Financial Woes Prompt Pacifica NYC Station to Jettison 2/3 of Staff

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Chronic financial problems plaguing Pacifica Foundation-owned forced WBAI-FM to pink-slip 66 percent of its staff effective today, the New York Times reported.

Nineteen of the noncommercial station's 26 staffers were axed, as Pacifica redirected funds to pay transmitter rent and retain the station's license. The move eliminated the 50-year-old station's news department.

WBAI-FM, long a liberal voice on the airwaves, was particularly hard-hit financially by Hurricane Sandy, which prompted the station to vacate its Wall St. studio. The Times reported the station has been awash in red ink for nearly a decade.

Other Pacifica Foundation stations are teetering as well, according to the Times article, including Washington, D.C.-based WPFW-FM, which insiders forecast may not last through September.