APM DEBUTS ‘ROOTS BEYOND RACE’ INTERACTIVE DATA TOOL • PACIFICA’S DEATH RATTLE CONTINUES

American Public Media’s Research Lab has made available a new interactive tool – Roots Beyond Race - a data visualization that portrays Americans' identity through the lens of racial and ethnic backgrounds in every state.

According to a press release from APM, the interactive tool is intended for use by newsrooms and reporters for insights and context for news reports and storytelling. Roots Beyond Race is also helpful to station management for ascertainment and to programmers to better the background of their listeners.

Sample slide from Roots Beyond Race

Roots Beyond Race is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey.

APM says Roots Beyond Race will be exclusively available to APM affiliated stations until November 12, 2019. After that date it is available to all noncom stations.

You can see the demo for Roots Beyond Race here.

PACIFICA’S DEATH RATTLE UPDATE

Public Media’s most dysfunctional and embarrassing organization – the Pacifica Foundation – is in self-inflicted chaos following a recent takeover attempt of WBAI. According to multiple news reports, last Sunday (10/13) the Pacifica National Board (PNB) voted to restore WBAI’s local programming.

John Vernile

The standoff began Monday (10/7) when a handful of PNB members, led by interim Executive Director John Vernile, pulled the plug on WBAI’s local programming, fired almost the entire staff and even took the station’s EAS monitor. Vernile locked out WBAI’s management and staff and told them they were fired as of that moment.

On Tuesday (10/8), a group volunteers and members of WBAI’s local board filed a lawsuit in New York state court to reverse the takeover by Vernile. New York State Supreme Court Judge Frank Nervo issued a temporary restraining order that blocked Vernile’s actions.

The legality of the takeover will possibly be decided this coming Friday (10/11) at a hearing by the New York State Supreme Court.

Vernile said the reason he, and members of the PNB, took the action was because WBAI’s huge debts are exposing the Foundation to insolvency. Last week we opined [link] that Vernile had acted properly. We urged others at Pacifica the back Vernile’s efforts.

After publishing the story, we received an email from a person (who we will not name) who is a longtime Pacifica insider:

“Sorry, I have to disagree with you about Vernile. He is completely aligned with the Berkeley faction. He is not an honest broker. He will carry out Berkeley’s plan to break up the network in whatever way suits Berkeley.”

“And he’s doing it all in the dark with a few, giving everyone else the middle finger. Whoever you spoke with for your article is on the Berkeley side of this and sold you on the national programming “solution.”

“These Berkeley people have never been honest brokers with an interest in Pacifica being successful and it is one of the main reasons WBAI was targeted for destruction.”

The email shows why Pacifica is in this mess. Pacifica’s system of governance is like science fiction combined with Soviet-style planning. There is no consideration of the common good. Pacifica is all about short term, ego-driven, power plays. Mission doesn’t matter. Good broadcasting doesn’t matters. Serving an audience doesn’t matter. Like bratty children on a playground, the only thing that matters is self service bullying.