NYC Radio: WBAI-FM Due Back In Court October 18

WBAI 99.5 FM staffers appeared in Appellate Court on Thursday, hoping for a return to their normal programming after the Pacifica Foundation, which owns a slate of other independently operated radio stations, abruptly shut down local programming on Monday.

The verdict worked out half in their favor: A judge barred Pacifica from terminating any WBAI employees, but allowed them to continue airing syndicated content on the station instead of resuming WBAI’s own programming. That decision stands until Oct. 18, when both parties must return to court.

The nonprofit shuttered the radio station’s Atlantic Avenue workspace on Monday night, citing millions of dollars of debt. By Tuesday morning, the staff, which consists largely of unpaid volunteers, was granted a temporary restraining order by the Manhattan Supreme Court, prohibiting Pacifica from impeding on its local programming in any way until the next court date.

But days later, local programming is still being kept off the air.

“Local programming will not resume until at least the next court hearing,” Arthur Schwartz, the station’s attorney, told the Brooklyn Eagle after the hearing.