California Attorney General Launches Investigation Into Pacifica Foundation

[Ravens]

You mean like Salem? Like Family Radio or EWTN Radio? Like a lot of right-wing talk stations.

Double standard at work: Somebody programs left, it's advocacy. Somebody programs right, it's business.

Salem makes money. Family and EWTN are probably a closer comparison, since they're not in business to make money, but they also use their donations properly, so they obviously have some business acumen.

Pacifica hasn't been a viable business in half a century. It's a vanity project for unemployable hacks.

 

[FredLeonard]

Salem makes money. Family and EWTN are probably a closer comparison, since they're not in business to make money, but they also use their donations properly, so they obviously have some business acumen.

Pacifica hasn't been a viable business in half a century. It's a vanity project for unemployable hacks.

Do they? Their right-wing talk network is subsidized by their brokered preaching network. Sounds like in your book, anything that makes money is OK. Prostitution. Loan sharking. Protection. Yup, the Mafia sounds like your idea of a "viable business" run with "business acumen."

Again, double standard: Pacifica is not in business to make money either. And commercial radio is full of so-called "vanity stations" - most of them spewing the owners' right-wing, bigoted opinions. But since you don't like Pacifica, they are "hacks."

Maybe you should check on who uses donations "properly" before you make stuff up. Charity Navigator gives Family Radio one star (out of four). EWTN gets three. Pacifica is not rated currently but NPR and APN each get four stars (the highest rating).

 

[Ravens]

Salem is a publicly traded company. Pretty easy to see that they are making money.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/salem-announces-19-increase-net-210500919.html

The only reason I bring up being in business to make money is because it's not a good comparison to compare Salem and Pacifica. Pacifica can be compared to EWTN or Family, however. And both of those companies seem to be doing just fine.

Pacifica has had financial problems for decades. Whether or not you like their politics is irrelevant. They're bad broadcasters and worse businesspeople. The reason? Because they put politics first (and only). It's more fair to compare them with some fly by night operator that bounces checks and lets meth heads steal the tower wiring.

 

[davideduardo]

Double standard at work: Somebody programs left, it's advocacy. Somebody programs right, it's business.

OK, look at LA. Salem's conservative talker bills around $5 million a year, gets a 0.6 share and cumes around 200,000. Small, but profitable.

KPFK has no revenue other than donations, barely gets a 0.1 share and cumes less than 100,000. It's parent is deeply in debt and they can't meet payrolls and cover expenses in some markets.

KPFK is not advocacy... it is lunacy. KRLA is simply a business.

Yet KPFK has the best FM signal in LA, while KRLA is OK by day, but severely limited at night... a third tier signal.

 

[FredLeonard]

OK, you guys think anything is OK that makes money. Apparently including the Mafia.

And again, the double standard: KRLA is NOT advocating anything? Really?

 

[Avid Listener]

You mean like Salem? Like Family Radio or EWTN Radio? Like a lot of right-wing talk stations.

Double standard at work: Somebody programs left, it's advocacy. Somebody programs right, it's business.

No, it means that even though you might be running a radio station or network as an advocacy platform, you still have to run that advocacy platform in an orderly, businesslike manner. Compare it to flying an airplane. You can fly an airplane to carry passengers for profit, or you can fly an airplane to transport medical supplies to sick people. But either way, you have to fly the aircraft properly or it will crash. In a similar fashion, regardless of what you broadcast over the air, you still have to make enough money one way or another to pay the bills and keep the station (or network) from crashing.

And, one of those pitfalls that fall under the heading of "running it in a business-like fashion" means taking care to not make powerful enemies, especially the kind who like to take revenge just for the sake of taking revenge.

OK, you guys think anything is OK that makes money. Apparently including the Mafia.

And again, the double standard: KRLA is NOT advocating anything? Really?

You miss the point. It's simply about generating enough income to meet expenses. Some organizations do a better job than others. But any organization, in any field of endeavor, must generate enough revenue to meet expenses or it ceases operations. That's a standard, universal principle of reality.

 

[TheBigA]

Pacifica hasn't been a viable business in half a century. It's a vanity project for unemployable hacks.

Pacifica isn't a business...period. It's a non-commercial charity. Comparing it to other businesses is a waste of time. Comparing it to a bad church is more appropriate. The people there see what they do as a mission. Nothing more or less.

Maybe you should check on who uses donations "properly" before you make stuff up. Charity Navigator gives Family Radio one star (out of four).

FYI Family Radio was also investigated by the California Attorney General's office.

 

[davideduardo]

OK, you guys think anything is OK that makes money. Apparently including the Mafia.

And again, the double standard: KRLA is NOT advocating anything? Really?

KPFK has to generate enough income to sustain operations.

KRLA has to generate enough revenue to make a profit and satisfy investors.

Non-profits have a goal of sustaining operations. For-profits have a goal of making money. If you are a profit-seeking broadcaster, you look for things to broadcast that will make money.

Simple.

 

[Avid Listener]

Pacifica isn't a business...period.

Any organization that must generate revenue in order to meet expenses must be run like a business. Non-commercial charity or profit-making enterprise, the checkbook still has to be balanced and bills need to be paid.

Do you understand the difference between being run "like a business", meaning with good accounting practices and everything done in good order, and actually "being a business"?

 

[TheBigA]

Any organization that must generate revenue in order to meet expenses must be run like a business.

Where does it say that? Some rule someplace? There are no absolutes.

 

[Avid Listener]

Where does it say that? Some rule someplace? There are no absolutes.

Instead of getting into a pissing contest over what authority said that, turn your question around. Who says that an enterprise can succeed without good accounting practices and an unbalanced checkbook, and most bills not getting paid?

