Author Archives: webweaver2

Save KPFA’s “Principles” vs Reality

Posted on by webweaver2

Click here to see this article in an easy to read table.

By Mara Rivera

Here’s SaveKPFA’s statement of principles 2015, with rebuttals:

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:  Protect local control. 
 In 2014, Save KPFA led the effort that put KPFA back under the control of locally-hired management for the first time in 5 years — resulting in the recruitment of a talented General Manager, and a permanent Program Director hired by, and accountable to, KPFA’s elected local board.

4906011803_80a410f20fTHE REALITY:  Control the Station.  The Executive Director of Pacifica and sometimes the Pacifica National Board make the final decision on KPFA’s General Manager hires, out of a pool chosen by the Local Station Board (see next answer).  Pacifica is the parent organization of the 5 stations, holds the license and provides oversight.  The paid staff, Save KPFA, and its previous incarnations like Concerned Listeners, have driven out most of KPFA’s General Managers for not agreeing with them 100%.

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS: Ensure high-quality, progressive programming
. In 2010, Save KPFA campaigned to reverse Pacifica’s cancellation of KPFA’s most listened-to local program, The Morning Show;in 2012, we supported the launch of UpFront, restoring local programming to KPFA’s morning lineup.


4906011803_80a410f20fTHE REALITY:  Protect Unsustainable Budgets.  In 2010 Pacifica’s Executive Director had to step in because Concerned Listeners / Save KPFA were bankrupting the station by not cutting paid staff hours as all the 5 stations had been ordered to do 2-3 years before. Shortfalls in fundraising made these cuts necessary and obvious. Because most station expenses are fixed, wages are the only significant place to balance the budget. The Morning Show staff members were low on the seniority list and, according to the union contract, had to be laid off first. Save KPFA created a huge fuss on the airwaves, in e-mails and in complaints to the National Labor Relations Board. They lied to the listeners that the layoffs were politically motivated and deceived hundreds of listeners into hating Pacifica and opposing the layoffs.
When paid staff refused to replace the laid-off Morning Show workers, volunteers stepped up to do the programming, creating the Morning Mix, much of it focused on local matters. Recently, the Save KPFA forces displaced these volunteers with a crony.

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:   Support staff and volunteers.  Save KPFA led the successful fight to reverse Pacifica’s 2011 hiring of the nation’s top union-busting law firm; Save KPFA members have also raised money to update aging equipment in KPFA’s studios, and established a training fund for volunteer staff in KPFA’s budget.

4906011803_80a410f20fTHE REALITY:  Raise False Claims – Undercut Unpaid Staff.  That firm was hired for its expertise dealing with a previous harassment lawsuit, not any labor issue. We run on listener support, not faction-related funding of anyone’s favorites. No individual faction can claim credit for fund drive totals. Save KPFA does not value volunteers and trainees (unless they’re part of their faction), and pushes “professionalism” (paid staff). One of their most celebrated supporters, Larry Bensky, referred to volunteer programmers as “monkeys.”  Years ago, this group destroyed union coverage for the unpaid staff by switching to CWA, a union which would not represent unpaid staff. The former union United Electrical Workers (UE) had covered both paid and unpaid staff for many years.  Save KPFA later attempted to destroy the Unpaid Staff Organization (UPSO), which the volunteer staff organized as a substitute. Most of KPFA’s programs and 70% or more of staff are unpaid volunteers.

wrongway

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:   Transparency and accountability from Pacifica
.  Save KPFA’s representatives on the Pacifica National Board are part of a new majority that has begun issuing regular financial statements for the first time in nearly three years, dramatically shrunk Pacifica’s deficit (from -$2.8 million in 2013 to a small surplus in the 12 months ending in June 2015), and rationalized (and lowered) the dues that stations like KPFA pay to Pacifica’s national office.

