According to an e-mail circulated by Free Speech Radio News, the recovering but financially struggling Pacifica radio network has cancelled its long-running, former flagship daily news broadcast as a cost saving maneuver. The last broadcast of Pacifica Network News is supposed to be tomorrow, Feb. 15. The program has been widely criticized as degrading in quality while moving to the center, while the program’s producers have defended it, citing continuing coverage of civil rights and other issues reported by a diverse staff. Free Speech Radio News is an independent daily news program produced by former PNN journalists and stringers who left PNN in Jan. 2000 over complaints of censorship by Pacifica management. Since then 51 community radio stations have picked up FSRN, many of which have carried it in place of PNN. Now, FSRN says that even Pacifica’s own stations, like WBAI in New York City, have begun carrying the program, which will become the only progressive daily half-hour national news program available to community radio stations. Apparently the relationship between the producers of FSRN and Pacifica management is thawing:
“New Pacifica management has reached out to Free Speech Radio News in several ways. We’re now uploaded onto Pacifica’s “KU” satellite system each day,
which makes it easier for Pacifica stations and affiliates to receive our program…. New station managers at the other Pacifica stations (WPFW in Washington,
KPFT in Houston and KPFK in Los Angeles) say they support the program.”
This is the first and only report I’ve found so far about the PNN cancellation, so I’ll be curious to hear the program tomorrow to see if they say anything about it. My local community station quit carrying PNN quite some time ago (in order to carry FSRN), so I guess I’ll have to tune in on the web.
Previously:
Pacifica Network in Massive Debt 2/7/02 The Radio Enron? 1/24/02
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