The DNC is just around the corner, and the RNC is not far behind. Join Pacifica Radio for our nightly broadcast of live convention speeches, reports from the protests, discussion & analysis, and much more.
— Democratic National Convention – Aug 25-28 —
The DNC runs from Monday, Aug 25 through Thursday, Aug 28. Anchored by Aimee Allison and Mitch Jeserich, we’ll bring you comprehensive live coverage each of those four evenings from 8p-12m EDT / 7-11pm CDT / 6-10pm MDT / 5-9pm PDT.
This year’s Democratic Convention is poised to change some old convention traditions. In addition to nominating the first African-American for President from a major party, the Democrats will feature “America’s Town Hall” Q&A sessions during the convention nights and a Thursday night acceptance speech by Barack Obama at Mile High Stadium. Obama’s candidacy has mobilized more young voters for the Democrats than any other recent election. But not everyone shares the enthusiasm for the Democrats this year – major protests are being planned in Downtown Denver for Convention week.
We’ll have veteran Pacifica host Larry Bensky in the balcony of the convention hall, as well as a slew of interesting guests to provide perspective and analysis. And in collaboration with KGNU and other affiliates, we’ll have reporters in the streets to cover other voices around the convention.
— Republican National Convention – Sept 1-4 —
The RNC runs from Monday, Sept 1 through Thursday, Sept 4. Anchored by Sonali Kolhatkar and Mitch Jeserich, we’ll bring you comprehensive live coverage each of those four evenings from 8p-12m EDT / 7-11pm CDT / 6-10pm MDT / 5-9pm PDT.
This year’s Republican Convention may be more traditional in tone, but interesting nonetheless. The Republican alliance of religious conservatives, military boosters, and free marketeers forged by Ronald Reagan appears more fractured than ever. Many Republican Party insiders are dour, but John McCain continues to remain competitive in national polls. During convention week, St. Paul and Minneapolis will also play host to Ron Paul’s shadow convention, a peace conference, and a series of street demonstrations.
We’ll have veteran Pacifica host Larry Bensky in the balcony of the convention hall, as well as a slew of interesting guests to provide perspective and analysis. And in collaboration with KFAI and other affiliates, we’ll have reporters in the streets and at the shadow conventions to cover other voices around the convention.
— WHERE TO LISTEN —
Pacifica’s five stations (KPFA, KPFK, KPFT, WPFW, and WBAI) will be carrying the broadcast live, as will a number of Pacifica affiliate stations. Check with your local station for carriage details.
You can also tune in online via webstream at pacifica.org.
SPECIAL LIVE COVERAGE:
After much planning and adjusting of plans, I’m happy to announce Pacifica’s upcoming live coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. We will be broadcasting for four hours each evening of the convention live from Denver (DNC) and St. Paul (RNC).
DATES & TIMES:
— Democratic National Convention —
Monday, Aug 25 – Thursday, Aug 28
8p-12m EDT / 7-11pm CDT / 6-10pm MDT / 5-9pm PDT
— Republican National Convention —
Monday, Sept 1 – Thursday, Sept 4
8p-12m EDT / 7-11pm CDT / 6-10pm MDT / 5-9pm PDT
Description, program clock, and guest list will be posted here in the coming weeks, as will notice of audio & text promos when they are available.
STAFFING:
– The DNC is being produced by Eileen Javar and anchored by Aimee Allison & Mitch Jeserich, with Larry Bensky hosting from the balcony.
– The RNC is being produced by Brian Edwards-Tiekert and anchored by Sonali Kolhatkar & Mitch Jeserich, with Larry Bensky hosting from the balcony.
For additional information, contact:
Pacifica National Programming Coordinator Nathan Moore, nathan[at]pacifica.org
Greetings FSRN Contributors,
The FSRN editorial collective is writing to share with you a few new ways you can contribute to the newscast, by submitting raw tape and by pitching us “vox pops” for our new regular segment, Street Beat. Guidelines and rates are summarized below.