4906011803_80a410f20fTHE REALITY:  Incompetence and Lack of Accountability.  The statement above is an egregious lie.  The SaveKPFA-dominated station board has allowed the KPFA General Manager whom they got hired and KPFA’s business manager to get away with producing unrealistic income and expense figures for the required yearly budgets. They have not held the business manager accountable for her tardiness in producing necessary audit material for the national office accounting department to complete the FY2013 and FY2014 audits in a timely manner, as required by non-profit corporate law and CPB. This gross incompetence only adds to the potential bankruptcy of KPFA and the Pacifica Network.


Some wonder if it is actually intentional, part of an attempt to grab the station for themselves (see KPFA Foundation argument below). The “three years” were three of their years in the majority on the KPFA board, with their incompetent financial officers and management

On a national level, Pacifica lost 2 million dollars in Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding because it did not keep up with required record keeping, among other things. This might have contributed to the California State Attorney General doing a documents audit this year (although the AG office is responsible for overseeing non-profits and probably should have done one sooner}. And there is a possibility that our auditors will refuse to renew their contract with Pacifica.


We have discovered that members of the faction have secretly set up a shadow corporation, the “KPFA Foundation”, which they say is to “catch” KPFA in case of bankruptcy – which they are seemingly trying to achieve in any way and as fast as possible!

This is why we urgently need you to vote them out now!

 

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:   Experiment with new shows; expand into new platforms. Under SaveKPFA leadership, KPFA budgeted for, and carried out, a re-design of its website that makes it more accessible on mobile devices–which is where more and more radio listeners are turning to get their favorite shows.  KPFA has also started using its second signal, KPFB, to pilot 20 hours of programming per week from new, energetic producers. 

4906011803_80a410f20fTHE REALITY:  Dominate the Airwaves.  The website was vastly neglected for years, under Save KPFA’s watch.  Although flashy, the new website is cumbersome to navigate and a memory hog.  Save KPFA disempowered the former democratically-representative Program Council, which once chose new programming and evaluated all programming.  Instead, they choose new programs by hiring their cronies. They have spoken out against and even censored local, radical, youth, Black, and investigative programming, while claiming the Local Station Board has no role in in programming (but see the Bylaws, Section 7, Article 3, Item G* – below). The new programming at KPFB was created by one staff member and the many apprentices and former apprentices who produce programming there.

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:   Reform Pacifica’s Byzantine Governance System.  We believe Pacifica’s acrimonious boards have generated many of its problems. Save KPFA participated in cross-factional dialogue talks this year, and now endorses the Pacifica Unity Pledge, which commits us to participating in a network-wide consensus-building process with the goal of making Pacifica’s governance system simpler, effective, smaller, and calmer. 

4906011803_80a410f20fTHE REALITY:   Calm By Suppression.  The “acrimonious board” meetings are a result of Save KPFA’s blocking of any governance and positive change by the Local Station Boards.  SaveKPFA always votes for a hands-off policy regarding management decisions, claiming the board must not “micro-manage” the General Manager.  Their actions show they believe that boards have no right to govern, only the paid staff, as they have often said.  (The “acrimony” is the slim minority of United for Community Radio board members and allies fighting to strengthen the station, network, and democratic governance. Democratic governance may be imperfect but it’s our only hope for real community programming and a range of real progressive opinions on the air.

——-

*under LSB duties: their role in programming   — From the Pacifica Bylaws, Section 7, Article 3 , Item G

To work with station management to ensure that station programming fulfills the purposes of the Foundation and is responsive to the diverse needs of the listeners (demographic) and communities (geographic) served by the station, and that station policies and procedures for making programming decisions and for program evaluation are working in a fair, collaborative and respectful manner to provide quality programming

(Note: The Save KPFA faction has maintained that the Local Station Board’s main or even sole function is fund raising – which may be true of corporate boards of directors, but not that of a democratically-run Pacifica.)

photo credit: This Way via photopin (license)

Historical Analysis: KPFA’s Working Majority Gets Screwed by CWA Job Trust

Posted on by webweaver2

by Isis Feral
isisferal@yahoo.com

I was raised by several generations of labor organizers, and in every labor dispute my side is easily chosen. I don’t cross picket lines, and I always stand with the workers against their bosses. The current conflict inside KPFA is the first time I’ve ever seen my community divided on an issue concerning labor solidarity.

