N E W S L E T T E R  

JULY 2011

From The Station Manager

Berthold Reimers

 

Dear WBAI supporters,

 

There have been numerous changes at the station that I am happy to announce. I want to welcome Harold Chambers who has been hired as Director of Operations. Harold was Director of Operations and Distribution at WQXR-FM for over 10 years. Prior to that he was Production Director for an NPR affiliate in Ohio. He is also a freelance audio engineer and producer who helped us meet a very tight deadline in filing for the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) Grant. Harold has been a pledge room volunteer on many occasions and is a long time listener with a familiarity of our needs. 

 

Andrea Katz has also been hired to assist me with daily operations, as well as Development  Director. She has already been instrumental in helping with relocation plans for the station, has established the internship program, is producing this newsletter,  and created the new Premiums Customer Care department. She is working hard on several fundraising campaigns; Capital Campaign, "Save our  Sounds!", WBAI Circle of Friends and is pursuing numerous public grant opportunities.  

 

With input from staff, we have revamped fund drive procedures and I am anxious to see them implemented with the upcoming fund drive this month. Many changes have been implemented and the station has begun to both look and feel  so much more positive and productive. 

 

In the month of June two of our producers, Desi K. Robinson and Ifey Dancy, created programs up and above the call of duty to great success.  Desi hosted over 100 participants at The Women in the Making Health and Social Summit which was an overwhelming success on so many levels . A diverse mix of generations, cultures, race, religion and socio-economic peoples from across the city, Long Island, Baltimore, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania attended. 

Women in the Making
Health and Social Summit

Desi reported, "The day, which was dedicated to promoting emotional, physical and nutritional health was filled with laughter, tears, networking, discovery, bonding, stretching, sun, babies, fountains, goodie bags, and the list goes on and on. Many long-time WBAI listeners attended, as they wanted to share their love of WBAI with their children. It was a wonderful opportunity to show how their continued support allows us to serve them in various ways, such as these kinds of events. There were levels of warmth and camaraderie that were overwhelming - -  joy rising."

 

Ifey Dancy's Hip Hop Take Over filled the station with listeners, fans and many music notables. Among them were the legendary hip hop group formed in 1978, The Cold Crush Brothers, the iconic Afrika Bambaataa, and The Mercedes Ladies, widely recognized as the first all female group.  

DJ's Tony Tone and JDL Wilson  

w/Ife Dancy

Events

 african arts  

 

Friday July 1- Monday July 4

10am-9m (rain or shine)

 

Commodore Barry Park, Brooklyn

www.iaafestival.org 

 

 

The International African Arts Festival (IAAF) is dedicated to the preservation of art forms, traditions, and cultures of Africa and its diaspora.  

 

The IAAF perpetuates all the artistic traditions that stem from African cultural practices throughout the world. As a celebration of our fortieth anniversary the festivals theme this year is AROBAINI  (Swahili for "forty")  

 

The mission of the IAAF is to bring together traditional and contemporary arts of African Diaspora by creating a venue that provides programs for artistic expression, entrepreneurial economic opportunities, and shares cultural experiences with a diverse audience of patrons.

 

 

Stop by the WBAI table to say hello!  

We will be broadcasting portions of the day  

live from the festival on Saturday and Monday.

"SLAMMIN'" Artist: Taiwo Duvall

From the Interim Program Director :: Tony Bates 

WBAI's summer minithon will begin earlier this year than in previous years, July 12th - July 30th.  We're beginning earlier because so many of you, our listeners, leave town in August and we hope to connect with you before you leave for summer vacation.

 

This summer's drive is themed "Taking Our Power Back".  We intend to look at ways that 'the people' can be empowered to stand against the continued and overwhelming  losses of our rights, services, schools, jobs etc.  Tune in, become informed and pledge your support.    

 

Also don't forget to come by and volunteer a few hours in service to your favorite community station.

Host Fest :: Delphine Blue 

Delphine + Mookie

(Photo credit Larry Bercow)


Dine With Delphine Blue!


Bid online for a dining experience with Delphine Blue while contributing to the "Taking Our Power Back" Fund Drive.

Be one of 6 top bidders who win the online auction by going to
 " Dine with Delphine" (wbaiauction.org).

 

Bidding starts July 12 and ends at midnight July 30.

The dinner will take place on a mutually convenient date at one of Delphine's favorite eateries.

Host Highlights ::  Dr  Vikki Hufnagel  

Dr. Vikki Hufnagel has been instrumental in the creation of laws to protect patients rights. She was first to speak out on surgical abuses that destroyed the lives of millions of women, the  first MD to compound natural hormones.  What listeners on radio know is that she is a "herald of truth in medicine ".

Dr. Vikki Hufnagel

 

Her extensive writing has included sections of Our Bodies, Ourselves, and she wrote the books No More Hysterectomies, No More Menopause, and No More Cervical Cancer - one of two books being published in China.

