'A Complete Shock:' Long-Running Freeform Radio Station WBAI Abruptly Shut Down [View all]

[brooklynite]

Source: Gothamist

WBAI, a pioneering left-leaning radio station based in Brooklyn, has ceased operations, more than six decades after first hitting the airwaves. The news was announced on Monday by the Pacifica Foundation, a Berkley-based nonprofit that has owned the station since 1960.

"Due to ongoing and continue projections of further financial losses at WBAI, local station operations are being discontinued as of October 7, 2019," the company said in a statement. "We realize this news will come as a deep and painful shock, but we can no longer jeopardize the survival of the entire network."

The statement left open the possibility of WBAI returning to air "once we are able to create a sustainable financial structure for the station." Pacifica's network includes four other listener-supported stations across the country.

The station's small staff and larger pool of volunteers were notified of the abrupt closure on Monday morning. "It's a complete shock," said Jeff Simmons, who hosts the WBAI shows Driving Forces and City Watch. "I was at the studio last night live on my show and no one seemed to have an inkling. It was a complete surprise."

Read more: https://gothamist.com/news/complete-shock-long-running-freeform-radio-station-wbai-abruptly-shut-down