While labor struggles are usually strictly polarized, it is important to keep in mind that KPFA is a nonprofit community radio station, where the traditional class lines are much harder to draw. In theory the community is in charge of the station, or at least it should be.  It’s the community who pays the bills, and who this station claims to serve.

Community radio is supposed to be by and for the community, more like a movement than a business. The majority of KPFA workers are community members, who donate their labor for free. As some tasks require consistent, daily attention, a limited number of workers must be paid for their time, because volunteering the necessary hours would interfere with their ability to make a living. The line between workers and management is blurry, to say the least. To complicate matters, several unionized workers recently held management positions, or effectively behave like managers.
Read More

For some time now a group among the paid workers and their allies on the Local Station Board (LSB) have largely held control over the management of the station. With the capitalist economic crisis crippling our communities, the station’s income has understandably been less. When budget cuts had to be made, they were agreed to by this group, but were never implemented. This happened two years in a row. With each new budget, the cuts were deeper, because the previous cuts were never made. Now the necessary cuts are deeper still, because KPFA funds were massively mismanaged: More money was spent than was coming in, including a million dollars the station had in reserve. The height of incompetence was achieved when a six figure check intended to earn interest sat in their general manager’s desk for a year instead of being deposited, apparently unnoticed even by their treasurer. Recent payroll funds had to be borrowed from another station. The station is broke and we’re at risk of losing it altogether.

On the LSB this managing group was represented by the slate calling itself Concerned Listeners. Right before the last elections this slate renamed itself Save KPFA, in what appeared to be an effort to confuse and solicit the support of voters who remember the original Save KPFA, which had the polar opposite intent of this group: The original organization officially formed in order to defend community control of the radio station in the 1990′s. This new group, on the other hand, has actively attempted to dismantle community oversight, and to defer control to a small percentage of KPFA staff, who call themselves KPFA Worker. The appropriation of another organization’s name, and attempt to benefit from its history, was just one of several unfair campaign practices this group has been involved in over the years. Among other things, they repeatedly used the airwaves to gain support for their slate, without giving the other candidates fair access to do the same.

The new Save KPFA is representing the issue as a labor dispute, and is claiming that the union of the paid workers is getting busted. Let me be clear: There is currently NO union busting going on at KPFA. Because of the deficit, and a refusal to actually implement budgets these people had agreed to, the axe that is falling now is impacting some of their own people, not just the jobs of others that they themselves have threatened to eliminate, or eliminated already. These cuts are being represented as going by a “hit list” against progressive programmers, but actually they are being made by seniority, and follow the guidelines of their own union contract, unlike the cuts they have advocated themselves. It’s terrible to see people losing their jobs, but this is not union busting by any stretch of the imagination.

UEThe real union busting that happened at KPFA was in the 1990′s, when the Pacifica National Board, which was at the time undemocratically appointed, hired professional union busters, the American Consulting Group. They busted the independent, progressive United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), which represented all KPFA workers, both paid and unpaid. Local 9415 of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) swooped in like a vulture, and became an exclusive job trust for the paid staff. Many people now refer to the managing faction of the still unionized workers as the “entrenched staff”, and some call the CWA a “scab union”. From the start the CWA played the divisive role of an elitist private club, rather than that of a union. To this date unpaid workers, who currently make up about 80% of KPFA’s workforce, are barred from membership. Many of them have been donating their labor to KPFA for many years. Without them the station and community radio cannot exist.

Unpaid staff represented by the UE were entitled to such benefits as travel expenses and childcare. The latter is particularly relevant in considering what happened to Nadra Foster in 2008, when she was accused of misappropriating KPFA resources, after printing out a few sheets of math homework to keep her children engaged while she was working. This accusation lead to her getting banned from the station, charged with trespassing, and beaten and injured by the cops, who were called by management without any interference from the entrenched staff. Even in the aftermath their names are conspicuously absent among those of 74 of their fellow workers, who condemned management’s use of police force, and expressed solidarity with Nadra.

