It’s not just WBAI-FM NYC that’s having trouble meeting financial obligations: Now it’s WPFW-FM DC: WPFW is in “a pretty critical financial situation,” according to Summer Reese, interim executive director of the network. Reese discussed the state of WPFW during a 7/25 Pacifica board conference call, reports Current.org.
Responding to a board member’s question about a WPFW on-air fund drive planned for in September, she said: “The concern there is, frankly, that you don’t have enough money to get through until September.”
WPFW has fallen into a “perpetual” state of on-air fund drives, Reese said. “It’s not giving listeners much of a break.”
Reese told the board she was following up with WPFW staff about which of the station’s bills must be paid most urgently. Neither the DC station nor WBAI have paid for board election costs from last year, she said. Reese still expects the other Pacifica stations, which are better off financially, to repay the national office for election costs it covered on behalf of stations.
In LA, Pacifica’s KPFK could face legal action from a company it used for its local elections, said Brenda Medina, a national board member representing the station. The company is awaiting overdue payments.
Meanwhile, Pacifica and a union representing workers at the network’s WBAI in New York have been negotiating layoffs that could cut as much as three-fourths of the station’s staff.
See the Current.org story here
