal. On Friday, August 10, WBAI
Station Manager Utrice Leid physically assaulted Amy Goodman. On Monday,
August 13, the Operations Director Sidney Smith and morning show host
Marjorie Moore began yelling at Amy as soon as she entered the station.
They followed her to her office, and when Democracy Now! producer Brad
Simpson closed the door after her, Smith used his master key to re-enter.
They continued to yell at us as we tried to prepare for the morning¹s
program, until the on-air host came out of master control to tell them to
stop disturbing his broadcast.
We left after our broadcast, believing we could no longer safely work at
WBAI. We waited for a response to our Friday e-mails to management about
the first attack. When no response came, we wrote our second letter laying
out why we felt we had no recourse, but to find an alternative space from
which to broadcast and produce Democracy Now! It was only then that
management responded.
For the next three days, the Democracy Now! staff negotiated in good faith,
attempting to reach agreement with management on a minimum set of safety
guarantees for our return. We agreed not to comment publicly during the
negotiations.
Meanwhile, the situation at WBAI deteriorated. On Thursday morning before
Democracy Now!, the newly installed morning show staff used the time to
encourage listeners to attack Amy and Democracy Now! As further evidence of
the increasingly unprofessional and hostile workplace, when people voiced
their support, the hosts either mocked them or cut short their calls with
the sound of a flushing toilet. On Saturday, the verbal harassment reached
a peak, when producer Clayton Riley said on the air:
\"When you talk about the enemy, you find the enemy, you isolate the enemy
and you destroy the enemy. These people have put themselves in the position
of being the enemies. This conflict is not going to end, in my judgment and
let me be clear about that,
until the dissidents, until the so-called exile community is destroyed.
Unequivocally.\"
This echoes Station Manager Utrice Leid¹s own oft-repeated comments, some of
which aired around the nation on NPR¹s Morning Edition of June 21st:
\"I need you stalwart soldiers out there. This is a call to arms. I told you,
it¹s a war.\" Leid said that some of those who she says were sabotaging the
station are right here with us.
These inflammatory comments are not just words. Several months ago, Clayton
physically moved in on WBAI reporter Robert Knight for coming to Amy¹s
defense, shouting repeatedly \"Stop kissing the ass of that white bitch.\"
Minutes later, he assaulted Knight in Utrice Leid¹s office, while she looked
on. Riley has also threatened to pay a hitman $400 to break the legs of
Democracy Now! engineer Anthony Sloan. He has screamed obscenities at
former Democracy Now! producer Terry Allen. In each case, we informed WBAI
and Pacifica management of these incidents. Management never responded.
Furthermore, Clayton was not disciplined, but rewarded: Utrice Leid has
since doubled the air-time of his weekly program.
The hate-filled, violent on and off-air harassment and intimidation only
intensified after Leid¹s assault on Amy. While Pacifica management has
offered to post a statement asserting that WBAI is a nonviolent workplace,
they refused to prohibit the on-air personal attacks, which gives a green
light for the kind of assault and harassment we experienced last week. They
also have refused to give Amy a key to the station or even to her own
office. She is locked out until she hands over her home and cell phone
numbers to the very person who assaulted her.
We have an interim solution. As we have communicated, we have a safe and
even technically superior studio from which to broadcast. Democracy Now!
will continue to work at Downtown Community Television until our safety at
WBAI can be guaranteed in a meaningful way. This will:
- preclude further intimidation, harassment and assault
- de-escalate the situation
- provide us with a technically superior studio at no cost
- lessen Pacifica¹s liability
It also answers Leid¹s demand. On the air, she has said we will throw the
unwanted tenants out. Off the air, she has stormed into our office,
insisting that we find an alternative studio.
There is ample precedent for this arrangement. At least three men broadcast
from offsite studios daily for Pacifica and WBAI: Gary Null (M-F, 12-1 pm),
Armand DeMille (M-F, 1 to 2 pm), and Pacifica Network News correspondent Bob
Hennelly (daily for PNN and weekly for WBAI).
For these men, broadcasting from an alternative site is a convenience. For
us, it has become a necessary safety precaution.
We feel it is our responsibility to continue to provide Democracy Now! to
the Pacifica stations and affiliates, as we have for nearly six years.
Because WBAI is presently an unsafe workplace, last week we broadcast from
DCTV. The programs were technically perfect, of higher broadcast quality
than even WBAI provides. But most importantly, we are safe. Until we feel
our safety is guaranteed at WBAI, the incidents we described are adequately
investigated and dealt with, and the on-air personal attacks stop, we see no
other option but to continue to produce and broadcast Democracy Now! in this
manner.
Our safety is non-negotiable. We hope you agree.
Signed,
Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!
Kris Abrams, producer of Democracy Now!
Brad Simpson, producer of Democracy Now!
Anthony Sloan, engineer of Democracy Now!
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