Pacifica Radio

{{Media}}
'''Pacifica Radio''' was founded in 1946 by [[pacifist]]s E. John Lewis and Lewis Hill. Pacifica owns five [[radio]] stations which split their time between eclectic music, cultural programs, and [[left-wing]] political talk. 

Political talk on Pacifica Radio stations tends to be well to the left of most other [[liberal talk radio]]. This is not necessarily a bad thing; this means that unlike much of "[[progressive]]" talk radio, they do not exist to service the [[Democratic Party]] and they give airtime to a variety of [[radical]] views that otherwise wouldn't be heard on the radio. The analysis is therefore far more [[Noam Chomsky]] than George Lakoff,<ref group=Note>Indeed, Chomsky is a frequent guest on ''Democracy Now!''</ref> they continue to be hardcore anti-war even when the [[President of the United States|bomber-in-chief]] has a "D" after his name, stray issues from [[animal rights]] to [[jury nullification]] get a fair hearing instead of snide dismissal, and you're likely to hear [[Ward Churchill]] interviewed or cited favorably instead of denounced or distanced from.

Pacifica is not without its problems. Pacifica and its stations are known for messy internal strife, due mostly to the way the stations and network are organized, and some of the [[kook]]y people they attract.<ref>Hillel Aron. [http://www.laweekly.com/news/left-wing-darling-pacifica-radio-is-sliding-into-the-abyss-4521218 Left Wing Darling Pacifica Radio is sliding into the abyss]. laweekly.com.  21 March 2014. Retrieved on 3 September 2015.</ref> WBAI and WPFW have given considerable airtime to [[Gary Null]] pitching alt-med [[woo]], and WPFW has even used Gary Null's [[magic]] [[detox]] packets as fundraising premiums. KPFK became dominated by woo-meisters and [[truther]]s.  WPFW carries some radical political talk,<ref group=Note>WPFW is probably the only station in the nation's capital where one can hear live coverage of appearances by [[Louis Farrakhan]] and documentaries on the history of the [[Nation of Islam]].</ref> but historically was primarily a jazz music station. KPFT at one point in the late 1990s-early 2000s appeared headed down the same path to oblivion as WPFW, adopting a ''country music'' format of all things, but today is back at the cutting edge with eclectic cultural programming and radical and progressive talk. Pacifica and its stations run fundraisers that last for weeks on end, disturbing regular programs.

==Pacifica Radio stations==
*[https://kpfa.org KPFA] 94.1 Berkeley, [[California]]
*[http://kpfk.org KPFK] 90.7 Los Angeles, California
*[http://kpft.org KPFT] 90.1 Houston, [[Texas]]
*[http://www.wbai.org WBAI] 99.5 New York, [[New York]]
*[http://wpfwfm.org/radio/ WPFW] 89.3 [[Washington, DC]]

==''Democracy Now!''==
''Democracy Now!'' is Pacifica Radio's flagship and best known program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. ''Democracy Now!'' broadcasts live on weekdays at 8:00 AM United States Eastern Time on WBAI  and is simulcast, repeated, and streamed by many other affiliates.<ref>[http://livestream.com/democracynow Democracy Now! on Livestream]. Retrieved on 3 September 2015.</ref>

===Amy Goodman===
Amy Goodman has been involved in many radio and television projects dating back to the 1970s. She revealed the abuses of the [[Indonesia|Indonesian Government]] during the 1980s, taking a huge beating and almost dying in the process (and nothing was done), being arrested at the 2008 [[Republican]] National Convention (and no one cared) and being detained at the [[Canadian]] border for suspicion of questioning the 2010 Olympics (and ''really'' no one cared).<ref group=Note>seriously, she rattled on about that shit for 2 weeks.</ref>

Goodman tries to represent those who are usually ignored by the [[mainstream media]], interviewing such interesting subjects as the President of Vanuatu, [[Hugo Chávez]],<ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/2005/9/19/hugo_chavez_if_the_imperialist_government Hugo Chavez: "If the Imperialist Government of the White House Dares to Invade Venezuela, the War of 100 Years Will be Unleashed in South America"]. democracynow.org. 19 September 2005. Retrieved on 3 September 2015.</ref> and [[Dennis Kucinich]] (about 300 times). She prodded [[Bill Clinton]] into a 30-minute debate after a routine get-out-the-vote call, which was hilarious and ended in Clinton hanging up in a fury, and being threatened with a denial of access (which she didn't actually have in the first place).<ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/2004/6/22/bill_clinton_loses_his_cool_in Bill Clinton Loses His Cool in Democracy Now! Interview on Everything But Monica: Leonard Peltier, Racial Profiling, Iraqi Sanctions, Ralph Nader, the Death Penalty and Israel-Palestine]. democracynow.org. 22 June 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2015.</ref><ref group=Note>in other words, a good person and unfortunately all too often rare.  We need more like her.</ref>

