{"id":3466,"date":"2015-10-14T04:55:15","date_gmt":"2015-10-14T11:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/?p=3466"},"modified":"2015-10-28T07:06:14","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T14:06:14","slug":"save-kpfas-principles-vs-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/?p=3466","title":{"rendered":"Save KPFA’s “Principles” vs Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click here to see this article in an easy to read table. <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

By Mara Rivera<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s SaveKPFA’<\/strong>s statement of principles 2015, with rebuttals:<\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:\u00a0 Protect local control.\u00a0\u2028\u00a0<\/strong>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 \u2014 resulting in the recruitment of a talented General Manager, and a permanent Program Director hired by, and accountable to, KPFA\u2019s elected local board.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"4906011803_80a410f20f\"<\/a>THE REALITY:\u00a0 Control the Station.<\/strong>\u00a0 The Executive Director of Pacifica and sometimes the Pacifica National Board make the final decision on KPFA\u2019s General Manager hires, out of a pool chosen by the Local Station Board (see next answer).\u00a0 Pacifica is the parent organization of the 5 stations, holds the license and provides oversight.\u00a0 The paid staff, Save KPFA, and its previous incarnations like Concerned Listeners, have driven out most of KPFA\u2019s General Managers for not agreeing with them 100%.
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Ensure high-quality, progressive programming\u2028.<\/strong> In 2010, Save KPFA campaigned to reverse Pacifica\u2019s cancellation of KPFA\u2019s most listened-to local program,\u00a0The Morning Show;in 2012, we supported the launch of\u00a0UpFront,\u00a0restoring local programming to KPFA\u2019s morning lineup.<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n\"4906011803_80a410f20f\"<\/a>THE REALITY:\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Protect Unsustainable Budgets.<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>In 2010 Pacifica\u2019s 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<\/em> 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<\/span> and opposing the layoffs.<\/span>
\n When paid staff refused to replace the laid-off Morning Show workers, volunteers stepped up to do the programming, creating the Morning Mix<\/em>, much of it focused on local matters. Recently, the Save KPFA forces displaced these volunteers with a crony. <\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:\u00a0\u00a0 Support staff and volunteers.\u00a0 <\/strong>Save KPFA\u00a0led the successful fight to reverse Pacifica\u2019s 2011 hiring of the nation\u2019s top union-busting law firm; Save KPFA members have also raised money to update aging equipment in KPFA\u2019s studios, and established a training fund for volunteer staff in KPFA\u2019s budget.
\n<\/strong><\/em>
\n\"4906011803_80a410f20f\"<\/a>THE REALITY:\u00a0 <\/strong>Raise False Claims – Undercut Unpaid Staff.\u00a0 <\/strong>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\u2019re part of their faction), and pushes \u201cprofessionalism\u201d (paid staff). One of their most celebrated supporters, Larry Bensky, referred to volunteer programmers as \u201cmonkeys.\u201d\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Save KPFA later attempted to destroy the Unpaid Staff Organization (UPSO), which the volunteer staff organized as a substitute. Most of KPFA\u2019s programs and 70% or more of staff are unpaid volunteers.
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"wrongway\"<\/a><\/p>\n

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:\u00a0\u00a0 Transparency and accountability from Pacifica\u2028.\u00a0 <\/strong>Save KPFA\u2019s representatives\u00a0on the Pacifica National Board\u00a0are part of a\u00a0new majority that\u00a0has begun issuing regular financial statements for the first time in nearly three years, dramatically shrunk Pacifica\u2019s deficit (from -$2.8 million in 2013 to a small surplus <\/span> <\/em>i<\/span>n the 12 months ending in June 2015), and rationalized (and lowered) the dues that stations like KPFA pay to Pacifica\u2019s national office.<\/span><\/em>
\n
\n\"4906011803_80a410f20f\"<\/a>THE REALITY:\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Incompetence and Lack of Accountability.\u00a0 <\/strong>The statement above is an egregious lie.\u00a0\u00a0The SaveKPFA-dominated station board has allowed the KPFA General Manager whom they got hired and KPFA\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nSome wonder if it is actually intentional, part of an attempt to grab the station for themselves (see KPFA Foundation argument below). The \u201cthree years\u201d were three of their<\/u> years in the majority on the KPFA board, with their incompetent financial officers and management<\/span><\/p>\n

