Pacifica has apparently put those who provide the network’s national programming at the bottom of its list of bills to pay. It owes Democracy Now! and Free Speech Radio News (FSRN) more than $1 million. While Democracy Now! has enough resources to cushion the blow, Pacifica’s unpaid bills to Free Speech Radio News threaten its very existence.
FSRN was founded by freelance reporters protesting censorship at Pacifica the last time the network went off the rails. What started as a “strike cast” during the 1999-2001 Pacifica crisis later became an independent, worker-run collective producing news for Pacifica for over a decade.
“The idea that Pacifica will let this valuable news program die is shameful at best,” one FSRN correspondent told us. FSRN urgently needs to raise $40,000 this month to pay its contributors and stay on the air. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation at FSRN’s website.
We also encourage you to VIEW AND CIRCULATE this special video message supporting FSRN from Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez of Democracy Now!