Pacifica Radio: The Rise of an Alternative Network

Pacifica Radio: The Rise of an Alternative Network, Matthew Lasar, Temple University Press, 2000

In America during World War II, to be a pacifist or otherwise opposed to the war was very unpopular. The belief that this was a good war made the pacifist opposition practiced by people like Lewis Hill seem practically treasonous. Having spent the war years in prison or in conscientious objector camps, in 1949, Hill and a group of like-minded people started America's first listener-supported radio station, KPFA-FM, in Berkeley, California.

The unspoken purpose was to resurrect the Jeffersonian ideal of free marketplace of ideas, to be a place to engage the citizen in the highest of civic ideals. If there was a worst possible time to talk like that, it was during this time, when World War II turned into the Cold War. Much more popular ideas were foregone conclusions and mistrusting your neighbor.

There was a never-ending lack of money at the station. In the beginning, subscriptions were sold, along with specially-designed tuners to receive KPFA's signal on the then-empty FM band. For a time, the station was actually off the air for several months because of money problems. When writing grant requests to various groups, Hill would tailor the Pacifica Foundation's (the governing body) purpose to whatever the group wanted.

Over the years, there were the inevitable personality conflicts and power struggles at the station. Hill threatened to quit, or did quit, a number of times, until the time in the 1950s when he really did quit, by killing himself (his rapidly declining health was a contributing factor). Pacifica's purpose slowly changed as time went along, from being a haven for pacifism and high civic ideals to that of political dissent. In the early 1960s, Pacifica found itself fighting for its life, accused by the Justice Department of being a haven for communists. Pacifica had certainly hosted communists in the past, but that didn't equal "haven."

I really enjoyed this book. As with any history, there will be a difference of opinion on what should have been less emphasized and more emphasized. As far as the author goes, he does a fine job. In a time when radio is homogenized and corporate controlled, it's good to know that there is one spot on the dial where the listener actually has to use their brain-Pacifica. This history of its founding is highly recommended.