The year prior, right before the 2007 LSB elections, the Unpaid Staff Organization (UPSO), which is the closest thing to a union for volunteering workers at KPFA, was decertified (a friendly name for union busting) by station management supported by these Concerned Listeners. This move eliminated the rights of many of the unpaid staff to participate in the elections. In 2005 a leaked email among members of the entrenched staff and their supporters, the suggestion was made that perhaps the LSB should be dismantled altogether. Under their management the Program Council, previously in charge of deciding programming, has also been effectively stripped of its power. Does this sound like community control?

As a child of the labor movement, I am appalled to see people, who are behaving as management at the station, opportunistically exploiting their on-paper union membership to solicit the support of the labor movement and the left, while they are refusing to comply with the very union contract, that was negotiated on the backs of their sacrificed fellow workers. I believe that the fake Save KPFA (on Indybay someone refers to them as “Slave KPFA”) and the KPFA Worker group are misrepresenting this as a labor dispute in an attempt to politically legitimize their turf war. What they are teaching listeners about community building and organizing labor are disastrous lessons to be aired on a supposedly progressive radio station, and represents a grave disservice to the community at large, and the labor movement in particular.

The recent “informational picket” was another example of this group merely posturing as organized labor. Using the word “picket” to describe a protest, which does not have the explicit intent to blockade, teaches people that real picket lines are negotiable, that it’s okay to cross them. Historically picket lines are not merely gatherings where we exercise free speech. They are a very specific form of direct action. Picket lines mean don’t cross! It’s not a matter of semantics. Picket lines are THE militant direct action tradition of the labor movement. Of course, this point is likely lost on KPFA’s current union staff, since their right to strike was bargained away for higher pay by the CWA, as they betrayed their fellow workers of the UE.

The Pacifica management of the 1990′s recognized that the UE represented not just workers, but that the workers in turn represent our communities. Replacing the UE with the CWA created a deep division within KPFA, and paved the way for what we are witnessing today. The current crisis is part of a long history of attempts to undermine community control at the station, and to turn it into just another main stream professional media outlet. But one doesn’t have to be a professional to understand what generations of working class people have taken for granted as basic common decency: Any labor organization that does not represent all workers has no business calling itself a union.

Union corruption has become a stereotype used by conservatives to rally working people against unionizing. What they conveniently leave out is that unions belong to workers, not to paid union bureaucrats who corrupt the union’s integrity, as well as their own, as they negotiate compromises with the boss. When there is such corruption, it’s the responsibility of the rank and file to reclaim the union as the tool for which it was intended. A union’s primary purpose is to unite workers. The CWA must be held accountable, not be rewarded with community solidarity, for its divisive role at KPFA. If the union continues to refuse membership and the right to collective bargaining to the majority of KPFA workers, unpaid workers owe it to themselves and their communities, to organize union representation for themselves elsewhere. I urge the KPFA community at large, including those paid workers who still remember what solidarity really means, to encourage and actively aid such efforts.

——————————————————————————————-

Note: The author is an autonomous activist, who is not affiliated with, nor endorses, any of the LSB election slates, nor any other organization, but writes strictly from her own conscience. The embedded links in this text are not exhaustive evidence to support my views, but merely a small selection of additional information I found personally helpful in illustrating my position. I encourage all to do your own research and fact-checking and reach your own conclusions.

November 17, 2012

 

© 2012 Support KPFA Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha

Richard Hart

Posted on by webweaver2
Richard Hart
Richard Hart

Richard Hart – former natural foods store owner, Berkeley progressive activist, longtime WBAI member

My name is Richard Hart. Voting for the UCR team will do the most for KPFA, please vote for us.  I am originally from New York and have come to live in Berkeley some years ago.  My Family and I have been listening to Pacifica, WBAI NYC for over 50 years.  We are passionate adherents of truth, justice and peace and have been working and donating our time and money to what Pacifica stands for– a most important voice that it is and can be.  I have co-produced with Robert Knight at WBAI on a solar energy and technology show and have worked the KPFA crafts fair here in SF.

