 |
|
Amy Goodman and Robert Knight Reportedly Fired From the morning show. |
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 22:15:22 -0500 Subject: Knight, Goodman Fired From WBAI Morning Show From: Juan Gonzalez pacificacampaign@yahoo.com
PACIFICA CAMPAIGN ACTION ALERT
WBAI Alert
New York, (Feb. 13) -- Robert Knight, long-term news anchor on WBAI's Wake-Up Call morning show, was told by WBAI's interim general manager Utrice Leid this morning that both he and Wake-Up Call co-host Amy Goodman have been removed from the morning show. This move would complete the purge of WBAI's Wake Up Call on-air and off-air staff, which began with the firing of 20-year station veteran and Wake-Up Call Host Bernard White and Wake-Up Call producer and union-shop steward Sharan Harper. These firings took place during the "Christmas Coup" at WBAI-Pacifica when the network's national executives changed locks in the middle of the night and dismissed the station's management. They were followed by bannings of unpaid Wake-Up Call staff, including Janice K. Bryant, Cerene Roberts, Rosalie Hoffman and Rachel Barr. Thirty-year veteran programmer Mimi Rosenberg, news reporter Eileen Sutton and Ursula Ruedenberg have also been banned. WBAI's staff union, UE Local 404, has condemned these moves as a "flagrant case of union busting." Interim General Manager Utrice Leid has also installed security guards, imposed a gag rule prohibiting on-air discussion of station business and has prohibited the public from entering the station for the listener-comment period of Local Advisory Board meetings. Many staffers say a climate of terror has been created at the station. Amy Goodman and Robert Knight are WBAI-Pacifica most distinguished news reporters. Robert Knight received the George F. Polk Award for radio reporting on the 1989 US intervention of Panama. Amy Goodman has won the top awards in US broadcast journalism for her reporting in East Timor and Nigeria. Goodman's position as anchor of "Democracy Now!" remains unchanged. PLEASE TAKE ACTION: Call WBAI, at 212-209-2950, during Wake-Up Call (7:00-9:00 am) and ask where are Robert Knight and Amy Goodman. Continue calling until the station's management answers your concerns about the firings and bannings. Call 212-209-2950, each morning from 7-9 AM Eastern time.
The Pacifica Campaign
|