Subscriber Robert English wrote a letter to PNN Staff in support of Dan Coughlin:

> Pacifica Network News Acting Director and Staff,
>
> What can I add to the commentary on this travesty to the institutions of
> free speech and democracy besides expressing my support and appreciation
> for the courage of Dan Coughlin and my outrage at Pacifica management?
> Well, if Dan Rather or one of the major commercial TV or radio network
> news directors were sacked for airing a story about the open boycott
> opposition of affiliate stations to the undemocratic policies and
> practices of the national network, it would be a shocking front page
> national issue, at least we hope it would be. But then it could
> conceivably be twisted and defended as a business decision. If it
> happened on the public supported PBS or NPR it would be a more shocking
> and outrageous breech of public trust in the so called "fourth estate"
> as the bastion of the First Amendment. That it happens on Pacifica,
> supposedly the true ultra bastion of free speech protection (because in
> the US it takes a hellava lot to protect left wing speech, not to
> mention the fact that the listener sponsors actually demand to hear the
> complete uncensored directly spoken truth from news staff who are
> completely free of any kind of intimidation and interference) is .....
> well, impossible but true!  That it happens so far with apparent
> impunity to the Pacifica censors is a national tragedy.
>
> As a sponsor I can demand Couglin's immediate reinstatement with a
> public, on air apology from Lynn Chadwick and MF Berry to both him and
> the listeners.
>
> I also urge you as the PNN staff to publicly support Dan or join Vera
> Avery Brown  in her reported refusal to participate in the program and
> to continue your support until the foul, rancid mechanisms, practices
> and perpetrators of censorship, including the gag rule, the gang of
> corporate thieves occupying seats on the Board and the Executive
> Director position, are smashed to dust and antiseptically filtered out
> of the network studio air and airwaves.
>
> But forgive me, in my anger I forget my commitment to nonviolence. Let's
> remove the jerks in whole pieces, forever.
>
>
> Yours in peace and justice,
>
> Bob English, KPFA sponsor

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He received this astonishing response which was also sent to a variety of e-mail lists and individuals:

Date sent:       Thu, 11 Nov 1999 09:49:30 -0500
From:            mark bevis <mbevis@pacifica.org>
Organization:    Pacifica
To:              "English, Robert S" <REnglish@puc.sf.ca.us>
Copies to:       "'danc@pacifica.org'" <danc@pacifica.org>,
        "'donrush@pacifica.org'" <donrush@pacifica.org>,
        "'liiyama@pacifica.org'" <liiyama@pacifica.org>,
        "'mgarcia@pacifica.org'" <mgarcia@pacifica.org>,
        "'jgill@pacifica.org'" <jgill@pacifica.org>,
        "'vabrown@pacifica.org'" <vabrown@pacifica.org>,
        "'savefpfa@delong.sj.ca.us'" <savefpfa@delong.sj.ca.us>,
        "'savepacifica@peacenet.org'" <savepacifica@peacenet.org>,
        "'freepacifica@recordist.com'" <freepacifica@recordist.com>,
        freekpft@msc.com, wbaifree@dorsai.org, freewpfw@sscsi.com,
        pac@pacfolio.org, Hpeacenews@aol.com, la-amn@lists.tao.ca,
        nbaykpfa@sonic.net, pacfolio_pac@lanset.com,
        "'lynchad@aol.com'" <lynchad@aol.com>,
        "'mfberry@sas.upenn.edu'" <mfberry@sas.upenn.edu>
Subject:         Re: Alert! Pacifica Jerks On the Loose Again in News Censorship
Send reply to:   freepacifica@recordist.com

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
DATE NOVEMBER 5, 1999
 

 WE (80% OF THE STAFF AT PACIFICA NETWORK NEWS) HAVE SERIOUS CONCERNS OVER
 THE EFFORT TO REINSTATE DAN COUGHLIN AS PRODUCER OF PNN.  ALTHOUGH OUR REASONS ARE DIVERSE, THEY GO FAR BEYOND THE CONFLICT TAKING  PLACE AT PACIFICA STATION KPFA IN BERKELEY.
 INTERFERENCE IN OUR INTERNAL AFFAIRS IS NOT WELCOME
 

MARK BEVIS
JOSEPH GILL
LAURA IIYAMA
DON RUSH