Why the Pacifica National Office intervened at WBAI

Recently, as I was reading an exchange between Bill Crosier, KPFT Director, and Tracy Rosenberg, former KPFA Director, regarding the crisis at WBAI, it seemed that they were talking past each other. So, I asked a fellow board member Darlene Pagano, who sits on the Audit Committee, for her take on the exchange. I want to share her response.

Akio Tanaka

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Hello Akio,

I joined the PNB Audit committee, having been on the non-profit org side of many an audit in my time, and what I can say is that NETA is pulling Pacifica out of a lot of stinking muck and mud and we should be as thrilled with them as we can possibly be. NETA has been sounding the alarm on the Pacifica financial DISASTER since about day 3 of working with us.

I do think that there was NO money to further give to WBAI, and the fact that no one said NO to their GM earlier (and then dealt with the consequences) was an incredible lapse of Fiduciary responsibility at the very top of our governance structure.

John Vernile did do what an Executive Director should do, and that is make hard choices and prioritize the PACIFICA FOUNDATION needs, even if is a terrible shock to one station. Triage.!!

The NFC meetings affirm to me that NETA (a professional, "dis-interested" financial specialty firm) is the best thing that has happened to Pacifica recently. The financial documents they produce can be relied upon and will give the iED and all the GM's a great deal of help in making some hard decisions and possible direction in planning.

Major donors and lenders will be helped by this level of verified information as well. Perhaps even our CA Attorney General who has made repeated warnings about revoking our Incorporation due to the lack of (legally required) audited financials. (Why is THAT not item #1 at every National Board meeting? That is the shut-down/take-over/destroy Pacifica/”breaker” THREAT the Foundation is facing.)

We have a directorship that somehow believes you can VOTE reality out of existence. Why face the financial reports when you can vote that they don’t show what they show??

I absolutely believe that Pacifica has no real $$$ in its coffers right now. Pacifica is in disastrous financial shape, and may have actually gone past the tipping point and is in free-fall. Really. Not kidding.

I concur with Bill's reporting that Pacifica could not keep paying WBAI's payroll and other expenses. Though, I didn't hear it from Bill in order to come to that opinion but from our iCFO and our NFC.

Asking me about Tracy, I am really perplexed. She argues as if our COLLECTIVE poor financial situation as well as the individual stations downward (mostly) numbers means that WBAI cannot be recognized as a financially failed station. As if everyone doing poorly precludes recognizing that one station is operating disastrously.

Regarding our language about WBAI. I want us all to stop making this crisis an assignment of BLAME to the station. The failure of many iterations of our PNB to understand what was developing and then not take useful action through the ED is where much responsibility lies. Our PNB structure is a detriment to the Foundation. The consequences that WBAI now face were often created elsewhere, and we need to carefully "follow the money". Blame and Shame needs to stop. It's not a useful tool for recovery.

AND I am absolutely NOT interested in any conspiracy theory of any sort from any faction from any location. The terrifying financial reality of the situation Pacifica is in completely surpasses any paranoia brewing in the fervid imaginations of our fellow members.


Regards
Darlene