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. <\/span><\/p>\n


\nWe have discovered that members of the faction have secretly set up a shadow corporation, the \u201cKPFA Foundation\u201d, which they say is to \u201ccatch\u201d KPFA in case of bankruptcy \u2013 which they are seemingly trying to achieve in any way and as fast as possible!
\n<\/strong><\/span>
\n This is why we urgently need you to vote them out now!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:\u00a0\u00a0 Experiment with new shows; expand into new platforms. <\/strong>Under SaveKPFA leadership, KPFA budgeted for, and carried out, a re-design of its website that makes it more accessible on mobile devices\u2013which is where more and more radio listeners are turning to get their favorite shows.\u00a0 KPFA has also started using its second signal, KPFB, to pilot 20 hours of programming per week from new, energetic producers.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"4906011803_80a410f20f\"<\/a>THE REALITY:\u00a0 Dominate the Airwaves.\u00a0<\/strong> The website was vastly neglected for years, under Save KPFA\u2019s watch.\u00a0 Although flashy, the new website is cumbersome to navigate and a memory hog.\u00a0 Save KPFA disempowered the former democratically-representative Program Council, which once chose new programming and evaluated all programming.\u00a0 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:\u00a0\u00a0 Reform Pacifica\u2019s Byzantine Governance System.<\/strong> \u00a0We believe Pacifica\u2019s acrimonious boards have generated many of its problems. Save KPFA participated in cross-factional dialogue talks this year, and now endorses the\u00a0Pacifica Unity Pledge, which <\/span><\/em>commits us to participating in a network-wide consensus-building process with the goal of making Pacifica\u2019s governance system <\/span><\/em>simpler, effective, smaller, and calmer.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"4906011803_80a410f20f\"<\/a>THE REALITY:\u00a0\u00a0 Calm By Suppression.<\/strong>\u00a0 The \u201cacrimonious board\u201d meetings are a result of Save KPFA\u2019s blocking of any governance and positive change by the Local Station Boards.\u00a0 SaveKPFA always votes for a hands-off policy regarding management decisions, claiming the board must not “micro-manage” the General Manager.\u00a0 Their actions show they believe that boards have no right to govern, only the paid staff, as they have often said.\u00a0 (The \u201cacrimony\u201d 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\u2019s our only hope for real community programming and a range of real progressive opinions on the air.<\/span><\/p>\n

——-<\/p>\n

*under LSB duties: their role in programming\u00a0\u00a0 — <\/strong>From the Pacifica Bylaws, Section 7, Article 3 , Item G<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/p>\n

(Note: The Save KPFA faction has maintained that the Local Station Board\u2019s main or even sole function is fund raising \u2013 which may be true of corporate boards of directors, but not that of a democratically-run Pacifica.)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

photo credit: This Way<\/a> via photopin<\/a> (license)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click here to see this article in an easy to read table. By Mara Rivera Here\u2019s SaveKPFA’s statement of principles 2015, with rebuttals: WHAT SAVE KPFA SAYS:\u00a0 Protect local control.\u00a0\u2028\u00a0In 2014, Save KPFA led the effort that put KPFA back … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[550,64,569,559,568,85,112,132,133,557,571],"class_list":["post-3466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analysis","tag-election","tag-kpfa","tag-local-control","tag-local-station-board","tag-lsb","tag-pacifica","tag-save-kpfa","tag-ucr","tag-united-for-community-radio","tag-unpaid-staff-organization","tag-upso"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3466"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3609,"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3466\/revisions\/3609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unitedforcommunityradio.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}