New Segment — Street Beat
Street Beat is FSRN’s new regular vox pop segment in which we feature a montage of voices all responding to the same question. Contributors can suggest a question to producers[at]fsrn.org or we may assign various Street Beat producers a question based on the hot news topics of the week. Rate for commissioned vox pops: $50.
This is a great opportunity for news directors to engage new radio producers, or for experienced producers to get out on the streets and try something different. Because there is no fact-gathering or script writing, production should be straight-forward and take 1-3 hours of work.
Street Beat production guidelines: Street Beat should run 2-3 minutes long and include 6-10 different voices, ideally representing a diversity of ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds, economic classes, etc. There is no reporter narration in this segment, just a series of short (10-30 second) responses to your question, edited together in one file. To make sure the segment flows, we’d like to limit the number of clips needing translations. Please use 2 English clips for every 1 clip in a non-English language.
Please include a proposed anchor lede that ties the issue to something in the news and introduces the question you asked and where you asked it (downtown Seattle library, DC airport, San Diego burrito stand, Atlanta supermarket, etc). You should also send us the names of the people you interviewed — we will “back announce” who listeners just heard at the end of the segment.
Questions should be crafted in an open-ended way that provokes a thoughtful response. Questions can be general, for example, “What are you doing differently in the face of rising gas (or food) costs?” Or, questions can look at a specific local issue that would be of interest to a national audience, for example,
“The Richmond, CA city council is debating a controversial request from Chevron to expand its oil refinery in the city. Why do you support or oppose Chevron’s attempt to expand the refinery?”
The first question could be posed in any public place, in any US city. The second would need to come from Richmond, CA, perhaps outside of a council meeting. Choosing your location to find people is important — usually public places in downtown areas will give you access to a steady stream of different people: students, business people, working class, homeless, etc. If people decline your request to be interviewed, don’t despair! Keep asking — you will come across those who have an opinion and want to talk.
Election Unpsun
November’s right around the corner and election issues are everywhere. Don’t forget to pitch your ideas to Election Unspun, a collaboration between FSRN and Pacifica. Please send us your ideas about the local, state and national candidates, as well as other election issues, like ballot initiatives and voter access. Contact Leigh Ann Caldwell with your pitches at leighann.caldwell[at]gmail.com
Raw Tape/Unedited Recordings
FSRN will consider purchasing raw tape from reporters and producers, including speeches, press conferences, demonstrations/rallies, and panels/forums. A written summary of the who, what, where, and when is also required. If your tape has multiple voices, we’ll need to know who’s speaking and when. If we use the tape, we’ll pay a flat rate of $30.
This is ideal for people who may be recording for other reasons, but who can’t produce a feature story for FSRN. News directors, this could be another way for new producers to get their feet wet.
Interview/Q&A Segments
FSRN will also consider using excerpts from interviews/Q&As you’ve already done for other radio programs. If you’re a reporter or public affairs host and you’ve recorded an interview with an expert, community member, lawmaker, analyst, author, professor, etc. and think there’s some material we could connect to a current or on-going news issue, let us know. We can’t pay you for these segments, but we will credit you and/or plug your radio program.
If you have any questions, please let us know. We look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Catherine Komp
On Behalf of the FSRN Editorial Team
freespeechradionews[at]gmail.com
KPFA & Pacifica Radio present the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Imperial Presidency and possible legal responses entitled “Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations”. One-hour highlights program now available (see below).
For the last several years, many progressives – including a handful of Congress members – have called for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. But they have been stymied by six years of Republican majority followed by a Democratic leadership that took impeachment “off the table.”
That may be changing. On July 25th, the House Judiciary Committee took the first step to investigate what Rep. John Conyers calls “numerous credible allegations of serious misconduct.”
Featured speakers in this one-hour highlights program include: Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Robert Wexler, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Former Rep Elizabeth Holtzman, Vincent Bugliosi, Bruce Fein, and Scott Horton.
