1. Sharonne Salaam Questionnaire

Answers to Candidate Questionnaire

1.    In what ways is your station moving in a positive direction, that you would want to continue or perhaps improve?

Continuing to have a listener voice through open phones on some programs has been very positive, because it makes the listeners feel connected to the station; we must improve the station’s financial situation to keep those lines open. We need to take listener involvement further by making it possible for the listeners to have more of an impact on what is being put before them in the programming; for example, we could use a questionnaire to learn what kinds of programs they think WBAI should be airing. More training programs for young people to teach them radio and help get them involved in the station is very much needed, to assure the station’s survival for generations to come. In addition, we should meet the needs of communities of color for information about issues that directly affect them.

2.    In what ways is your station moving in a negative direction, that you would want to stop or change? What changes would you work for?

I am most eager to expand outreach to local communities and increase the level of training that is offered to younger people who might be interested in broadcasting, to get them ready to move the station forward. I would be very interested in working with board colleagues who have connections in communities other than the ones in which I already work, as I have a willingness both to collaborate and share information that I have acquired in my work as a community organizer that might be helpful to others, and to learn from their experiences. We need much more locally produced programming that speaks directly to the issues impacting on our constituent communities.

3.    What key experience, connections, skills or traits would you bring to the Local Station Board to advance the station’s mission?

I’ve worked on many issues related to the surrounding communities in the WBAI listening area and am familiar with the needs of these communities. I am a founder of People United for Children (PUC), and have been its Executive Director. I received my B.A. from Empire State College and an A.A.S. from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and worked in the fashion industry for fifteen years before the wrongful arrest of my son Yusef led to a new career in activism, which I have been pursuing for over 20 years. I have been the recipient of numerous awards for my work and my commitment to community service. I have served on Community Board 10 in Central Harlem and have been a Revson Fellow at Columbia University, where I focused on marketing, management, and media in order to further develop PUC’s outreach programs and expand its capacity to serve the community and New York City. One thing that keeps me grounded is being the proud mother of Aisha, Yusef, and Shaf.

4.    What ideas do you have for helping the station and the Pacifica Foundation meet the financial challenges currently being faced?

Taking WBAI on the road, out into the many communities in the tri-state area and to events and festivals, would bring in more listeners, and I can help with that; in fact, I have experience in organizing fundraising events, and am very happy to work on any events that get WBAI out into the community. I also have experience in grant writing, and am happy to collaborate in any such efforts, in collaboration with station management and board members who are actually willing to pull together to keep WBAI alive. It’s my belief that the better WBAI serves disenfranchised communities, the wider our scope will be and the more listeners and support we will attract.