A bunch of fossilized naysayers on our "favorite" message board are presently conducting one of their xtreme negative propaganda campaigns against Gary Null. Excuse me, but is that the same Gary Null who just saved WBAI from a tanking fund drive? You bet. Surprising? Not really, as most of them are negative about all things WBAI.
As the old buzzards circle around, waiting for WBAI to die, disparaging, lampooning and slandering anyone who engages in efforts to help the station is the latest sport. Thus it makes sense that they are now aiming their hateful rhetoric straight at Gary Null. The oddest thing is -- or maybe not so odd when you think about it -- is that not a single mention has ever been made on that board about Gary's glorious creation - the Progressive Radio Network (PRN) - which has been taking Internet radio by storm, experiencing wild growth in listenership and may be instrumental in putting BAI out of business. Maybe that's why? No, that couldn't be it, because they hate WBAI so much that they would never begrudge him that. No, they are simply in total denial.
Another thing they never mention is all the prize-winning documentaries Gary has produced. To listen to them you would think he was some kind of quack who sells dubious health products to innocent victims, blaming him for the home shopping network WBAI has come to resemble during marathons. As if that was Gary's fault. BTW Gary's PRN does not resemble a home shopping network, does not require producers to pitch. Just sayin'.
Gary has always been controversial and the target of attacks for holding views that are often ahead of the times, and because of his confrontational style and refusal to back down. It's just sad that some of these attacks are now coming from WBAI community. But then we don't really consider them to be part of that community, as they live in their own little fantasy world of 40-50 years ago.
Note: we're not accepting xtreme negative propaganda comments that can't be rationally debated. Go over to Albie's blog if you want to make those kinds of attacks.
Sell a little snake oil... give back to community... Null, Blosdale... everyone has their own business interest behind their dedicated service to the BAI, just as each and every banana republic dictator has his own Swiss bank account... is that what has become of Progressives, as the new Left calls itself, or has it always been that way? Or maybe the Pacifica is less a progressive media outlet than a bandwagon for various left wing entrepreneurial self-interests that ride into the future on the backs of its aged listeners... whatever the case may be, NPR produces better content utilizing big oil, big pharma and big foundation grants, while after the latest fund drive, BAI gives 51 grand of its listeners hard earned money to Null, and then spends 6 grand on a water filter for him. Really, 6 grand on a water filter? Giving money to BAI is like giving money to a heroin addict hoping s/he will do the right thing...
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't call unethical practices an extreme negative propaganda, not when they can be articulated into a criminal complaint, investigated and prosecuted in a Court of law, but thanks for the back-handed feed-back! So long, now! Pity the BAI listeners bearing the brunt of the Nulls and the Blosdales and other petty opportunists, who can't publish in the mainstream on their own merit, deceive, and help themselves freely to the money raised from people on fixed incomes. Shame on you for standing by accepting these practices. Silence is acquiescence. 6 Grand for a 500 dollar water filtration unit for Null. How pathetic are you, indeed?
ReplyDeleteGlad you saw that, it was for you. We didn't publish your first comment because we found your accusations xtreme, and since that sort of thing was the reason we wrote the article in the first place, it seemed contradictory to let it to be used as a sounding board for more of the same.
ReplyDeleteTo suggest that Gary Null engages in unethical practices is insane. Hello, are we talking about the same person who counsels the sick for free every day? Who never lets a day go by without helping someone poor and needy?
What you refer to is no doubt the cost of producing and shipping the products. Gary has often stated that he does not make a profit on these transactions, but even if he did, is it unethical to make a profit? Is it unethical to sell a water filter? Apparently many people pledged because they wanted a Gary Null water filter. He had a scientist on to explain why it's the best filter on the market. What was not shown was how many were sold and what the total intake was, which we assume to be far greater than 6,000. No doubt the filters made a lot of money for WBAI, but it would be nice to get a full breakdown. On that we can probably agree.
It is unethical to make run a non-commercial, listener supported radio station as a for-profit enterprise, however you rationalize it. If Blosdale owns a PR firm and promotes her clients on the radio station that she manages, that is a conflict of interest and a violation of all sorts of rules. Personally, I wouldn't make a penny, never mind supporting a middle class lifestyle off an audience of aging 67 year olds pledging their pension money to keep their beloved station on the air in constant fund drives. That goes for the $10,000.00 Andrew Phillips was paid for his (three weeks as a new interim manager?). and we should see Reimers' salary disclosed as well. Sad, that MAXIMUMROCKNROLL, a left wing DIY zine had a 100% better financial transparency than BAI, then again, that zine raised 750K annually and everyone was an unpaid volunteer from Tim Yohanan, the founder and on down. Time for the sunlight of transparency to focus on the BAI and Pacifica and burn away the financial corruption.
ReplyDelete"It is unethical to make run a non-commercial, listener supported radio station as a for-profit enterprise, however you rationalize it."
DeleteIt's called a FUND-DRIVE.
Otherwise we can agree, the more sunlight the better.
Yes, but at what point does pitching for a fund drive turn into infomercializing, and BAI into radio shopping station? Also, why didn't BAI ask for help from those large philanthropic funds, including the Ford Foundation , which helped Democracy Now! get on its feet with seven figure grants? Well founded allegations of this exist on the internet chatter, and DN!'s editorial policy at the time seems to support them. Why couldn't BAI with all its wealth of radio archives also get a relocation grant, or maybe nobody even bothered writing such a grant proposal? Policy reasons? Why is the funding structure of DN! not discussed, nor its financial relationship with the Pacifica Foundation? I suspect that DN! is the (otherwise too extremist's) Pacifica's conduit to the rich funding sources that funds NPR and Public Television. If so, why doesn't any of it trickle down to BAI, just the reverse? How much of the money going to DN! from BAI goes to Pacifica? For that matter, when Amy Goodman takes the mike in front of the Ethical Society (I think) audience, and proudly proclaims that her program is listener-supported, why doesn't anyone call her bluff? Could it be that conservative media is too ignorant; corporate mainstream media doesn't care, and its members venerate Amy Goodman as a heroine, and progressive journalism isn't capable of policing itself? Then again, if corporations can't police themselves, why should we expect progressives to do any better?
ReplyDeleteAll good questions.
DeleteFor all the criticism of Gary Null he seems to be the only person willing and able to pull the station through a fund drive successfully and Pacifica does not have to pay for his show. Contrast that with Democracy Now, a show that used to belong to WBAI until it was "stolen" during the "xmas coupe". The numbers speak for themselves: Money owed to Democracy Now, money brought in by Gary Null.
ReplyDelete