Management of the network is a mess. Pacifica has burned through 17 Executive Directors in the last 18 years.
- The current bylaws create a 142-member board structure and wrongly encourages board members to micromanage each station and the network. This creates crisscrossing lines of authority among the local and national boards, the Executive Director and the five Station Managers.
- As a result of the frequent turnover among Executive Directors, there has not been a steady hand at the helm for almost two decades.
- In addition, when experienced Executive Directors (EDs) have left or been pushed out, the national board has appointed mostly unpaid present or past board members as interim EDs, with interim appointments often lasting more than a year. These interim EDs have generally not had experience managing radio stations or networks (or anything related).
- The national board recently called off the search for an experienced Executive Director due to lack of money to pay an ED, in effect damning Pacifica to continue its downward management and financial spiral.