, a part of the
Pacifica Radio Network , is a
Non-commercial , listener-supported
Radio Station , broadcasting at 99.5
FM in
New York City .
Its programming is
Leftist /
Progressive , an admixture of
Leftist political
Advocacy tinged with aspects of its complex and varied history, such as
Freeform Radio , which WBAI played a role in developing, as well as various music.
presented by
Jim Freund ,
Off The Hook , a program presented by the
2600 Hacker group, The Personal Computer Show with Joe King and Hank Kee (which first aired
August 6, 1984), and the economics journalism of
Doug Henwood . Music programming includes Jeannie Hopper's, Liquid Sound Lounge on Saturdays and
Chico Alvarez 's, New World Gallery on Sunday afternoons.
WBAI also offers ethno-centric programming targeted primarily towards ethnic / socioeconomic audience segments that are typically under-served by most commercial media outlets.
Radio Tahrir (supported in part by Islamic Center of Long Island which itself is targeted primarily towards Muslim Americans) and
Asia Pacific Forum , (which is targeted primarily towards Asian Americans) are examples of such programming.
The station began as , which first went on the air in
1941 as '''W75NY''' and moved to the 99.5 frequency in
1948 . In 1955, after two years off the air, it was reborn as WBAI (whose calls were named after then-owners '''Broadcast Associates, Inc.'''). It was purchased by
Eccentric Philanthropist Louis Schweitzer (Philanthropist) , who donated it to the
Pacifica Foundation in
1960 . The station, which had been a commercial enterprise, became non-commercial under Pacifica ownership.
The history of WBAI is long and contentious. Referred to in a
New York Times Magazine piece as ‘an anarchist’s circus,’ one station manager was jailed in protest, and the staff, in protest at sweeping proposed changes of another station manager, seized the studio facilities, then located in a deconsecrated church, as well as the transmitter, located at the
Empire State Building .
WBAI played a major role in the evolution and development of the
Counterculture In The 1960s and early 1970s.
Alice's Restaurant was first broadcast on
Radio Unnameable ,
Bob Fass ’s
Freeform Radio program, a program which itself in many ways created, explored, and defined the possibilities of the form. The station covered the 1968 seizure of the
Columbia University campus live and uninterrupted, as well as innumerable anti-war protests. With its signal reaching for nearly 100 kilometers beyond
New York City , its reach and influence, both direct and indirect, were significant. The station presented an annual 24-hour nonstop presentation of
Richard Wagner ’s Ring Cycle, a marathon reading of
War And Peace with celebrities reading various sections, held live performances of emerging artists in its studios, and produced and presented interviews with prominent figures in literature and the arts, as well as original highly-produced radio dramas.
In
1973 , the station broadcast comedian
George Carlin 's infamous
Seven Dirty Words routine – see ''
F.C.C. V. Pacifica Foundation '' for a detailed account of the court case that ensued.
With the decline of the arc of history represented by the 1960s and 1970s, the station turned against itself. A new board of directors determined a new agenda, and, against the staff resistance provoked by what was known internally as ''The Crisis'', and manifest in the seizure and occupation of the facilities, a different station emerged, one which attempted to offer an alternative perspective within the mainstream commercial aesthetic rather than from the outside.
Internal conflict from 2000 through 2001 troubled the station and temporarily resulted in the banning of several on-air personalities. The roots of the trouble laid in the program on the "coup" is available online.
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and Clayton Riley.)
The dispute intersected with disputes at the level of the national
Pacifica Radio network. However, by January, 2002, the dispute was settled, and long-time producers, such as Amy Goodman, were reinstated.
Some comedic personalities associated with the station formed a group with a name that made reference to the station take-over: ''The Christmas Coup Comedy Players'' (CCCP, in satiric reference to the Russian acronym for the Soviet Union). Since the resolution of the dispute the group has had a regular show on the station. [http://www.christmascoup.com/
Alumni of WBAI include
Margot Adler ,
Chris Albertson ,
Neal Conan , Janet Coleman,
John Corigliano ,
Larry Cox (Executive Director of Amnesty International),
Bob Fass , Paul Fischer,
Joe Frank , Paul Gorman,
Susan Howe , Timothy Jerome,
Larry Josephson ,
Alen Pol Kobryn ,
Julius Lester ,
Al Lewis ,
John Lithgow ,
Leonard Lopate ,
Marian McPartland ,
Margaret Mercer ,
Steve Post ,
David Rapkin , David Rothenberg,
Charles Ruas ,
Lynn Samuels ,
Baird Searles ,
Dick Sudhalter ,
Manoli Wetherell , Peter Zanger, Doreen Canto, Edward Haber, Andrew Phillips, Deborah Begel, Becky Thorn, Pepsi Charles,
Citizen Kafka ,
Pat Conte , Barbara Day, Jesse Keyes, Robert Knight, Delfine Blue, and Bernard White.
The
Apple Specialist business
Tekserve was originally composed of former WBAI employees David Lerner, Dick Demenus, and Mike Edl. In the 60's, Dale Minor and Chris Koch reported on the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights struggle. Former Station Manager Chris Albertson returned to the music field, spent 28 years as Contributing Editor to ''Stereo Review'' and authored a biography of Bessie Smith. Through the 1970s, David Rapkin, James Irsay and Charles Potter produced some of the finest American radio drama of the post "Golden Age". In the 1980s, new studios at the stations Eighth Ave address were built by Miles Smith who, along with WBAI alum Jane Pipik, is now working at WGBH in Boston. About the same time Dennis Coleman, Jim Freund, Sharon Griffiths, Kathy O'Connell, Sharon Mattlin, Sidney Smith, Paul Wunder, Max Schmid and Simon Loekle formed EMRA, the Early Morning Radio Alliance. Loekle also created the Shakespeare Liberation Front and with Stephen Erickson produced radio dramas, dramatic readings and documentaries - notably, "Tale of the Monkey King" and the "Communist Manifesto". Loekle (''As I Please'' - Saturday Mornings at 7AM and “''Stand-up Academy''”), Freund (''
Hour Of The Wolf ),'' Smith, and Schmid are still at the station. Paul Wunder became Operations Director, a position he held until his death. Erickson, who became program director in 1984 but was battered by charges of racism (Village Voice 1985) when he attempted to change the program schedule, moved to Germany where he produces radio documentaries.
- ''WBAI Head Jailed in Contempt Case'' – New York Times , pp 1,2, 19720304
- ''Playing in the FM Band: A Personal History of Free Radio'' – ( Steve Post , Viking Press )
- ''Insurgent Staff Members Take Over WBAI in a Coup'' – New York Times , pp 1,2, 19770212
