In December 1998, Larry Benksy announced he had been terminated by Pacifica management. He, with the support of KPFA management, went on the air and asked for support from the public in demanding his reinstatement. As a result of public outcry and who-knows-what behind the scenes manoevering, Bensky was reinstated several days later.
This incident has drawn the attention of a number of listeners who are not aware that the incident involving Bensky is part of a long series abusive practices toward labor at Pacifica - and that unlike the nationally known Bensky, others have been similarly treated without, to date, being vindicated.
He and his supporters violated gag orders preventing criticism of management decisions; he has suffered no apparent repercussions to date (4/2/99) , however Nicole Sawaya, KPFA's manager drew the wrath of the Pacifica National Management and was fired at the end of her contract period on 3/31/99.
Others who have attempted
to discuss issues regarding Pacifica management decisions and practices,
not necessarily relating to their own airtime or jobs, have been removed
and in some cases banned over the past 5 years. Programmers whose
shows were cancelled, in most cases, were either not allowed back on the
air to address their listeners, or were told they would never get another
show if they uttered criticism or attempted to ask their listeners to challenge
the management decision. People may have a wide variety of views on whether
they like or don't like a program...the question is, who
decides what audiences will be served and which will be abandoned?
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