Voice of Palestine Exits Coop Radio after 25 Years
Plans for Internet-only Show
August 15, 2012
Dear Friends:
On September 4, 2012, Voice of Palestine VOP radio show in Vancouver, Canada will mark a quarter century of broadcasting at Vancouver Coop Radio, 102.7 FM. We are extremely proud of the show’s history and our long contribution in bringing the Palestinian narrative to a broader audience. However, after difficult deliberations, the VOP collective has decided that this is the correct historical moment for the show to wrap up its 25 years at the station. Our decision was not taken lightly and is based mainly on two factors.
1) 25 years is well … 25 years and over 1290 shows since September 1987. We feel it is time for a change both in our focus and format. Technologies have evolved, the support movement for Palestine has developed and we want to adapt accordingly. Already, through our website http://www.voiceofpalestine.ca/, our internet listenership has steadily increased and has surpassed our “real-time” listenership on Tuesday nights. Therefore, after a brief hiatus to regroup, we hope to be relaunching VOP in October, 2012 as a strictly web-based show with mainly in-depth feature interviews, and a focus on advancing the Palestinian liberation movement. There have been so many times over the last few years that we have felt our 20 minute interviews have only scratched the surface of what can and should be covered with our guests and hopefully our new format will resolve that. Although we regret that we will no longer be able to reach those listeners who are not yet internet-capable, we feel it is the right time to take on this new challenge and offer a different kind of programming.
2) Over the last year and a half, our collective has had serious political differences with the station, mainly over the new frequency swap/sell-out with The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group and the station’s refusal to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions BDS movement against the state of Israel. All of this has been well-documented on our website’s homepage and we encourage anyone not yet familiar with these issues to check out our two position papers written after the last AGM. We tried our best to reach out and convince station members that not only was the frequency swap/sell-out bad for the station but also that the non-disclosure agreement/secrecy with which it was conducted (which meant no membership vote on the issue took place) was undemocratic and against all of our cooperative principles. However, our efforts were not successful and in fact, the new frequency goes into effect on September 10, 2012. Likewise, our attempts so far to have station members realize that they are on the wrong side of history by not endorsing the BDS movement were also to no avail. Accordingly, it is with a heavy heart that we felt this was not the Coop Radio we knew and supported over the years; this was no longer the type of cooperative that we could be part of and felt our political energies and passions were better utilized in other ways.
Accordingly we are asking our dedicated listeners to help us financially as we adjust to our web-based format, as we will need updated equipment for this new phase to be successful. If you value the programming VOP has offered for the last 25 years, please consider making a donation directly to the show (unfortunately not tax-deductible). Cheques should be made out to our partner organization Canada Palestine Association, with VOP clearly indicated in the memo note and mailed to 930-12th St., New Westminster, BC V3M 4K6.
So tune in on September 4, 2012, where we will be doing not only our 25th anniversary show but also our last show at Coop Radio. And stay tuned to our website for the details of when we will be launching our new internet-only Voice of Palestine. The future belongs to the people of Palestine and all the oppressed people of the world!!
The struggle continues!!
Voice of Palestine Collective