That may be Pacifica's greatest value, much as it probably frustrates some Pacifica reporters to hear that. Now that it's a cause celebre in the big newspapers and on the evening network news, Goodman can claim some credit for raising awareness of the human rights violations occurring in that Southeast Asian province. WPFW has a particularly itchy trigger finger. After the station pulled one Pacifica report, WPFW listeners called to complain. They, too, were summarily dumped from the air.
Protesters insist that their First Amendment right to free speech has been blunted.
Pacifica is not the U.S. government and has no legal obligation to let its employees publicly bite that hand that feeds them. But although execs might believe it's good business to muzzle the malcontents, it is cowardly radio and Soviet-style journalism. Some Pacifica protesters believe the network is trying to break from its liberal past to cover more mainstream, centrist topics. That would be anathema to the old guard. That only hints at the problem.