November 4, 2001 - 2:57pm -- jim
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.