Listen here:
KPFA & Pacifica Radio present the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Imperial Presidency and possible legal responses entitled “Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations”.
DATE: *FRIDAY*, July 25, 2008
TIMES: 9:00AM – 1:00PM EDT (6:00AM – 10:00AM PDT)
Streamed live at pacifica.org and kpfa.org and on the air at KPFA (Berkeley), KPFK (Los Angeles), KPFT (Houston), WBAI (New York), and others TBD.
For the last several years, many progressives – including a handful of Congress members – have called for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. But they have been stymied by six years of Republican majority followed by a Democratic leadership that took impeachment “off the table.”
That may be changing. This Friday, the House Judiciary Committee will take the first step to investigate what Rep. John Conyers calls “numerous credible allegations of serious misconduct.” Pacifica Radio will broadcast the hearing live, starting at 9:00am EDT (6:00am PDT), Tuesday, July 15, anchored by KPFA’s Larry Bensky & Aimee Allison and produced by Max Pringle.
While the panel of witnesses is fluid until the hearing begins, the current roster of speakers includes:
– Several Congress members: Dennis Kucinich, Jane Harman, Walter Jones, Brad Miller, and Maurice Hinchey
– Several non-Congress Members: Elizabeth Holtzman, Bruce Fein, Frederick Schwartz, John Dean, Bob Barr, Rocky Anderson, Vincent Bugliosi, Elliott Adams
The Green Party convention broadcast finished up a couple days ago — and it was really good, if I might say so. We received a lot of great feedback. In case you missed it, all three hours are now uploaded and available here for your listening.
Hour 1 is sort of a “Greens 101″, includes guests Ruth Weill and Scott McLarty from the GP, Pat LaMarche (2004 Green VP candidate), Mike Feinstein (Green and former mayor of Santa Monica), and others
Hour 2 includes speeches and sounds from the convention and a discussion of the Green Party in the political landscape. Guests include Kathy Kelly (of Voices for Creative Non-Violence), Malik Rahim (of Common Ground), Jill Stein (Physicians for Social Responsibility), Omar Lopez (immigration community organizer), and more.
Hour 3 focuses on a discussion of the nomination of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente. We hear from them, as well as Ralph Nader, Jared Ball, and others.
More information about the Green Party is online at gp.org or the GP’s convention last weekend at greenparty2008.org.
Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hear from former Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith and other guests Tuesday morning on the role that Bush Administration lawyers played in creating, developing, and implementing interrogation & torture policies at Guantanamo.
Feith was one of the architects of the Bush Administration’s legal and policy framework for interrogations. He was initially scheduled to testify in June, but cancelled on the morning of the hearing. His appearance is ensured by subpoena.
Pacifica Radio will broadcast the hearing live Tuesday, starting at 9:00 a.m. EDT. KPFA’s Larry Bensky will host this special, with Laura Prives producing. Tune into the live stream here.
Other guests scheduled for tomorrow’s hearing include Philippe Sands, Professor of International Law, University College London; and Deborah Pearlstein, Associate Research Scholar at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs.
Tuesday’s hearing follows up on previous coverage of this topic. Last month, Pacifica aired Judiciary Committee hearings that featured former White House Chief of Staff David Addington, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, and others.
Renowned anti-nuclear champion and Nobel-nominated Dr. Helen Caldicott has launched a new one-hour, weekly public affairs radio show called “If You Love This Planet.” The first show will air on KPFT in Houston on Monday July 14 at 7:00 PM Central time.
“If You Love This Planet” explores the many dangers of nuclear weapons, nuclear power, climate change and global environmental crises, and explores real solutions to these problems.
We have all heard Dr. Caldicott’s riveting speeches on our airwaves over the past several decades. Many of us have seen her powerfully engage audiences in person. Her radio show is a beacon of truth, a fresh, uncensored and courageous voice in a media landcape that has more-often-than-not ignored the dangers of all things nuclear.
