Nonprofit Radio Network Pacifica Fires Executive Director

In the latest sign of turmoil at the Pacifica Foundation, the donor-supported, politically progressive community radio network has fired its executive director, reports The New York Times.

The move came four months after Pacifica, which runs stations in New York, Washington, Houston, Los Angeles, and Berkeley, Calif., formally installed Summer Reese in the post. She had served as interim executive director for more than a year. In a brief statement Friday, Pacifica’s board thanked Ms. Reese for service but gave no explanation for her firing.

New York affiliate WBAI is millions of dollars in debt and laid off 19 employees, more than two-thirds of its staff, in August. Since then the station has been through two program directors and struggled with fundraising. The national network has been marked by frequent management shifts that critics pin to its elaborate governance structure, which involves multiple boards and frequent elections, fueling factionalism and conflict.