On Saturday July 19 starting at 3pm Pacific (5 Central/6 Eastern) Pacifica Fightback held a virtual national town hall discussion on the (illegal) new Bylaws currently governing the Pacifica Foundation.
What are their implications for management, programming and finances at the five stations?
What next steps can and should be taken to protect and defend democracy, diversity and freedom of expression at the network built by the love and sweat of generations of engaged listeners and (mostly unpaid) programmers and other workers?
People brought and shared their best ideas about how to preserve and extend that legacy in the face of existential threats to free speech and a free press, after a presentation by Priscilla Grim, a lawyer-activist with the Stop Cop City campaign, which has been criminalized and stigmatized as terrorist.
Below is a link to the video of the proceedings:
Based on the discussion, we will be setting up working groups; one to review the Bylaws with an eye towards new amendment to restore participatory democratic aspects of governance and to make needed changes, such as keeping money out of Pacifica politics and elections; another to consider Pacifica’s finances and how to assure transparency, stability and self-sufficiency for the listener-sponsored, community-oriented, pro-peace & justice media project. Email us at pacificafightback@gmail.com to get involved. Longer-term, we also want to work on developing new content and interactivity, via podcasting and social media.