===Pros and cons===
'''Pros:'''
*''Democracy Now!'' has news and commentary from outside the usual mainstream and corporate sources, and refreshingly makes a point of exploring each of its news items with in-depth 10-15 minute segments rather than puerile slogans and sound bites.<ref>[http://democracynow.org Democracy Now!] Retrieved on 3 September 2015.</ref>
*The show hosts timely debates on political issues, with a higher level of discourse than on commercial cable news outlets like Fox News or MSNBC. For instance, in 2006, the show pitted the filmmakers of [[9/11 conspiracy theories|9/11 Truther]] movie ''[[Loose Change]]'' against editors of ''Popular Mechanics''.<reF>[http://www.democracynow.org/2006/9/11/exclusive_9_11_debate_loose_change EXCLUSIVE...9/11 Debate: Loose Change Filmmakers vs. Popular Mechanics Editors of "Debunking 9/11 Myths"]</reF> In early 2016, the show had representatives of both the American Constitution Society and Gun Owners of America to discuss President Obama's executive orders that strengthened current federal gun laws.<reF>[http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/6/gun_owners_of_america_vs_americanhttp://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/6/gun_owners_of_america_vs_american Gun Owners of America vs. American Constitution Society: A Debate on Obama's Gun Executive Orders]. Jan. 6, 2016.</reF> That year, the show also had two socialist feminists debate about [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Bernie Sanders]], a view very unlikely to be seen on CNN and such.<reF>[http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/19/clinton_vs_sanders_who_do_progressives Clinton vs. Sanders, Who Do Progressives Choose? As Race Heats Up, 2 Socialist Feminists Debate]. Jan. 19, 2016.</ref>
*The show is rated "High" in factual reporting by [[Media Bias/Fact Check]]<ref>[https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/democracy-now/ Democracy Now], Media Bias/Fact Check, 21 April 2021.</ref> and gets a score of 92.5 from [[NewsGuard]] as of today.

'''Cons:'''
*Of course, there's the left-wing leaning of its reporting, a good or bad thing depending on whom you ask. Its stories lean towards [[social justice]], [[pacifism|pacifist]] (hello, it's called ''Pacifica'' Radio), anti-imperialist, protectionist<ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/topics/trans_pacific_partnership Stories about the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Democracy Now]</reF> points of view.
*The program gives credence to [[Genetically modified food|GMO]]-phobia.<ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/topics/gmo GMO-related stories] on Democracy Now</reF> In one 2014 segment, Goodman gave a favorable interview to Sheldon Krimsky, director of the documentary film ''The GMO Deception'' and cited [[Gilles-Eric Séralini]] as a source.<ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/2014/10/28/monsanto_bigag_spend_millions_to_fight Monsanto, BigAg Spend Millions Fighting Colorado, Oregon Ballot Measures to Label GMO Foods] and [http://www.democracynow.org/2014/10/31/the_gmo_deception_sheldon_krimsky_on "The GMO Deception": Sheldon Krimsky on How BigAg & the Government Is Putting Your Food at Risk]</reF>

==''Free Speech Radio News''==
Their other flagship program was the independently produced ''Free Speech Radio News'', which was organized in 2000 by a group of freelance correspondents who were then filing for Pacifica Radio.<ref>[http://fsrn.org/about/fsrn-history/ FSRN History]. fsrn.org. Retrieved on 4 September 2015.</ref> The program ended on Pacifica Radio in 2013 and returned as a podcast,<ref>[http://fsrn.org/category/audio/ Free Speech Radio News audio]. fsrn.org. Retrieved 14 August 2015.</ref> but ceased operations in April, 2017.<ref>[https://fsrn.org/2017/04/fsrn-signs-off-the-air-after-17-years-of-grassroots-radio-journalism/ FSRN signs off the air after 17 years of grassroots radio journalism.] fsrn.org. Retrieved on 13 November 2017.</ref>

==External links==
*[http://pacifica.org The Pacifica Foundation official website]

== Notes ==
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==References==
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[[Category:Social liberalism]]
[[Category:Broadcasting]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Radio]]
[[Category:American media]]

Categories: Social liberalism, Broadcasting, Media, Radio, American media