 

[TheBigA]

Who says that an enterprise can succeed without good accounting practices and an unbalanced checkbook, and most bills not getting paid?

Who says they have to succeed? Success is a relative thing. They've been hobbling along for a long time.

But yes, obviously some of their former employees aren't pleased by their treatment, and thus this investigation.

 

[Ravens]

Sooner or later, the number of idiots that give you money runs out. If you run your advocacy group (or station) like a business, you can survive longer. Pacifica has been spoiled by rich people for too long. It'll be a good day when they have to turn over their licenses.

 

[TheBigA]

Pacifica has been spoiled by rich people for too long. It'll be a good day when they have to turn over their licenses.

Maybe. One could say some station owners have been spoiled by rich people for too long too. No question they've squandered their heritage. Lots of people do that. They will turn over their licenses, as Charlton Heston once said, "...from my cold dead hands." That's how they do business.

 

[Ravens]

They will turn over their licenses, as Charlton Heston once said, "...from my cold dead hands." That's how they do business.

Rigor is starting to set in. The list of suckers willing to give them money to squander is exhausted.

 

[FredLeonard]

Maybe. One could say some station owners have been spoiled by rich people for too long too. No question they've squandered their heritage. Lots of people do that. They will turn over their licenses, as Charlton Heston once said, "...from my cold dead hands." That's how they do business.

You are comparing gun nuts to a public radio station that you don't like which doesn't surrender its license because you say so?

Funny how progressive politics attracts real actors; right wing politics attracts movie stars. Untalented movie stars. Heston. Reagan. Ahnold. The Duke.

 

[Ravens]

Ah, once again the right-wing groupie double standard: Koch Brothers, Norquist, etc give money - GOOD. Soros gives money - BAD.

Pacifica has received money from CPB, underwriters and individuals who respond to pledge drives. (text removed) He has now basis for saying Pacifica receives most of its revenue from "rich people." But Joseph Goebbels knew that all you have to do is repeat a lie often enough and it becomes The Truth.

You know absolutely nothing about the history of Pacifica, do you?

Well, I'll teach you a little something. That you'll immediately ignore and resort to name calling.

Pacifica has been on the brink of failing for a long time. Every time they've gotten close before, they find a new rich person to give them an endowment. In and of itself, there's NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. When they waste the endowment money, that's where the problem comes in.

The difference between Pacifica and most other left leaning public media sources is that those other companies know how to run a radio company. They're proper stewards of their benefactors' money.

Now stop trying to make this about your politics. It has nothing to do with politics. In fact, your mindset is what ran Pacifica into the ground.

 

[FredLeonard]

You know absolutely nothing about the history of Pacifica, do you?

Well, I'll teach you a little something. That you'll immediately ignore and resort to name calling.

Pacifica has been on the brink of failing for a long time. Every time they've gotten close before, they find a new rich person to give them an endowment. In and of itself, there's NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. When they waste the endowment money, that's where the problem comes in.

The difference between Pacifica and most other left leaning public media sources is that those other companies know how to run a radio company. They're proper stewards of their benefactors' money.

Now stop trying to make this about your politics. It has nothing to do with politics. In fact, your mindset is what ran Pacifica into the ground.

You have made this about politics, or at least about politics with which you disagree. As long as you want to talk about what people ignore, you ignore all the money right-leaning rich people have spent on propagating their views. You ignore all the mismanaged and unprofitable commercial radio stations with right-wing programming (political and "religious").

Yes, Pacifica does have management issues but you people on the right never seem to look to the beam in your own eye before coming down on Pacifica. Or Air America Radio, for that matter. Or any broadcast operation that doesn't hew to radio's right wing hegemony.

 

[Ravens]

You have made this about politics, or at least about politics with which you disagree. As long as you want to talk about what people ignore, you ignore all the money right-leaning rich people have spent on propagating their views. You ignore all the mismanaged and unprofitable commercial radio stations with right-wing programming (political and "religious").

Yes, Pacifica does have management issues but you people on the right never seem to look to the beam in your own eye before coming down on Pacifica. Or Air America Radio, for that matter. Or any broadcast operation that doesn't hew to radio's right wing hegemony.

This is a thread about Pacifica. If you have an example of all of these "right wing" stations that do the same thing, start a thread about them. Again, you can't see past your own biases to have an intelligent conversation about business practices of a station that you obviously agree with.

In the meantime, us adults will talk about Pacifica. Because that's the topic. Not "everyone else but Pacifica".

 

[FredLeonard]

This is a thread about Pacifica. If you have an example of all of these "right wing" stations that do the same thing, start a thread about them. Again, you can't see past your own biases to have an intelligent conversation about business practices of a station that you obviously agree with.

In the meantime, us adults will talk about Pacifica. Because that's the topic. Not "everyone else but Pacifica".

And I will talk about why you people are so obsessed with Pacifica and have so much hatred of Pacifica. And how you can't see past your own biases. I am calling you on your anti-Pacific bias and you want to use that to claim I have bias.

Also, you seem to think because I point out your obsession with Pacifica that I agree with them. Clearly, you know nothing about them. The views expressed on their programs are all over the place. I may agree with some or may not. I don't know. I don't listen. The only time I did listen was to a program about old time radio.

This entire thread is evidence that you Ditto Heads and Foxophiles can't stand to have any views in broadcasting but your own. You people hate the idea of Pacifica. Maybe you find its existence threatening. Right-wing politics is your religion. You are all true believers. And deep-down, people like you still want to burn heretics at the stake. And in your world, progressives are heretics. Like your heroes Nixon, McCarthy and Reagan, you want progressives blacklisted (or worse).

You people want to turn this country into North Korea or one of those South American strong-man dictatorships.