Urban Unrest

14 March 2008 | Pacifica | Ernesto Aguilar

Nicole Sawaya has taken on an almost mythical stature in Pacifica.

Hailed for her vision before she started as the Pacifica Foundation’s new executive director, Sawaya was almost as quickly the subject of many an anonymous post after seemingly vanishing from the scene nearly as quickly as she began.

To many listeners, the executive director issue is of not much interest, and this may be a post you skip. For others curious about Pacifica internals, you will be fascinated, I am sure.

Matthew Lasar and others have written extensively about Pacifica facing significant challenges, including legal, financial and governance issues. In an interview posted on this site, outgoing ED Greg Guma spoke openly of the strife he has encountered in the organization. In contrast to the warring during Guma’s tenure, Sawaya was hired with unanimous board support and good feelings all around. I will spare you the rest of the vague but dramatic backstory. Current and others have already poured ink over the Sawaya adventure in the last few months.

Except for her selection meeting at a Pacifica National Board hoedown in Berkeley, most staff, including me, had not met Nicole. But I am excited to say I just spent a chunk of the week with her and other Pacifica staff. At Nicole’s encouragement, I wanted to blog about my impressions.

But really, what on earth is a new executive director landing first in Houston for?

Most of Pacifica key management and national staff met in Houston this week to address programming, financial and administrative topics before the network. The meeting was originally scheduled by interim ED Dan Siegel, who was to facilitate it. When the announcement about Nicole Sawaya’s return was made, she became the convener. She gave us ideas, dialogged with management from around the network and helped direct our conversations.

My interpretation is simply one of a PD who got to spend a few days around our new ED, to converse with her, observe her style of leadership, and tune in to her way of thinking; I would not consider my interpretation gospel, but I think my assertions are fair.

Before I get into a whole download on Sawaya, this week’s meeting was my first opportunity to meet new WBAI GM Tony Riddle. Tony literally just started days ago. First impression? Thoughtful and committed. Tony seems to genuinely want to do his best to make WBAI all it can be.

WBAI is at once our most crushing defeat on many fronts, as well as our greatest chance to succeed as a radio network. Tony Riddle has his work cut out for him, but he seems like the guy capable of taking on the job.

I know you’re not here to read about what a solid choice Tony Riddle may be in my view, but what the mythical Nicole Sawaya was like, and whether she delivered. Short answer: I think she has already, and the best may be yet to come.

I am the only station management type who blogs regularly (Nathan Moore, Pacifica’s programming honcho, followed my lead and now blogs regularly too, blessedly). I ‘get’ the importance of new media, and am upfront in my views about its necessity. Pacifica will be roadkill if it is not able to figure out the new medium and get moving on that front. Period.

I am gratified to report that Nicole Sawaya gets new media.

Read that again.

Nicole Sawaya, leader of a radio network my friend and colleague, KPFA PD Sasha Lilley, chides has a tendency for ossification, gets new media.

Five words: can I get a witness?

The blogosphere is a driving factor in political discourse in the United States, and Nicole sees the need for Pacifica to be actively engaged in those conversations. She knows the sites and the personalities. And she knows Pacifica is behind and must make up ground now, and she isn’t shy about nudging people in the right direction.

For Pacifica, Sawaya’s embrace of new media cannot come fast enough.

It is no secret that ‘new’ media is tremendously important in recasting the old. While there may be plenty of grousing among National Public Radio and pubradio circles about podcasting and web presence, online services are now not only desired, but expected, by our audience. NPR and Minnesota Public Radio, as news entities, got the jump on Pacifica long ago. Cultural tastemakers, online and off, have been spanking Pacifica something fierce for quite awhile in pioneering modern sounds that once only Pacifica had the courage to broadcast. Not anymore, especially with the explosion of blogs and rebellions against media consolidation.

No shock then that Pacifica is playing catch-up, and Sawaya is very openly invested in getting us to a level we should be at.

Fewer and fewer people, she is quick to note, use radio as their touchstone anymore; both younger and over 50 folks are going to the web, and using phones and MP3 devices to take in audio content. In virtually all our conversations the last few days, Nicole was quick to remind us that being into new media will be key to staying relevant.

Sawaya referred at many points to this period of her job being an assessment stage, understanding the issues and moving forward. Some matters she identified as crucial in the coming months were helping the foundation get on solid financial footing, and getting struggling stations in better shape. “Back to basics” is how Sawaya referred to these needs. She also identified how Pacifica will program over the election season, and getting leadership in place at stations in which there is a vacuum, as priorities. Tall orders, for real.

Can she do it is not the question to ask. At this stage, Pacifica has little choice but to get its house in order and Nicole Sawaya is being handed the monster task of turning things around. How the future will look in leaner times is truly a provocative query.

I liked that, while she is a great listener, Nicole has a low tolerance for crap. She is opinionated, honest and direct, but not mean. She is sympathetic to what staff deal with, but explained we will face challenges in the coming year. Of surprise to no one, Sawaya noted violations of confidentiality are likely hurting our chances to attract the best people; as targets of much online gossip and innuendo, most of it false, virtually all Pacifica management staff knows such truths all too well.

Being an ED with a broad mandate from the board (though many reports indicate such support diminished in her absence), Sawaya can say things that would have likely gotten Greg Guma vaporized immediately. Good for her, and Pacifica. She has a great deal of credibility with many constituencies and the national board — leverage Guma saw shrink during the tempestuous battles of his term — and it is good that she is more than willing to be tough and truthful when it would be politic to give in to whatever idea the board might have.

Expenses are a big concern right now, and these conversations are not going to end up pretty, I expect. Some stations have paid staff rolls of 40 or more. Others say the national office may need paring. Pacifica spends a significant amount of money per member each year in national governance expenses. And, with the network in such difficult financial times, Sawaya seems convinced the national board of directors must take a more active role in off-air fundraising, if the network is to remain solvent. See five words above.

I was impressed by Nicole’s positive but realistic energy. Though I did not get into a discussion about her reported November departure, I got a real sense of where she wants to go. This is a stimulating, though precarious, time for Pacifica. Keep an eye out for more.

I hope to video an interview with Nicole in coming weeks for posting here, so please feel free to forward your questions now. And, to those who want to copy/paste this page for forwarding elsewhere, please make sure to provide a link back here. Thanks.

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