My name is Alex Steinberg.
WBAI and the network as a whole are facing an existential financial crisis dwarfing anything seen previously. Our debts far surpass our income. The listenership of every station is down. The PNB has reacted to this crisis, one that they helped precipitate, by stripping WBAI of its autonomy and trying to ram through a series of undemocratic bylaws amendments. They have no plan for raising revenue or attracting listeners. I pledge to work with anyone who agrees on the need to reverse the destructive path being carried out by the PNB. We need a plan to raise revenue and grow our listenership, not to end democratic governance.
I am an author and teacher and have been a lifelong socialist. My activism with WBAI began over 20 years ago when I participated in the struggle to restore WBAI's autonomy that had been removed by the infamous "Christmas coup". I was elected in 2003 to the very first WBAI Local Station Board as a listener representative. Over the years I served as the Chair of the WBAI Programming Committee, a Director of the Pacifica National Board, Chair of the PNB Personnel Committee, Chair of the PNB National Finance Committee, Chair of the PNB Strategic Planning Committee. In the period from 2020 to the end of 2021 I had the honor of serving as Chair of the Pacifica National Board. My accomplishments during my tenure on the WBAI LSB and the PNB include being the architect of the Strategic Planning Committee and the author of initiatives that helped create new revenue streams for WBAI. We must diversify our revenue sources and bring our technology into the 21st century. It is not only Pacifica stations but the entire broadcast radio industry, both profit and non-profit, that has seen a steep decline in revenue and listeners as a result of the revolution in media platforms. At the same time we must work to improve the quality of our programming.
Other accomplishments:
I was the author of a press release issued by the Pacifica National Board in 2018 in defense of Julian Assange, the only major media organization in the U.S. to take that stand.
I was the first person to warn the WBAI LSB and the general public about the plans to shut down WBAI that were subsequently carried out on October 7, 2019.
I participated in the battle to restore WBAI to the air following the illegal shutdown in 2019. I was one of the speakers at a rally in front of City Hall on behalf of WBAI. I worked with the late Ralph Poynter to restore WBAI.
I strongly opposed and helped defeat the previous two attempts to impose an undemocratic set of bylaws changes on us.
I initiated the very first Town Hall meeting sponsored by the Pacifica National Board and open to the public. Our special guests included the well known broadcasters Chris Hedges and Margaret Kimberly.
My allegiance is solely to WBAI and Pacifica.
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