PACIFICA LISTENERS' PETITION TO AMY GOODMAN, MAY 2002

Dear Amy,

We the undersigned Pacifica listeners would like to welcome you back from East Timor and to thank you for presenting the public with yet more ground-breaking coverage of important events which other media outlets in the United States mostly ignore. Reportage such as this and other important series such as "Drilling and Killing" and have placed you at the forefront of journalism and at the center of the mission of Pacifica. You have consistently sought out the stories which others have either missed or ignored.

But there is one very important and exciting story we feel you have missed--the story of the plight of independent media in the United States and throughout the world. As media conglomerates consolidate and gobble up smaller outlets, diminishing what can be reported, independent media is struggling for its very survival. Pacifica is at the center of this struggle. Over the past five to ten years, the network has been under attack from both within and without, culminating in our very nearly having lost it last year.

Now, thanks to the mobilization of thousands of listeners from all over the country, we have it back. These very same listeners are joining with staff, LABs, and the iPNB in an unprecedented effort to rewrite the foundation's bylaws from the bottom up. For the first time in the history of the world, a large and powerful media network will become accountable to its listener-subscribers. These listener-subscribers, having shown themselves to be both capable and dedicated, will not only become the guardians of the Pacifica mission, they will also be a source of as yet untapped creative energy that will help Pacifica radio thrive as never before.

We feel that this may very well be the story of the decade and that it therefore merits coverage on Democracy Now! Beyond that, we believe that DN has a direct role to play in its unfolding. For Pacifica not only covers important events; it is also activist radio. The stories above and many others you have reported on have spurred Pacifica listeners to action, very often shaping the outcome of these stories. In this way, DN has become a direct participant. It should be no less with the Free-Pacifica struggle and subsequent bylaws revision. In order for this important work to succeed, it will be necessary to "activate" the listeners through vibrant coverage of the type provided by DN. We therefore implore you to lead the way as you have so many times in the past to provide extensive coverage of the Pacifica bylaws revision process. Nothing less than the future of Pacifica is at stake.

Signature    Name    Address    Pacifica Station or Affiliate
_______    ____    _______    ____________________

Please return no later than Friday June 14, 2002 to:
Steve Salchow, 250 W. 54th St., Rm. 805, New York, NY 10019

sign-ups through this web-page:

Robert Stram, WBAI area
Bill Murcott, WBAI area
Patty Heffley, WBAI area
Damian Miller, WBAI area
Nora Freeman, WBAI area
Daniel Farrelly, WBAI area
Elizabeth McLellan, WBAI area
Bert Holland, WBAI area
Edwin Johnston, KPFT area
Myla Reson, KPFK area
Richard Morgan, WBAI area
Dan Jones, KPFT area
Richard Guenther, KPFA area
Shiu Hung, KPFA area
Mary Berg, KPFA area
Stephen Durham, WBAI area
John Sheridan, KPFA area
Linda Harmon, KPFK area
Nancy Raffaelli Richards, KPFK area
Peter Force, KPFK area
Gail Blasie, KPFA area
Maria Gilardin, KPFA area
Joseph Fishman, WBAI area
Terry Stone, KPFK area
Michael Costello, KPFA area
Robin Candace, KPFA area
Joanne Saliba, KPFK area

Petition sign-up form Please add my name to the petition requesting that Democracy Now! air coverage of the Pacifica bylaws revision process first name last name address city state zip Pacifica Station or Affiliate: email