Chair Cagan starts meeting at 9:35. Will try to get in more public comment time but there is a lot of buisiness to get through.

Directors present:
George Barnstone, Carol Spooner, Dave Fertig, Ray Laforest, Jabari Zakiya , Leslie Cagan, Rob Robinson, Pete Bramson, Janice K. Bryant, Teresa Allen, Marion Barry, Bert Lee, James Ferguson
Not present:
Dick Gregory, Wendell Johns (resigned yesterday via fax)

Chair thanks the board for thier commitment and participation. Thanks parlimentarian, transcriber, sound crew, station managers - who are broadcasting at least part of the meeting, the national Pacifica staff and the listeners.

Repeated calls for quiet.

Review the agenda:
- Review minutes from 12-29-01
- exe. director search committee report
- update on national staff
- LA proposal
- national pd brian gibbons report
- reports from afiliates
- proposal for larry bensky
- iPNB buisiness, set next meeting

Barnestone wants the board to endorse a United Nations thing.
Bramson wants to address the maintence of the Pacifica archives (located in California)

Chair recomends moving action on the bylaws committee to next meeting.

Regarding the gag rule... [gag rule is basically lifted as of this past week] Fertig proposes revising the gag rule language in the Pacifica manual be put off till next meeting.

Spooner assures people that work on the bylaws is and will be happening.

Allen wants to put the the PNN stringers' strike agenda, at least briefly.

Chair wants to table this and the and the planned Democracy Now! issue. DN has agreed to go back on air on 1/4 of the $54,000 agreed back pay (for all 5 staff) - thanks from the chair.

Barry asks if there are sufficient funds for DN salary. Tresurer Zakiya says yes.

Ferguson inquires as to getting knowledge on negotiations.

Minutes from 12-29-01
Barry comments on the the length of the call [which was largely due on account of Bert Lee's filabustering]

Minutes accepted unanimously.

Reports on committee to select Executive Director
Committee chair Barry reports. 13 applications. Met yesterday. Voted to extend search using website and other means. Will select 5 canidates with a recomendation by march. Barnstone added to the committee.

Bramson moves that Dan Coughlin [brilliant former Pacifica news director and organizer of the Pacifica campaign ] be appointed as interim National director. Barry protests. Chair suggests moving it into next agenda item.

Report on national staff.
Chair states that she is without knowledge of status and specifics regarding the national staff

Treasurer reports on status of some of the positions. No national program director, developement director.

Chair supports select interim/acting exe. dir. Bramson restates motion.

Barry thinks that it's bad to appoint someone that they don't know.
[ crowd laughs ]

Laforest, Bryant, Spooner speak supportively appointment of Coughlin.

Lee feels that there are questions regarding Coughlin.

Barry wants to know what the conditions of Couglin's departure.

Zakiya concerned about process. He had Verna Avery Brown submit resume earlier in the week. But there IS a need to fill position.

Fertig agrees with Lee the hastiness, but Couglin would be good in the position.

Robinson recalls when Chadwick's reassigning Couglin to unspecified duties and Verna Avery Brown's protest and support for him. There was nothing to suggest that his performance was improper. Feels that Couglin would be excellent for a fixed interim period even if this process isn't entirely good.

Spooner feels that we need someone immediately. Calls the question. Chair request that speakers can finish.

Ferguson has "labor concerns." [is acusing Coughlin of being anti-labour]

Lee wants AFTRA shop stewart to speak. Concerned about harmony [ha!]presumedly with AFTRA covered current PNN reporters.

There is a request for a history of Coughlin

Bryant tells Dan's story. Coughlin knows Pacifica very well and was management in the form of National News director.

Chair states that current PNN does have a contract (under AFTRA) that must be honored.

Barry makes motion that recently resigned Joanne Meridith be asked back and loudly and stubornly and out of order insist that it be addressed first [commotion. Parlimentarian consulted because there is already motion on the floor]

Chair allows Barry's motion to be acted on first after discussion is complete because it impacts on Bramson's motion.

Barry wants the AFTRA shop stewart to speak to the subject. Spooner objects. Chair requests that the AFTRA rep speak.

AFTRA rep. Ken Green speaks. AFTRA doesn't like to get involved in management issues. Only one period of time of conflict between staff and management at Pacifica which was Coughlin was national news director. Disrespectful to management and union contact. [ gee, I wonder why ]

Chair states that Meridith had stated that she would not come back at any position, that it was time to move on. Ferguson say that it's possible that she would stay on if the Board asked her. Vote on motion to ask Meridith to reconsider is taken. The motion fails 9 - 3, Zakiya abstains.

Barry delays the vote on Bramson's motion to appoint Coughlin with his typical out of order demands for clarifictions that only he seems to need.