 

A founder of the Berkeley Women's Health Collective and a free clinic for women there, she adds to her credits specials on female circumcision, hysterectomy abuse, and other medical abuses made in collaboration with producers on NBC, 60 minutes, and 20/20.  

 

Dr. Vikki, a pioneer in advancing women's medicine and crusader for reproductive health rights, graduated from medical school at the University of California in San Francisco. She then became Chief Resident, Obstetrics and Gynecology at Albert Einstein Hospital in New York.

 

With training, experience, and employing the state of the art and latest advances in surgical techniques, she created and developed  "Female Reconstructive Surgery" (FRS). FRS is an alternative to hysterectomy for non-cancerous conditions such as fibroids and uterine prolapse. Women previously had no other options.

 

Being a whistle blower and one of the few physicians to testify on behalf of female patients, she has been called the "Ralph Nader" of Women's Health Care.  Because of her activism, she has been the target of her peers and of the medical community whom she publicly exposes.  She has been called everything from a terrorist (for informing women  that fibroids are not cancerous) to radical (for her  firm beliefs that, for women's good health, the uterus should not be removed expect in the case of cancer).   

 

Today, informing women that the belief that the uterus plays a beneficial role in a woman's health is embraced and accepted by the medical community but she faces ongoing backlash as she continues to expose current abuses in women's health care. Dr. Hufnagel does not practice medicine in the USA. In the USA she only provides educational consults and legal reviews.

 

"The Ethical Doctor" can be heard on WBAI on alternating Thursdays from 1-2 pm. Dr. Hufnagel believes that the healer and those needing healing both require cognitive processes and responsibility. "The Ethical Doctor " was created to teach, share, and promote compassionate care, focussing on information about integrative medicine that includes alternative and traditional medical practices.

 "Save our Sounds !" Campaign

 

WBAI is in great need of having our archives of invaluable reel to reel interviews and live music shows going back 40 years saved! In their current storage location at the station they are in jeopardy of serious decomposition and threat of loss beyond retrieving! 

 

We have the opportunity to have them inventoried, cold storaged, preserved, digitally mastered, and archived by a team of professional archivists on site. Graduate students from the NYU Archival Studies program have volunteered to assist as well.

 

The reels contain  interviews and performances by people such as: Bob Dylan, Howard Zinn, Amy Goodman, Fidel Castro, the Bush's, Naomi Klein, Ruben Blades, Gil Scott Heron, Utrice Leed, Jesse Jackson, Tito Puente, Sheik Omar Abdel Rochmad, Odetta, Bernard White, Bill Clinton, Noam Chomsky, Samori Marksman, Pete Seeger, Elombe Brath, etc.

 

The collection will ultimately be available online for researchers, academics, and listeners to access.

 

The project is scheduled to begin on July 27, 2011. In order to do so we are in need of $5000 that we are seeking to raise from concerned listeners, fans of past producers, and friends of WBAI.   

 

Donations can be made at Save our Sounds. Help save these important voices! 

 New!  Premium Customer Care 

Have a problem with a premium that you pledged for? 

 

The Premiums Department sends out anywhere from 6-12,000 premium gifts after a fund drive - staffed almost entirely by volunteers. We have been working hard at clearing up premium issues from past fund drives. 

 


There is now a quicker and easier way to get assistance using our online reporting system located on the website, www.wbai.org: About WBAI > Premium Customer Care. Also, the new Premiums Customer Care Hotline number is:  212-209-4845 

 

Premiums usually arrive 6-8 weeks after your fund drive pledge is made, any promise to the contrary is misinformation, and we do apologize for any inconvenience.

Volunteers |Internships 

We are currently seeking volunteers for our    

July Fund Drive: 7/12-7/30

(especially from 6-10am and we are also in need of chefs)  

 

IMPORTANT: All volunteers (previous or new) must attend a one hour iNFORMATION SESSION prior to the drive:  

July 6, 7, 8: 4-7pm

July 9,10: 10am-1pm 

 

Please call: 212.209.2826 or email [email protected] to register.

 

Volunteers are always needed in all areas. If you have a specific area of expertise; graphics, audio, word processing, web design, etc. please call to arrange hours at your convenience. (Did we mention how much fun + how satisfying volunteering is?!)  


Volunteer Highlight :: Linda Zises

 

Linda joined the radio station a little  more than ten years ago after she  listened a Women's Day all day programing and thought it terrible!

 

She approached the station with the intent of discussing her ideas about it and ended up being included in the  Women's Day programming where she produced a several aired segments and became an active producer of the Women's Collective.  While producing, she noticed the need for help with premium mailings and started to work at the station to fill this gap, and that is how she became a volunteer.

 

Over the years she says that she has become very talented at stuffing envelopes! Linda is a neophyte artist, a writer, a yoga/meditation practitioner.  She is part of  a weekly philosophy group and in between, a mother of two, a grandmother of four and a cat owner of two (and a former Judo player of note)

 

"As I stuff envelopes or cart empty boxes from one place to another I am enriched by the people I work with and by knowing I am in a small way contributing to the cause of free speech. For me volunteering is about  interacting with the pubic from the "back room" where individual contact is essential to the health of the station  And that is why I am a WBAI volunteer. And, like WBAI, I consider myself a survivor."

