[CIMC-work] Can we endorse this?

Thu Sep 11 00:07:17 PDT 2003

Christine, all,

Absolutely add my name as a CIMC signatory to this endorsement. I'm a
volunteer reporter, for the record.

Chris

----- Original Message -----
From: <ChrisGeovanis at aol.com>
To: <imc-chicago-working at lists.indymedia.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 1:53 PM
Subject: [CIMC-work] Can we endorse this?

> Hi. Christine here, back in the loop. Free Speech Radio News is asking for
> support from local groups in their ongoing negotiations with Pacifica (see
> below). Would the CIMC collective be interested in endorsing this?
Mitchell, what
> about CMA? Anyone else, know of other groups/community
projects/independent
> media outlets that might support this call? I just think it would be a
tragedy if
> this news program went down the tubes.
>
> Let me know, and I can coordinate forwarding an endorsement re below, at
> least for CIMC. Discussion?
>
> Chris Geovanis
>
> Subj:   Sign up to support FSRN negotiations!
> Date:   8/15/03 7:20:11 PM Central Daylight Time
> From:   <A HREF="mailto:adrienne at monitor.net">adrienne at monitor.net</A>
> To: <A HREF="mailto:adrienne at monitor.net">adrienne at monitor.net</A>
> Sent from the Internet (Details)
>
>
>
> Dear Reporters and Members,
>
> Our negotiations with Pacifica are not going well.
> We've written a letter of support we want you to sign,
> which will be displayed on our website and used in
> other public situations.   We also have a letter we
> would like community organizations to sign, and
> if you can help with that effort, please let us know.
>
> To add your name to this letter, please contact Aaron Glantz  >
> aaronfglantz at aol.com<
>
> The involvement we'd had from reporters has
> been heartwarming and very necessary.  These
> negotiations could mean the end of FSRN as it
> is today.  Please take a minute and get back to
> us today.
>
> Adrienne
> for the Negotiation Committee
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> To the Pacifica Community,
>
> We, the undersigned, are freelance reporters and staff for Free Speech
Radio
> News (FSRN), who work to gather news, produce it and bring it to radio
> listeners across the United States and overseas via the internet and short
wave.  We
> represent over 200 journalists, activists and technical people from
diverse
> backgrounds and from around the world. We are the largest new group of
workers,
> young people, activists, people of color, and people outside the major US
> urban centers served by Pacifica stations to enter the network in the past
three
> decades. We are skilled in radio and news, and we strive to use our skills
in
> the interests of peace and progressive social change.
>
> Pacifica generously provided us with core funding last year, and we are
> currently in negotiations to obtain similar support in the upcoming
period.
> However, we're quite disheartened by Pacifica's response so far.
Pacifica's
> negotiators appear to want to take over FSRN, redesign it and merge it
into a show
> they already produce (Peacewatch), cutting our wages and returning the
news to a
> traditional hierarchical workplace.
>
>
> We who built FSRN into the global news network it is today have a
different
> vision, one that is decentralized, reporter-controlled, and from the
> grassroots. FSRN was built entirely on reporter labor. When we went on
strike against
> the former Pacifica Network News, FSRN's democratically controlled
structure was
> critical to the rapid expansion of our reporter pool, the training of
vital
> new voices and our ability to continue on a shoestring during our first
> difficult three years.  We ask you -- Pacifica's listeners, workers and
affiliates -
> to support us in preserving FSRN.
>
> *MAINTAINING EDITORIAL INTEGRITY & INDEPENDENCE.
> Prior to the beginning of the current negotiations, we voted to remain
> independent from Pacifica for the next eighteen months.  However, because
our goals
> are highly compatible and intertwined with Pacifica, we also formally
proposed
> concrete steps toward a closer, more collaborative, relationship with
> Pacifica over the next 18 months. FSRN has become, after all, the de facto
> international daily newscast of Pacifica and one of its signature shows,
though we also
> air on over 50 other community stations.  We are very proud of this - it
is a
> relationship that strengthens both the Pacifica network and FSRN. Yet we
also
> have reservations about Pacifica structure and ability to provide an
> egalitarian workplace.  As freelance reporters for Pacifica national
specials and
> Peacewatch, and as staff and volunteers at the Pacifica stations, we have
directly
> experienced a lack of transparency, democracy and accountability within
