But he denies that Pacifica's mission is being altered. Such assertions of quality over content fly in the face of the complete makeover of Washington's WPFW and Houston's KPFT, stations the Pacifica board holds up as new models of success. Both outfits, which now primarily play music, have ceased in any significant way to be recognizable as Pacifica radio. Though in the nation's capital, WPFW has virtually no locally produced news. For news on recent protests against the death penalty, the World Bank, or IMF, one turned to C- SPAN or even CNN, but not to WPFW, he says.
Jazz fills in most of the rest.
Listeners and staffers of the Houston station express similar disgust at the changes mandated by the national board. It's a mix that's highly inappropriate for Houston's vastly diverse community, says Edwin Johnston, a volunteer there until the mid 1980s. It only serves a small segment of white people with deep pockets. The station has had no news director for years. Over the last decade, several local talk shows and ethnic programs have been axed, the Houston Press reported in 1999.