 

:: INTERNSHIPS ::

 

Applications for credit and non-credit internships in audio engineering, marketing, accounting, graphic design, social media networking and business organization are being accepted. Please email resumes to [email protected].

Summer Volunteers + Interns

 Listener Commentary

"Bravo to Democracy Now  and 5 O'clock Shadow on their continuing attention to nuclear consequences; linking them to our profit making, military-industrial complex, the  environment, our health, and our future." 

- Anonymous  

 

"Thank you for restoring music to WBAI on weekday mornings! One day, long ago, I was flipping the dial after having just Moved to NYC, and I found Delphine Blue.  She is still my favorite New York DJ!  Then, gradually, I started listening to Gary Null and The Positive Mind and waking up to Amy Goodman.  Had it not been for the music from 10a.m.- noon, I never would have stopped at 99.5fm.  Thank heavens for more music!!"

-Elizabeth Soychak, NYC  

 

"I agree with the person commenting about Robert Knight's vitriol against Obama. He needs to be more analytical and less cynical. As it relates to those two wasted hours between 10:00-12:00 a.m., precious time is being lost. I no longer listen between 10 and 12."

-Sarah Victorino, NJ

 

"That was a refreshing, and encouraging, interview Robert Knight (now on my list, a first step to future donations IF the content is consistent) had with Michael Rivero. He seems extreme at first, but that's because his information is the truth from which we have been "shielded" all these years.  And when something is not right, he will be the FIRST to correct it. I do not agree 100% with all he has to say, but 95% is better than 10%, which is mostly what's out there.  (Estimate popped out of my own head.) He challenges you, and SHOWS you why he thinks he's right.  Up front. Be up front. That's how you get donations."

-Ken Daves, CA    

 

"I was listening to Robert Knight's program last night June 29th.  He was featuring excerpts from Obama's address that occurred June 29th  around noon time. Obama was speaking of the same-sex marriage bill that just got passed into law in New York. Robert Knight referred to gay people as having a gender preference.  When is the mainstream going to start using correct terminology? It is NOT a preference, and by using the term preference, Robert Knight is implying that with being gay, there is a choice in the matter.  It is no choice, just as being heterosexual is not a preference nor is it a choice.  It's just how people are.  We are who we are, and that is just the way it is. I would appreciate it if he got a little more educated in the area before he speaks wrongly and offends a large group of individuals as he offended me personally. Being gay is not a choice, period."

-Elena J. Stabile, NJ      

 

 "I was listening to Gary Null's program today while driving. On today's radio broadcast he made the startling claim, which I understand is a longstanding one, that HIV does not cause AIDS and that AIDS is treatable with his specifically developed homeopathic regimen. More disturbing is the claim he has indeed cured AIDS with his regimen and that it has not gotten wider notice because of some nefarious governmental-business conspiracy. The implications are astounding, the least of which are the credulous who would believe what he is peddling and continue to spread HIV/AIDS throughout affected communities under the misguided notion that they have been cured through Null's multivitamins and detox regimens.

 

Null claims that the HAART cocktail causes the symptoms we associate with full blown AIDS. While some of the drugs have harsh side effects he fails to understand the scientific premise that correlation does not equal causation. He also doesn't explain how AIDS victims died so horribly in the decade between the discovery of HIV/AIDS and the development of anti-retro-viral drugs.

 

WBAI has criticized Reagan for ignoring HIV/AIDS and limiting AIDS research funding. Through grassroots activism the benefits of AIDS research was brought to those who needed it. On nearly every other show the hosts praise Null while programs extol the virtues of AIDS activism and reminding us of the toll HIV/AIDS has taken of the gay and straight communities. Meanwhile Null actively undermines the research that AIDS activism has brought to fruition!

 

There are those like me who would continue to donate to WBAI but would rather donate to a cause that works to help fund AIDS research and help it's victims rather than help a broadcast community that supports and gives a huge platform to a self-proclaimed AIDS denialist.

 

Null should not be taken off the air for his irresponsible claims. But I am surprised a broadcast community that values free speech so highly has rarely, if ever, challenged his claims about HIV/AIDS. There must be someone out there with the same values as WBAI and has the research knowledge to offer an opposing viewpoint to Null's position.

 

In the interest of free speech and accuracy please sponsor a debate between Null and an informed AIDS research scientist. The potential destruction to whole communities is too great to risk on such a heavily one sided presentation."

- Levi Wilson, NYC 

   

Please send your comments, complaints, or compliments related to any program subject matter aired this month to [email protected] with "Listener Comment" in the subject line. Submissions should be limited to 400 words and please include your full name and location. We reserve the right to edit where deemed necessary.

Program Schedule 

During JULY regular scheduled programming will be pre-empted at times

for fund drive related programs. Visit www.wbai.org to see when you can support your favorite hosts.  

 

  

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