Berkeley, CA--Plaintiffs in four lawsuits that have
been filed against the Pacifica Foundation announced
today that they expected to reach an agreement with
Pacifica that could put an end to the struggles at
Pacifica, the only independent radio network in the
United States. "We thank the listeners, producers,
staff, LAB members, affiliate stations, and others
throughout the country who have been the backbone of
this struggle and whose continued support and
involvement will bring us to our common goals to serve
the mission of Pacifica and achieve our vision of free
speech, community, and corporate-free radio," reads
the statement issued by the plaintiffs on Saturday
afternoon.



In response to what appeared to be a corporate
takeover of the Pacifica Network, founded by pacifists
in 1949 and dedicated to airing diverse perspectives
that promote peace and social justice, four lawsuits
had been filed against the Pacifica Foundation--by
listeners, local advisory board members, and national
board members. They sought to regain control of the
community radio network from a clique of board members
and national managers who had eliminated community
input at the network and censored and banned
journalists who disagreed with them. Freelance
journalists refuse to work for Pacifica because of its
notorious censorship policies. And a national campaign
was launched earlier this year to boycott Pacifica
fundraising efforts and unseat the board of directors
members who created the imbroglio at the network.

Plaintiffs began mediation with Pacifica Foundation
representatives on November 1. Representing the
Pacifica Foundation were its newly elected chair, Bob
Farrell, former Los Angeles City Council member; and
Marion Barry, Pacifica board member and former mayor
of Washington, DC.



The statement released by the plaintiffs, including
Miguel Maldonado and Leslie Cagan of New York, David
Adelson of Los Angeles, and Pete Bramson, Sherry
Gendelman, Barbara Lubin, Tomas Moran, Robbie Osman,
and Carol Spooner of the San Francisco Bay Area reads
as follows:



"The plaintiffs in the four lawsuits are happy to
announce that as a result of negotiations with the
defendants from the Pacifica Foundation, we are
confident that a final agreement will be reached early
next week. We hope that everything will be completed
within the next few days, and, as soon as that is
done, we will release all the details of the
agreement. Until the agreement is finalized, we are
forbidden by terms of the mediation from discussing or
releasing any of the details. We believe that
implementation of this agreement will begin the
rebuilding of the Pacifica Foundation. While
commitments to accountability and democratizing the
foundation are part of the agreement, we will all have
to remain vigilant during the upcoming transition. We
thank the listeners, producers, staff, LAB members,
affiliate stations, and others throughout the country
who have been the backbone of this struggle and whose
continued support and involvement will bring us to our
common goals to serve the mission of Pacifica and
achieve our vision of free speech, community, and
corporate-free radio."



"I'm taking a moment to celebrate," said Sherry
Gendelman, chair of the KPFA local advisory board and
one of the plaintiffs who sued Pacifica. "The task of
rebuilding and democratizing the network will be a
great one."



Pacifica has been embroiled in controversy since 1999,
when the Network's managers shut down KPFA of
Berkeley. That shut down caused the largest protests
in Berkeley since the Vietnam War. In December 2000,
Pacifica "re-programmed" its New York City station,
WBAI, by firing and banning long-time programmers and
eviscerating the station's progressive political
programming. Most recently, Pacifica suspended Amy
Goodman, host of the network's award-winning show
Democracy Now, and removed Democracy Now from the
airwaves of four of the Pacifica stations.



Pacifica listeners and community supporters are
invited to a celebration at KPFA, 1929 MLK Jr. Way in
Berkeley, on Sunday, November 4, at noon.