While in New York I owned a natural foods store in Greenwich Village.  I have a strong interest in how essential alternatives are for people, enabling them to be healthier and free from unnecessary infirmity.  I’d like to see more practical health informational airings on KPFA for said reasons but only if it serves and appeals to the listenership.

If selected as a board member I pledge to be committed to enhancing cooperation at KPFA, a most important aspect of our station’s health.  KPFA needs to heal the divisiveness that hampers what KPFA could and should be.  If I can make a difference in this respect, then it will be worthwhile for me to be on the board.  That is my purpose.

The station must become financially responsible before it is too late.  Financial responsibility is more important than ever in our modern world and it is a critical aspect of KPFA’s ability to do what must be done for our community.  That must be a major priority.  We do not want KPFA sold or leased under any circumstances and I stand strongly against anyone or any group that would consider such an option.  Censorship as well must not be tolerated at our station by any management decision.

The world is rapidly changing and KPFA cannot be left by the roadside.  New and more creative ways of generating income via patronage, grants, concerts, etc. must be developed with less reliance on airtime funding.

Programs must be fresher with broadened listener appeal and with sensitive and intelligent guidance, oversight and listener feedback.  Good to have an up to date tech and computer show as they have on WBAI with caller questions about computers and cell phones giving expert advice.  A show for pet owners, for the disabled.  More classical music, which is lacking on radio in general now, will enrich the station. Make it easier for people with financial issues to donate and feel better about supporting KPFA with smaller monthly amounts that anyone can afford.  Make streaming of KPFA benefit talks available after the talks are given for those not able to attend for a minimal fee.  I support a better mix of news that is more locally relevant.  Time cannot be wasted with lack of co-operation back biting, and factionalism or with selfish, self-interested management.

Official Q & A

In what ways are the station moving in a positive direction, that you would want to continue or perhaps improve?
The potential is here!  Now is the time, without a doubt to insure unity and co-operation; this must happen now. Let us not fiddle while Rome is burning or before we know it we will be burned out of a most valuable resource, KPFA our beloved station that we do not want to live without.  What ever it takes unity and co-operation must happen now.  I am committed to that for all of us.  That is what we want for the good of all.  We have what it takes!
In what ways are the station moving in a negative direction, that you would want to stop or change? What changes would you work for?
We cannot afford the current dis-unity, it is counter productive and self destructive.  We cannot tolerate self serving and must embrace truly working together now before we lose this wonderful resource. Censoring cannot prevail here by anyone or any group.  Unity and co-operation can happen and must happen now period.  I take a powerful stand to achieve such workability.
What key experience, connections, skills or traits would you bring to the Local Station Board to advance the station’s mission?
My skills are in business and management.  As a business owner I know financial data must be properly considered and acted upon responsibly.  KPFA cannot live in an irresponsible dream world in any way now.  Our world is moving faster and old ways must be streamlined and revised; we must be financially prudent and careful.  With care and co-operation we can do this; without these essential elements we will not survive.
What ideas do you have for helping the station and the Pacifica Foundation meet the financial challenges currently being faced?
Basic responsible transparent financial procedures must be observed so as to use our financial resources properly and to insure that that is being done with careful oversight.  With creativity untapped resources must be explored by a small team devoted to doing this.  More and bigger events, concerts, patrons, grants, endowments etc, these means are out there to be gotten and they can be.  I will support these endeavors

Election Postponed

Posted on by webweaver2

TO: All Interested Parties
FROM: L. Joy Williams, National Election Supervisor
DATE: August 17, 2015
RE: Mailing of Election Materials Delayed

In the [letter above], I was informed that the Pacifica stations did not have the necessary funds to make the required deposit for the postage and printing of the election materials and therefore the mailing of the ballot materials will be delayed.

[Listener activists estimate that the total cost to mail ballots is between $60-80 thousand dollars with additional money needed to pay the National Election Supervisor and Local Supervisors at each station.]

In the next few weeks, Pacifica will provide me with an estimate of when the stations will have the required funds to move forward after which I will update the election calendar.

