Matthew Lasar over at Radio Survivor sometimes does the butcher’s work so you don’t have to.
Recently on the site was a commentary from Pacifica Foundation Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt on yet another dust-up at the progressive radio network. Or is it more like yet another battle in the 100 Years War?
Engelhardt, recruited to the post after an earlier imbroglio, tries to clear the air concerning interior and outside agitators who insist that there are labor troubles at the network. The hiring of the law firm Jackson Lewis seems to have been a contentious issue in the Pacifica universe.
There are financial troubles too. Listener-generated revenue has plummeted over the last decade and there’s no indication that that will change anytime soon.
Engelhardt also notes that several of the stations that make up Pacifica are “running seriously in the red,” a situation that can’t continue.
Pacifica has survived seeming existential crises before, but those familiar with Orwell or Koestler might wonder whether this is the crisis that splinters the stations and the network irreparably.