> Pacifica that we have not experienced within FSRN. Also, many of our
reporters who
> filed for Peacewatch have not been paid for several months. While we
understand
> the disarray caused by the former Pacifica national board and hope these
> things improve over time, we feel it would not be in our interest for us
to merge
> into Pacifica at this time.
>
> *FSRN'S DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURE.
> We support FSRN's decentralized, democratic model of governance.  FSRN is
a
> worker-run collective with 200 plus members, who each have an equal voice
and
> vote.  Daily decisions are made by a representative steering committee
open to
> all members. Larger policy decisions are informed by a variety of standing
> committees, including an editorial advisory board drawn from Pacifica and
> affiliate stations. Any proposed major change in structure, working
conditions or
> wages, requires a full membership vote.  Any tentative agreement made with
> Pacifica will have to be ratified by our members. We are not, and do not
seek to
> become, a hierarchical structure with an "executive producer" (or the
> equivalent). We have always been open to new members of the Pacifica
community
> participating in FSRN, if they are willing accept these principles of
equality.
>
> *FAIR WAGES AND BENEFITS.
> We value equally the contribution of staff and freelancers to the
newscast.
> As a matter of principle, all of FSRN's staff are paid the same rate, and
> freelancer compensation is kept comparable to that of staff. Over time, we
have
> seen the long hours and intense pressure erode the time, patience and
willingness
> of our dedicated members. FSRN has always operated very cheaply in
comparison
> to other similar programming. Some of this savings has come at the
expensive
> of fair wages for freelancers and health benefits for staff. As social
justice
> activists, we can no longer condone exploiting our own workforce and
asking
> them to cover struggles for economic justice while their own economic and
> health care needs are unmet. We can no longer, in good conscience, pay our
> freelance members the same 'strike wages' they voluntarily accepted three
years ago
> during the struggle to save Pacifica ($160 per feature story -
representing 1-3
> days of labor -- less than Pacifica paid back in 2000 when we went on
strike).
>  In solidarity with each other, we support a long-overdue raise in payment
> for freelancers' feature stories to $250 and headlines to $50, and we
support
> the addition of vacation, sick leave and health benefits for FSRN's daily
staff.
> Our proposal to Pacifica includes funding to help make these basic needs a
> reality for FSRN's workers.
>
> *TRAINING. We support a budget that recognizes and supports the vital role
of
> training in this model of news production.  Training is part of the
ongoing
> work of FSRN. Many of us have been trained in short intensive sessions.
Many
> of us continue to want and receive coaching in the process of doing our
work.
> Many of us leave FSRN for shorter or longer periods and we know ongoing
> short-term training is essential to sustaining the reporter pool.  In
addition,
> FSRN'S news training builds and enhances the local news departments of
many
> Pacifica & affiliate stations.
>
> In short, we want to be able to continue to provide Pacifica and other
> community radio station listeners with the best progressive news and
analysis
> available using the grassroots and egalitarian model we've developed over
three
> years of existence. We hope you will join us in supporting these goals.
>
> In solidarity,
> Nell Abrams, FSRN headlines editor, Tampa, FL, WMNF
> Jackson Allers, New York City, WBAI
> Pauline Bartolone, FSRN tech co-producer, Berkeley, CA, KPFA
> Josh Chaffin, Brooklyn, NY
> Deepa Fernandes, FSRN anchor, New York City, WBAI
> Ian Forrest, New York City, WBAI
> Aaron Glantz, Korea
> Chandra Hauptman, FSRN fundraising & outreach, Berkeley, CA
> Adrienne Lauby, FSRN fundraising & outreach, Cotati, CA
> Kata Mester, FSRN producer, New York City, WBAI
> Jade Paget-Seekins, FSRN tech co-producer, Berkeley, CA, KPFA
> Leigh Robartes, Moscow, ID
> Andrew Stelzer, Portland, OR, KBOO
> Vanessa Tait, Berkeley,CA, KPFA
> Melinda Tuhus, New Haven, CT
> Randi Zimmerman, FSRN headlines editor, Tampa, FL, WMNF
> Martha Baskin, Seattle, WA
> Matt Martin, Oakland, CA
> Leigh Robartes, Moscow, ID
> Miranda Kennedy, India
> Jim Hickey, Atlanta, GA
> Ngoc Nguyen, Korea
> Sasha Lilley, Berkeley, CA, KPFA
> Monica Lopez, Los Angeles, CA, KPFK
> David Pohl, Berkeley, CA KPFA
>
> (To add your name to this list: contact >aaronfglantz at aol.com<)
>

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