The remainder of the election activities will proceed. The Local Election Supervisors are working with the candidates to record their candidate carts, schedule candidate forums and educate the Pacifica electorate about the upcoming election.

Additionally, we will use this opportunity to promote the availability of online voting to Pacifica voters, which will help reduce the cost of the election. Eligible Pacifica voters will be encouraged to opt-out of receiving ballot materials by mail. We will educate the Pacifica electorate about the online voting process and the security features through carts played on-air, emails and other election promotional methods.

indexFrequently Asked Questions

When will ballots be mailed?

At this time, we do not have a specific mail date as the National Election Supervisor (NES) needs to receive information from Pacifica as to when they will have the funds necessary to proceed with the printing and cover the postage of the election materials. Once the NES receives this information she will update the election calendar accordingly.

Will the candidate nomination period be reopened?

No. It is not necessary to reopen the candidate nomination period due to this delay.

Will the voter date of record change?

Yes. Article 3, Section 10 of the Pacifica bylaws specifically tie the voter date of record to the mail date of the ballot materials stating that the voter date of record is;

“…45-60 days before the day on which the first written ballot is distributed or made available to members (based on the reasonable discretion of the National Election Supervisor) …”

All voters previously eligible under the previous date of record of July 14, 2015 will remain eligible voters.

Will online voting still open on August 29th?

No. To maintain fairness in the process, online voting will begin at the same time in which ballots are mailed.

How do I opt-out of receiving my election materials by mail?

To register to complete your vote online and opt-out of receiving a ballot by mail, visit http://elections.pacifica.org/wordpress/vote-online/ and complete the registration form. Your membership will be verified and matched against the eligible voter list and a confirmation email will be sent to confirm your registration.

Community SourcedI am a confirmed candidate, what does this delay mean for me?

The delay in the ballot mailing extends the campaigning period for candidates giving them the opportunity to garner more support. Confirmed candidates are still subject to the Fair Campaign Provisions and must govern themselves accordingly.

This announcement can also be found on the elections website.

—
L. Joy Williams
National Election Supervisor (NES)
Pacifica Foundation
(347) 699-2914
nes@pacifica.org
http://elections.pacifica.org

 

Posted by the United for Community Radio Website Committee

 

Tom Voorhees

Posted on by webweaver2
Tom Voorhees

Tom Voorhees

2014 Volunteer of the Year from the National Association of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) membership, National/International engineer
for community stations,  early KPFA unpaid staff

I am Tom Voorhees, a member of UnitedForCommunityRadio.org. and a candidate for the KPFA local station board (LSB).

I will work to restore the former high level of KPFA’s news and public affairs programming necessary for all of us listeners to understand critical issues requiring our attention and action. KPFA’s longstanding policy has been to sponsor vigorous debate from all viewpoints, on controversial issues.  Current management policy, by contrast, appears to avoid controversial issues via censorship.  It has refused to air at least one program because of content.  I am very concerned about the dumbing down of my hometown radio station by existing KPFA management and the current local station board majority.

An example of KPFA’s dumbing down is the partial replacement of FSRN grassroots national and international news by Feature Story News, a provider of mainstream news to commercial radio stations.  Recently KPFA management and the LSB majority have chosen not to identify on air the source of news dispatches from FSN and other commercial news networks.  The KPFA program council, representing listeners of all colors and local community interests, was eliminated.  The program council needs to be reestablished for KPFA to be truly responsive to the overall Bay Area listener community.

For two years management has neglected to apply for millions of dollars in CPB grants, resulting in severe financial stress and degraded news content.  I will work to restore the proper financial auditing so this funding can be regained.

I intend to restore KPFA and Pacifica’s important role in ending self perpetuating endless wars around the world.

I started in community radio through journalism and radio shop at El Cerrito High School.  I was an engineering volunteer at KPFA in the 1960s.  In the 1970s I assisted the startup of the Ink Works movement printers’ collective in Oakland.  In the 1980s I was an engineering consultant to the Sandinista civil infrastructure for radio broadcasting and hydroelectric power in Nicaragua.  In 1999 I was one of the organizers of the first independent media center as part of the WTO resistance in Seattle. Independent media centers now exist all over the world.

