Bentley College graduate student David Pakman made his debut as a political radio show host in August 2005, but what started as disaster evolved into an unexpected success.
"At the time, it was just me," said Pakman, host of "Midweek Politics." "The first show was kind of a disaster. It was basically me just talking for an hour."
But a year and a half later, the show, broadcast from WXOJ-Valley Free Radio in Northampton, has featured interviews with several political figures and is syndicated on the Pacifica Radio Network, airing on several Pacifica stations throughout the country.
"We started syndicating in April of 2006, and it started with Radio Free Moscow in Moscow, Idaho," Pakman said.
Pacifica Radio Network holds five independently owned and operated, commercial-free, listener-supported stations, one associated station, and 90 affiliated stations nationwide, all known for their leftist, pacifist political views.
"Midweek Politics" has aired on up to 10 stations nationally, according to Pakman, including WPPD in Georgia, KWMD in Alaska, and Progressive Blend Radio in Maryland.
The show itself features live and recorded interviews, listener call-ins, and clips from other radio or TV programs regarding politics and current events. Pakman goes on the air live every other Wednesday at 7 p.m., but the show is aired on other stations of the Pacifica Network every week.
Pakman, although born in Argentina, moved to the United States in 1989, and was raised in Northampton. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst last spring with a degree in economics and communication. Currently, he commutes once a week to classes at Bentley, where he’s studying general management.
Still, he says his motivation for staring a political radio show came from elsewhere.
"My radio experience was limited to a semester or so at UMass, and what they told me was I had to work my way up," he said. "I knew I wanted to do something with radio, not necessarily with sports or just playing music."
His limited practice included several weeks of broadcasting scores of men’s basketball and soccer games.
Nearly one year later, while interning at the Media Education Foundation in Northampton, Pakman distributed a flier with a proposal to start "Midweek Politics" on Valley Free Radio.
"I was already more into politics and running a couple of political Web sites, so I thought that was the more natural way to go," Pakman said.
The show’s success, according to Pakman, is due to three big changes.
The first was to bring in radio or TV clips with him to support his thoughts and ideas, and to show both sides of a political issue.
"The next step was bringing in interviews," he said. "Originally, there were no interviews at all."
That all changed this past November, however, when during the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, Pakman interviewed candidates Deval Patrick, Chris Gabrieli and Christy Mihos.
Pakman said one of the most interesting interviews he did was with Walid Shobat, a former Palestinian terrorist who is now a peace activist, and like Pakman, is pro-Israel.
But the third, and possibly the biggest, change for the show came last spring, when Pakman brought in longtime friend Louis Motamedi as his producer, which he said was critical for the program.
"I knew Louis from beforehand," Pakman said. "He had a production background, and was good in terms of setting up work."
Motamedi, also from Northampton, attended Fullsail Academy in Winter Park, Fla., for television production, and says while he does not think of himself as a producer, he and Pakman found it to be the most fitting title.
"I help Dave with ideas and concepts of the show, and physical aspects of running the show," Motamedi said.
Motamedi said the future of the show looks very bright, and he hopes to gain as much attention as possible, especially through the Internet.
"It’s going really well," he said. "I think in the past month or so is when we’ve started to get the most attention. It seems to be growing almost exponentially right now."
For more information on "Midweek Politics," visit www.midweekpolitics.com.
Matt Perkins can be reached at 81-398-8009 or mperkins@cnc.com.
