Peter B. - Not dead yet

Brad Friedman of BradBlog sent along an email updating the status of the Peter B. Collins Show, which is due to end this Friday. It appears there's a movement under way to save it.

From BradBlog:

Following last Friday's announcement on his show, some of the audio of which we posted with last week's article, a number of listeners have been working to help determine if sustainable funding could be raised to keep PBC on the air. I've been in close touch with Peter, both before his announcement last week, and since then. I have, of course, offered any help I might be able to provide, but what can feasibly done has been difficult to determine.

He noted during last week's show that his monthly costs are just over $5000 to stay on the air, and that while a miracle could happen to help keep him on the air, stations had been notified, and the outlook wasn't good.

(snip)

In addition, he summarized the shrinking access that Progressives have been given to our airwaves, as corporate ownership continues to shut down station after station across the nation over the last several years. "The total number of stations offering progressive talk in the US peaked at about 105 in 2006, and is now around 70," he wrote. "Miami, DC, and even Ann Arbor have lost their progressive stations in the last month."

In response to those who had felt that raising $5,000 a month could be done with a few hundred $10 or $20 per month pledges, he wrote: "We have tried that to some extent, but I don’t want to turn the show into a pledge-a-thon, ’cause I listen to the radio, too, and don’t like them....Overall, I don’t think we can shift to a voluntary subscription plan to produce a reliable funding stream."

In closing, Brad issued a call-to-arms:

If you'd like to try to help keep Peter on the air --- and I believe he is one of the nation's most important progressive voices who should not only be on the air, but be on the air in every market in this country --- then let him know if you're able to pledge any amount on a monthly basis at Peter@PeterBCollins.com.

Speaking of Brad Friedman, who has been a frequent guest and fill-in host on Collins' show, among others, he now has a twice-weekly six minute radio feature called The Green News Report, which covers environmental issues. The show runs on San Francisco's Green 960 on Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon and 5P PT. MP3's can also be downloaded from BradBlog.