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Berthold Reimers

Dear WBAI Family,

I regret that I must share some unfortunate news regarding the financial

state of our station. Due to a number of setbacks, we are short of our necessary funding by $550,000. As a result, the future of WBAI is currently in jeopardy.

Our fund drives have provided us with disappointing numbers since May. Hurricane Sandy interrupted the success of our BAI Buddy program as it put increased financial strains on our community. But as our access to funds diminishes, our financial demands do not.

At the moment, we are in litigation with the Empire State Building, where our tower is located. Each year, rent at the Empire State building increases by roughly $10,000, adding additional financial demands to our already dire situation. In order to save our tower, we need to come up with $250,000 within the next two to three weeks. Otherwise, we will not be able to broadcast, and there will be no WBAI. (Please see PRESS RELEASE below)  

-Berthold Reimers

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March 6, 2013

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Summer Reese, Interim Executive Director 

Transmitter Fund Launched To Keep Radical Radio Atop the Empire State Building: WBAI-FM, Pacifica Radio Since 1960, Tries to Survive Hurricane Sandy Forced Move

New York -  The iconic non-profit public radio station WBAI 99.5 FM has launched an emergency campaign appeal to raise half a million dollars in March and stop the possible shutdown of its operations and the loss of its transmitter atop the Empire State Building.

The campaign titled "The Transmitter Fund" aims to raise the funds needed to bring current the transmitter tower rent, which fell drastically behind in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

If sufficient funds are not raised in time, the station will lose its transmitter and may never go back on the air in New York City again.

WBAI 99.5 FM was already struggling with escalating rent costs and, like most non-profits, with declining revenue as a result of the economic downturn of 2008.

Hurricane Sandy forced WBAI from its broadcast facilities in lower Manhattan.  Confronted with this situation, the staff and volunteers came together as never before, moving the station out of its former home in just a matter of weeks.

WBAI 99.5 FM, part of the Pacifica network, is the only alternative listener supported, non-commercial public radio station in New York City.  It takes no underwriting or commercials and is subject to no censorship or sponsorship pressure.

"WBAI has served its listeners since 1960 with all of the major progressive, socially conscious, culturally important and revolutionary voices of the last half century and today. Every political and cultural icon and social movement from Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Abbie Hoffman, William F. Buckley, Angela Davis, Michael Moore and Chris Hedges to Iran-Contra, anti-fracking and the Occupy Movement have been on our airwaves," says Interim Executive Director Summer Reese.

"Saving this radio station, with its incredibly strong signal, is important not just to public radio listeners in the tri-state area, but to the integrity of a free society which requires a free press and alternatives to mainstream corporate media outlets. The future of WBAI is actually bright, so long as we are able to overcome the present crisis. We are actively negotiating the purchase of a building, which will give us a permanent home that we own and significantly reduce our fixed costs on an ongoing basis" says Reese, "but first we have to save our transmitter and stay on the air."

The Pacifica Foundation operates noncommercial radio stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, and syndicates content to over 100 affiliates. It invented listener-supported radio.  http://www. wbai.org     http://www.give2wbai.org

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WBAI News' Jose Santiago

Perhaps the news story that has the greatest impact on the WBAI listening community is the story of WBAI itself - your radio station - which is currently facing the most trying challenges of its existence. Right now, we face the very real possibility that we will be going off the air, possibly for good, if we cannot raise $200,000 by the end of the month to pay rent on our transmitter at the Empire State Building.

We in the news department at the moment are currently producing stories, and our entire program, off-site on our computers at home. We are hoping to complete the construction of a new news room at CCNY in the coming days. But as hard as many people are working, that may never happen, because now we must come up with $200,000 by the end of the month or the Empire State Building will shut down our transmitter.

Executive director of the Pacifica Foundation, Summer Reese, discussed the severity of our situation on the morning edition of Wake Up Call :

"People may not understand this isn't the typical back rent situation. This is a situation where if we don't make the demand they can break our lease. It's that simple. And this is New York City, where there aren't a lot of alternative locations to put a transmitter, so it is a do or die situation with the transmitter. If we are out of that transmitter, we are off the air.

Through all of these things the staff has been struggling through valiantly; everyone has been working night and day trying to keep us alive and on the air. Now we need the listeners to do the same. We know that a lot of you have given in the past and we have to ask you to give again. Only about 10 percent of our listeners actually ever give, 10 percent. We need the other 90 percent to step up. If there's one show you like on this station, one, donate please, now, because you risk losing WBAI forever; you risk a complete shutdown."

We are the only radio network like us, there is no other radical, alternative, political, community radio network in the country. We're it. Pacifica is the only place. It's a collective, you are a part of that collective, and we will only continue if you support us at this time."

On behalf of the news department I want to urge you to support us at this critical time. We need you to stand with us.

For WBAI News, I'm Jose Santiago-