Dr. Caldicott also takes on the global enviromental crises we all want and need to learn more about, “full frontal.” The time has come to cut through the media blackouts and accumulated lies.
She’s passionate, engaging, funny, extraordinary and powerful. And she has a guest list for this show that will make your head spin.
“If You Love This Planet,” (also the title of her book, and her Academy Award-winning documentary film) is recorded weekly in Canberra, the capital of Helen’s native Australia. Her primary host station is Pacifica’s KPFT in Houston, Texas. Her target audience? Every last American, Canadian and European citizen, for starters.
Dr. Helen Caldicott, a pediatrician, was the primary founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility. As one of the most articulate and passionate advoctes of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, Helen has devoted the last 35 years of her life to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behavior to stop environmental destruction.
Her latest books include “War In Heaven” and “Nuclear Power is Not the Answer.”
REVOLUTION REWIND: 1968 YEAR IN REVIEW
A three-hour documentary special
“Revolution Rewind” is a 40th Anniversary celebration of a year in which a radical wave crashed across the globe, changing the world and its people politically, socially, and culturally. Wars, marches, elections, assassinations, human rights, civil rights, women’s rights, the explosion of consciousness and creativity… And Pacifica Radio was there to capture it all.
Check back here for a link to the documentary program after July 10th. Or check with your local Pacifica station or affiliate for air time.
CONTENT BY HOUR:
Hour 1: Revolution Rewind: 1968 Year in Review, Part One consists of a broad overview of 1968, with audio selections ranging from Pacifica’s courageous and uncensored coverage of the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, Jr., members of the Black Panther Party, Cesar Chavez, Robert Kennedy, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Pete Seeger, Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Ayn Rand, and many more.
Hour 2: Revolution Rewind: 1968 Year in Review, Part Two showcases the powerful artistic contributions made within this year of turmoil: the sounds of Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Melina Mercouri, Sun Ra, Phil Ochs, Abbie Hoffman, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and others.
Hour 3: Revolution Rewind: 1968 Year in Review, Part Three features two very special guests who found themselves on the forefront of change in 1968 — independent journalist Connie Lawn and activist Tom Hayden join us in the studio 40 years after the fact, to share thoughts and analysis on the lasting importance and impression of 1968, the year of sounds that changed the world.
PRODUCTION STAFF:
Executive Producer: Pacifica Radio Archives and Brian DeShazor
Produced and Edited by Mark Torres
Written by Joanne Griffith
Hosts: Brian DeShazor, Joanne Griffith, Sonali Kolhatkar, Mark Maxwell, Margaret Prescod, Aura Bogado, and Mark Torres
Pacifica Radio will air a live three-hour broadcast from the Green Party Convention in Chicago on Sunday, July 13th as the convention comes to a close.
The convention coverage will air live on Pacifica’s five sister stations this Sunday — 12n-3pm EDT / 11am-2pm CDT / 9am-12n PDT. If you listen to a Pacifica affiliate station, check to see if they’ll be carrying the broadcast live or tape-delayed.
In this Presidential election year, huge issues face the United States: wars in the Middle East and saber-rattling with Iran; the danger of environmental collapse; and the economy in recession with no end in sight… Yet on many of the most important issues facing us, only modest differences exist between the two major parties.
However, over the weekend of July 13th, the Green Party will chart a different course at its annual convention in Chicago. Hosted by Davey D from KPFA’s Hard Knock Radio and produced by KPFK’s Christine Blosdale, Pacifica Radio will be on site to bring you live coverage on Sunday, July 13th. We’ll air speeches, stories and sounds from the Green Party convention, as well as terrific live interviews and analysis of the Greens in the current political landscape.
Pacifica’s Green Party coverage is the first in the network’s summer coverage of the national political conventions. The Democratic National Convention takes place in Denver at the end of August, and the Republicans will be in St. Paul at the beginning of September. We’ll have a crew on-site for both.