Tom Voorhees works on KDPI tower

Tom Voorhees works on KDPI tower

In recent years as an engineering volunteer, I have assisted many new community radio stations to get on air, with most becoming Pacifica affiliates. Recent on-air successes include KFFR in Colorado, KRFP, KDPI and KRBX in Idaho, WVQR on Vieques and Culebra islands in Puerto Rico, KHOI in Iowa, and KSJU in Washington State. As a result I was voted 2014 volunteer of the year by the National Association of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) membership.

Having been a community radio and alternative media startup activist most of my life, I promise to find a way to make KPFA and all five Pacifica stations financially viable again.

Endorsements (among many):

Michael Parenti, author
Joe Wanzala, former LSB/PNB member.
Veterans for Peace, East Bay Chapter #162
Marilyn Langlois, Richmond Planning Commissioner
Bruce Dixon, managing editor at Black Agenda Report

Official Q & A

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

The all-volunteer weekend news with real live local reporting of labor and antiwar demonstration events is a good starting point. The paid staff weekday KPFA news should follow the lead of the weekend news and should not rely on unidentified mainstream commercial news services as they have recently started doing.  The weekend news also has an expert Africa reporter with on-the-ground Africa experience of whom the weekday news could make much better use.

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

Tom Voorhees (top) WVQR Stub tower STL repeater dishes going up! Vieques in Puerto Rico, 2013.

Tom Voorhees (top) WVQR Stub tower STL repeater dishes going up! Vieques in Puerto Rico, 2013.

Bring back the morning mix featuring local critical issues and discussion of effective solutions.Restore the full FlashPoints investigative budget for critical world issues.  Improve union news reporting on Bay Area and national grassroots organizing efforts.  Greatly increase coverage of antiwar organizing efforts as was the founding purpose of KPFA in 1949.  Provide detailed information on the predicted recurrence of the 2008 financial collapse, as nothing has been done to prevent it happening all over again in the very near future.  Also some additional consumer financial protections have been removed or watered down which KPFA could do much better at reporting.

3. What key experience, connections, skills or traits would you bring to the Local Station Board to advance the station’s mission?
I have fifty years of connections and cooperation with key antiwar and grassroots organizers.  Together we have worked to provide communication in support of project organizing efforts.  For example, we pioneered the concept of the Independent Media Centers and then created the infrastructure to allow worldwide communication about the 1999 Seattle WTO demonstrations on world wide RFPI short wave radio broadcasts and satellite uplinked video and audio receivable around the world for local rebroadcast.   I have a lifelong background in radio engineering, including estimating project costs, contract administration & compliance, contractor supervision, and quality control, all of which I will use to assure that KPFA and Pacifica have the best infrastructure possible at the lowest possible cost.
4.  What ideas do you have for helping the station and the Pacifica Foundation meet the financial challenges currently being faced?
photo by Daniel Arauz

photo by Daniel Arauz

I do not support the selling off of some Pacifica stations to solve the problems caused by mismanagement of CPB block grant applications by KPFA and Pacifica management. I will work to dissolve the unauthorized clandestine KPFA Foundation, which is a word-for-word copy of the Pacifica foundation incorporation.

On August 6, 2015 the majority of the Pacifica board refused to discuss the secret corporation to acquire the KPFA broadcast license. In the eyes of the FCC and with some additional perfection the shell KPFA foundation could become partially eligible on September 24, 2015 to receive all five Pacifica station licenses.

If KPFA and Pacifica can demonstrate a renewed interest in challenging the military industrial complex and its constant war efforts there will be no need for the above takeover plan as listener financial support will return in much the same way as Bernie’s support is taking off

Scott Olsen Joins Campaign to Rescue KPFA

Posted on by webweaver2
Scott Olsen

Scott Olsen

 

Berkeley- Iraq war vet and Occupy Oakland survivor Scott Olsen is running for an open seat on the KPFA Local Station Board with 8 other candidates affiliated with United for Community Radio (UCR).