Motion to assign Dan Coughlin as interim Pacifica executive director passes. [ huge cheers from now capacity crowd ]

Robinson moves that the board formally ask Meridith to stay on staff as developement director to help with finances and transition as employee or consultant. Motion passes with one opposed.

Barry moves that the interim Pacifica executive director may not fire any station director without approval of the iPNB in order to help insure some stablilty.

Discussion regarding avoiding arbitrary actions. Chair points out there are procedures in place that are to be followed.

Motion fails 9-3.

Bramson makes follow-up motion that exe. dir immediately proceed to review the evalutions of the station managers etc. Chair requests that motion be withdrawn as there are aleady procedures in place.

Spooner objects to pre-judging the interim exe. dir. performance.

Agenda moves on.

LA issues ( by request of Fertig )

Fertig wants to list motions made by the LA LAB to be presented to the iPNB.

Ferguson and Lee objects to putting these motions before the rest of the buisiness.

Chair request that we simply hear the list without explanation and not as motions.

After more out of order crap and pointless arguing Fertig reads the items not as motions:
- that finaces be straitened out in order to facilitate the KPFK transmitter work
- the Pacifica supply the LAB with infomation needed in order to function and make decisions properly (ratings, etc)
- there must be a thorough reveiw of Pacifica finances and return control to the stations
- return of the printed folio
- airtime for reports to listeners and discussion of Pacifica issues

They are tabled as motions though the transmitter situation is being dealt with by the tresurer.

Report from Brian Gibbons (interim national Program director)
- Ku(satellite): Pacifca helps upload non-Pacifica programs
- _____ employees
-40 affiliates(plus 12 stations withdrawn)
-list various programming feed technologies
-150 days overdue to various payroll and operating expenses.
-any stringer pay delayed 180 days.
-infrastructure: digital editing, and other stuff is set up in Washington. Exploring new techonolgy possibilities (with Dan Jones - Houston)
-audience annalysis reports(from 2000) will be available upon payment due. Considers audience loyalty information useful for fundraising

Spooner, Laforest asks about affiliates status - griviences. 11 of 12 affiliates dropped because of Democracy Now and Gibbons feels that affiliates will probally now return to the new Pacifca.

Barry thanks an earlier heckler for their reconciliation out in the hall.

meeting takes a break.

--

11:47am - meeting reconvienes

Barry wants the board to condemn acts physical or verbal intimidation or attacks within the Pacifica community and that there be proper investigation of such inncidents. (KPFK manager Schubb claims he was physically threatened in a letter) This motion was already passed earlier in the weekend

Ferguson wants to enter the contents of the letter into the record of this meeting. It will instead be submitted to the interim Executive director.

--

Chair relays supportive sentiments of Mumia Abul Jamal and that his voice will hopefully be back on Pacifica air soon.

Marion Barry has to leave the meeting to catch his flight. Audience gives warm send off.

Boardmembers Lee and Ferguson also leave soon after "not under protest" or anything like that, but also to catch their flights.

Comments from affiliates

Marty Durlin KGNU, Boulder.
Speaks about the 20 stations in exile and the the direct payment to DN in exile and FSRN and the fundraising by those shows on their air. Even prior to '99 the affiliates have been nelgected and left out of communication. Suggest that there by affiliate representation on the PNB.

Steve Pierce WRPI, Troy.
Please talk to the affiliates when making satelite decisions. Affiliates fill in the gap between the bigger cities and should work with Pacifica. They used to depend on Pacifica for resources they are unable to provide. They are part of a global activist media movement. Pacifca has been unresponsive to the afiliates. [this was the old board's tenure]

Rhyme, wbix.org
Talks about their national outreach during wbix on the road. Reports on affiliates' problems and complaints and the technological help wbix was able to help. More tech help is needed at affiliates. Physically visiting affiliates very productive. Suggest making feeds less propietary so that more underequiped stations could pick it up.

Errol, wbix.org plugs MLK day broadcast ideas.

Chair moves to set up a national meeting between the iPNB and the affiliates and that the affiliates' relationship be written into the bylaws. Thanks the speakers for thier extremely informative contributions to the meeting.

Zakiya would like the affiliates to formally be brought into the Pacifica.

Allen wants to get PNN situation onto the agenda atleast briefly.
[ me too!] Laforest is supportive of the affiliates comments and big thanks to wbix.org 's monumental work. [ me too!]

--

Chair anounces that KPFA station manager Jim Bennett reinstates Larry Bensky immediately reinstated at KPfA. Jim Bennett says they Berkeley supports Bensky and would like to see him do national programming. [ big cheers from audience ]

Bramson makes motion that Pacifica move national office back to Berkeley.

Spooner informs that FSRN has committed to pay for the move. The removal was a "rape" (done secretely in middle of the night) Makes a friendly ammendment "as soon as possible" which is accepted.

