Listener Candidate Questionnaire |
Nia Bediako (Chair, Local Board Programming Committee; member of several other WBAI committees; Treasurer, block assn. in Harlem; certified financial analyst) |
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WBAI Candidate Questionnaire 1. Why do you want to be on the Local Station Board? I absolutely love the programming at WBAI! It’s important to have a board that supports activism around working-class issues, racial justice, respect for the differently abled, gender and sexual orientation equality, and other issues of social justice and human rights. This is why I’m proud to be running with the WBAI Justice and Unity Campaign (www.justiceunity.org), which is committed to keeping WBAI focused on educating and helping to organize around these issues. 2. How do you envision the local Board working with Pacifica Foundation, WBAI, and the community? The saying “Think globally, act locally” is quite applicable here. There needs to be a process to determine in a meaningful and timely manner how programmatic suggestions can be customized and transmitted to the different stations, since no two stations are alike. After attending many Local Station and Pacifica National Board meetings, I’m troubled by the way some members use Robert’s Rules of Order to precipitate bureaucratic wrangling that prevents the board from accomplishing its work, and to disrupt and delay meetings, such as during agenda-setting. This not only interferes with accomplishing the board’s work; it also alienates community members who attend the meetings and don’t want to return. As a progressive organization, we should be able to work collaboratively and respectfully to come up with a common sense, humane, and democratic alternative to Robert’s Rules of Order. If elected, I would be happy to be a member of a working group responsible for coming up with such an alternative that could be adopted by Pacifica. 3. How could the station better serve its listeners? First and foremost, by acquiring the technological capabilities to improve its sound and develop its facilities so that producers can participate and interact with the many communities that make up New York, especially youth, for whom the station could be a resource for learning radio. As the demand increases for different types of listening venues, so should the station’s supply of outlets increase. One way the Justice and Unity Campaign thinks the station could meet this demand is by increasing the bandwidth (or channels) of the station. This could be done in the short term by using one of our vacant sidebands, and long-term by raising funds to convert to a digital signal. By using these technologies, the station could give access to the airwaves to more communities and larger audiences. 4. Describe some actions you would take to increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities and to increase the diversity of the listening audience. As an active voting member of the Membership Outreach & Fundraising Committee, I will continue to attend major events like rallies, forums and WBAI parties to sign up new listeners, especially youth, as the committee has been doing. Holding listener forums with producers on hot-button issues such as the upcoming elections on different communities. Again, the bandwidth (or channel) expansion would help expand available airtime. The more channels there are, the more space we’ll have for more diverse voices. Also, I am willing to collaborate with Local Station Board members and station management to solicit a grant to develop and implement a variety of strategies for organized outreach to different communities and publicity campaigns in order to encourage people to become listeners and ultimately members. 5. What sources of funding, other than listener donations, do you feel WBAI should solicit? · Showing more movies like the one screened by the LSB’s Membership Outreach & Fundraising Committee last year, which raised a few thousand dollars, and exploring possible joint film events with community organizations. · The Membership Outreach & Fundraising Committee can work more extensively with the next General Manager to establish an endowment program, specifically targeting listeners with more disposable income. · One way to reduce our huge rent costs in the long term: my Justice & Unity colleagues and I will work with management on an aggressive capital campaign to acquire a WBAI-owned facility, or a facility co-owned with other truly progressive organizations. 6. Please state briefly the skills, experience, educational background, work history, organizational affiliations, areas of community service, areas of interest and expertise that you would bring to the Pacifica network as a member of the Local Station Board. · Bachelor of Business Administration · Certified Financial Analyst · Former manager in the corporate sector supervising more than 80 employees · Treasurer of my block association in Harlem · Member of Friends of the National Association of Kawaida Organizations I am prompt, reliable, fair, organized, and skilled at bringing issues to a quick and logical conclusion. 7. Do you anticipate missing any Local Station Board meetings due to family or job related problems or inadequate transportation? No. 8. On which Local Station Board committees are you interested in actively serving? I am currently a voting member of the following committees and will continue, win or lose, to serve on: * Finance * Membership Outreach & Fundraising * Programming (Chair) * Management Evaluation
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