Pacifica ED Guma leaving
It looks like Pacifica executive director Greg Guma is leaving the
network. (For more, see WBAI’s R Paul Martin’s report, http://glib.com/botb_05-07-07.html#guma). He did not last very long. Writes
Martin:
From what was said on the Pacifica National Board teleconference
meeting on May 3, 2007, it appears that Pacifica’s Executive
Director Greg Guma is leaving his position.Here’s the excerpt from that PNB teleconference meeting that I
played on the air, it comes at about 9:06 on the audio of the full
meeting.The excerpt starts off with PNB Chair David Adelson calling on
Thomas Ruffin, PNB Director from WPFW in Washington, D.C., to speak
to a motion about when in July to hold the next PNB meeting. After
Mr. Ruffin reveals that the PNB will be dealing with the question
of finding Mr. Guma’s successor at this meeting another PNB member
reminds him that this is an open, public teleconference meeting.
When Mr. Ruffin reiterates the need to get as much information on a
successor to the Executive Director as possible a number of PNB
members chime in to remind him that it’s a public meeting. In the
end Mr. Ruffin gets the point.Interestingly, the Pacifica Foundation’s bylaws mandate that the
meeting be held in June, but the PNB has apparently decided that
the end of July is close enough. They held their March meeting in
April, so I guess they figure that they can do whatever they want
in spite of the bylaws. There are also at least a couple of people
on the PNB at this time who have been on it for more than five
consecutive years, which is the limit that the bylaws impose.
Bylaws? What bylaws? No wonder Pacifica is such a mess.The fact that the PNB is going to be getting serious about choosing
Executive Director Guma’s successor in July indicates that he’s
leaving that position. Mr. Guma ascended to the throne of Executive
Director in January 2006. He hasn’t been able to turn around
Pacifica’s downward spiral, nor has he successfully addressed
issues of embezzlement, corruption or malfeasance within the
Pacifica network. As Executive Directors of Pacifica go, his has
been a pretty short term. And what will the PNB replace him with?I think that Mr. Guma had good intentions to start with but those
intentions fetched up on the shoals of Pacifica’s legendary
internecine machinations and the greed of some who are associated
with Pacifica.
Any volunteers to succeed him? Ha ha ha.
Doug
May 9th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
While there may be some kernels of reality embedded in this post, they are overwhelmed by the inacaccuracies and assumptions. Drawing conclusions from a chance comment can be quite dangerous. Am I leaving? Well sure, eventually — no one stays forever, and I made it clear when I arrived that my tenure would be limited to no more than three years. I’m about halfway there. But I am not being shown the door, and such an assumption is incorrect. I am urging the Board to be proactive, however, in beginning a thoughtful search process. We will all simply have to wait and see how things go from here.
As for charges of “embezzlement, corruption or malfeasance,” this is irresponsible rhetoric and not substantiated by available facts. But, of course, blogs are not journalism, and sometimes have little to do with reality.
If I recall, Doug and R. Paul expressed some concerns in January 2006 that my arrival at Pacifica would set loose conspiracy theorists. How did that prediction work out?
Here’s a reality check: In 2006, Pacifica launched three new national programs — a daily Spanish language newscast –Informativo Pacifica, a weekly archives-based program — From the Vault, and an election series — Informed Dissent. As far as I know, we didn’t launch Conspiracy Digest.
It also provided vital coverage of key congressional hearings, the May Day immigrant rights mobilization, the 2007 Media Reform Conference, and much more. And it had an excellent year in financial terms. The governance structure has some flaws (no news there), but an effort to revisit the bylaws has begun. The growth of digital distribution creates new challenges, but work to address that through a Creative Commons approach is underway. The affiliates network is about to reach 125 stations, and Pacifica is actively promoting the filing of applications for new non-commercial licenses this fall. WBAI has a new general manager, as does KPFA, and the network has a national programming coordinator. For a look at Pacifica’s programming, check out the new and improved national website: www.pacifica.org.
These are some of the facts. But hey, rumor is so much more fun, isn’t it?
If anyone is truly curious about is happening at Pacifica, the truth is not hard to find. You just need to look, listen, and ask.
Regards,
Greg Guma
Executive Director
Pacifica Foundation