Zakiya protests the tone of Spooner and Bramson that this is "our" headquarters. The office doesn't belong to Berkeley, but to Pacifica. It's too soon to do the move. We need wait to be clear on the vision and direction of the foundation. Would be good to atleast keep part of the office in DC.

Motion tabled to later in the meeting for the benifit Robison who will return.

Bramson reports on archives
Archives need personal, attention to maintanence, restoration, expansion.

Motion to commit to maintaining the archives. Detailed report etc at future date.

Allen speaks to Schubb's throwing out a whole dumpster of tapes.

Motion passed unnanimously.

Set date and location of next iPNB meeting Chair proposes Los Angeles- March 8-10th will confirm after confirming availability all the board members.

--

Chair proposes that when minutes are distributed as quickly as possible, not more than one month.

Secretary Spooner notes that the Pacifica minutes archive falls off for the hijacker years. Pledges to provide comprehensive minutes.

Chair suggest adopting minutes by email/fax to speed up publishing of minutes.

Terminating high priced hijacker litigation lawyers
The 12-29-01 meeting motion to terminate Pacifica's litigation lawyers now passes unnamimously.

Barnstone moves that Pacifica endorse the United Nations decade of Peace. This could help lead to increased revenues.

Chair supports the spirit but has questions the procedure of Pacifica's endorsement and feels it's premature and asks to postpone this endorsement.

Barnstone doesn't understand board's resistence.
Motion fails 3 3 3

Return to motion moving National office back to Berkeley as soon as feasible

Laforest objects. There needs to be long consideration.

Spooner calls the question.
The motions fails
4 6
[ This is the disapointing part of the weekend because it gave the only sense of divsion on the side of the progressives. I guess we've been a little spoiled up til now.]

Laforest moves that the issue be made a priority. at next meeting or oportunity. Not seconded.

The board basically supports the move but feels that it wouldn't be practical for some time and also wants a lot more consideration taken.

Bryant wants to submit a wbix resolution
Barnstone brings up his now failed UN resolution again.

The chair firmly pushes the meeting to move forward as these items were not on the day's agenda agreed upon at the beginning of the meetin and to give the listener comment period as much time as possible.

Public comment

Andrea Fishman, NYC
Statement from Deomcratization commintee of CF various national endorsers.
[will be posted on wbai.net soon]
- Pacifica be democratically strategy at all levels
- no bylaws shall be approved that allows apointment bylaws shall establish as much station autonomy
- air time for
- guarunteed acces to airways for listener produced programming, training provided
- replace CPB funding
- rejection of all corp or gov funding and set up procedure for accepting
- live discussion meetings addressing Pacifica governence broadcast and webcast.

Josh_____-Pacifcia reporters on strike against Pacifica Reads statement. Endorsed by many unions. Joined by 100 other reporters. While 12 stations currently carry the presently lame Pacifica National News, 50 stations carry the stiking stringers' Free Speech Radio News. PNN currently inadequate with it's topdown DC based reporters while 147 FSRN reporters are ALL OVER THE WORLD!! FSRN decisions are voted on by the members(reporters)

____WPFW listener. Concerned that the station currently is not concerned with fulfilling the Pacifica mission.

Lynn Gerry [maintains the excellent "savepacifica" email list]
Has been in the struggles for 7 years. We left this rescue til almost too late. We must address the problems within Pacifica that permitted the disaster to happen. Pleads with the board to form a truth and reconciliation process in order to strengthen, unify and protect Pacifica from the forces that attack. [moved to tears}

Fararah Davar, KPFKlistener presents resolution fresh from LA that station manager Schubb be suspended

Steve Brown, NYC suggest Board Members' travel and other expenses come from thier respective stations.

Robbie Osman, Berkeley is very upset about the vote against the move of the national office to back to Berkeley because of missed oportunity (the vote will more difficult with the hijacker contignent presen at the next meeting etc.)

Deena Kolberg, NYC Wants the board to speak to thier philosophy on issue of centralization or decentralization etc. Wants team management and other alternatives considered.

Michael Pimnatal [Slasher] KPFT interim LAB Wants the assaults and arrests situation at KPFT addressed as the former station manager Ganter has threatened to sue.

Abdul from the security staff states that he is a civil rights activist and that it's appalling that free speech peace radio has been under attack, especially in these times of world crisis.

Chair offers heartfelt thanks to all involved in the meeting. Standing ovations for Leslie

Dan Coughlin makes optimistic statement about the tremendous transformation ahead.

Bob Lederer invites all to national Pacifica activist meeting later this afternoon at 4pm.

Miguel Maldanado, WBAI LAB chair is dissapointed that that a wbix.org resolution didn't make the agenda.