Olsen, who survived a police shotgun-fired head injury at the Occupy Oakland encampment said: “I urge KPFA listeners to vote for the full slate of United for Community Radio candidates committed to rescuing KPFA from all attempts by the current board majority to break up or privatize the network”.

Olsen added: “It appears there is a group within KPFA who have acted improperly to break KPFA away from the Pacifica Radio Network without notifying the network’s 55,000 listener-member owners”.

Specifically, an improper filing of a 501c3 non profit incorporation using KPFA’s call letters has been uncovered threatening to break up the network without notifying the governance bodies of WBAI (NY), WPFW (DC), KPFT (Houston), KPFK (LA) and the nations first listener-owned and operated station KPFA (Berkeley).

United for Community Radio Candidates running for open seats on the KPFA Local Station Board in 2015

Scott Olsen

Janet Kobren

Jeremy Miller

G. Mario Fernandez

Marilla Arguelles

T.M. Scruggs

Don Macleay

Sharon Adams

Virginia Browning

Scott Olsen’s Candidate Statement

My name is Scott Olsen. You might remember me as the Iraq War veteran who was shot by the Oakland Police during Occupy. KPFA was a vital news source for me then and my radio dial was stuck at 94.1FM. KPFA supported me, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and our comrades. allowing us to tell our story – uncut. And now as I no longer live in California, I listen to KPFA over the internet. Nowhere else do I find its diversity of voices, music, and perspectives and I enter this candidacy in my desire to help protect KPFA as a crucial independent media source.

I currently serve on the board of directors for Iraq Veterans Against the War and I’m familiar with non-profit governance processes. I’ve worked in communications for over ten years– addressing both organizational and technical challenges, In the military I worked with radio.  I’m a licensed amateur radio operator – finding creative solutions for connection.  I believe these skills can help me to contribute to the KPFA Local Station Board.

Campaign workers for United for Community Radio at an Occupy Oakland General Assembly. Daniel Borgstrom (leaning forward) and Greg Jan (behind him).

Campaign workers for United for Community Radio at an Occupy Oakland General Assembly. Daniel Borgstrom (leaning forward) and Greg Jan (behind him).

Through my experiences with individuals, organizations, the armed services, and communities, I deeply value the wide range of ways that people contribute to community media.  I support:

· the right of KPFA unpaid staff to unionize
· creation of new internships
· development of a network for sharing of community audio and video recordings and interviews about local events.
· developing a more easeful system for people to communicate with KPFA staff and programmers
· station wide/community advanced planning for events of political, economic, environmental or social significance with possible pre-and-post event interviews, real time audio video live streaming and posting of videos on kpfa.org

I also want to help the station to establish powerful links with listeners and organizations through an active Program Council to give input about new and existing programs based on community needs and interests.

Another goal is to see KPFA embrace and expand its internet listenership beyond the signal range. This might include a transition including electronic communication at meetings to allow for wider geographical representation. Also I would like to help build more connection with KPFA’s sister stations and affiliates where we work together to build a strong national Pacifica network to create new possibilities for programming.

Now more than ever, it’s time for media truth telling: about what’s happening with the economy and environment, about what happens when the United States goes to war, about what is happening when people protest, and about how people of color are profiled and killed and African American churches burned. I appreciate those who are addressing these issues, the KPFA programmers who cover them and my United for Community Radio colleagues– working to insure that these stories are heard. I ask for your vote for me and the UCR team.

Endorsed by:

Bruce A. Dixon, Black Agenda Report

Barbara Lubin, Middle East Childrens Alliance

Michael Parenti, Author

Laura Wells

Veterans for Peace, East Bay Chapter 162

Ed Holmes, San Francisco Mime Troupe

Cynthia Johnson, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists

The KPFA Local Station Board (LSB) is a 24 member body democratically elected by listeners and staff operating under by laws approved in 2003 following a protracted struggle to rescue KPFA and its five sister stations from attempts to sell individual stations and to begin accepting corporate underwriting and advertising.

###

Photo from Occupy Oakland by Daniel Arauz.