-KPFK-

Headline?

By Vince Ivory

(571 words)

The KPFK Board is reaching out to the community as never before, while management is becoming more isolated. The Board is now planning "LA Media Forum 2000" (October 14, 1:00 - 6:00 PM, Patriotic Hall, 1816 Figueroa St., Los Angeles). The event will be not only an examination and discussion of media in Los Angeles, particularly during the Democratic Convention, but will also be an opportunity for the Board to take input directly from the community on what is needed on KPFK and other alternative media.

This represents an unprecedented effort to assess the needs of the community, as mandated by both Pacifica and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The forum is co-sponsored by the Independent Media Center. Among the participants will be Norman Solomon (Institute for Public Accuracy), syndicated columnists Patrisia Gonzales & Roberto Rodriguez, Eric Mann (Labor / Community Strategy Center) and Lila Garrett (Americans for Democratic Action).

The KPFK Board, like the Boards of the other Pacifica stations, will soon have their own web site which will include a schedule of Board meetings (which are rarely announced on KPFK), minutes of their meetings and information on future activities. KPFK management hasn’t attended KPFK Board meetings in over a year.

Since the departure of Program Director Kathy Lo in August, KPFK management consists of General Manager Mark Schubb and the Operations Director. There hasn’t been a Development Director for over a year, and there are many other vacant positions on the staff, including Program Director, drive time host/producer, Assistant to the General Manager, Assistant to the Program Director and Volunteer Coordinator. There are also problems with programming.

KPFK is unique in that last spring, management demanded that all programmers (paid or unpaid) sign the "Y2K Compliant" agreement. By signing the agreement, programmers cede ownership of all programming to KPFK and Pacifica. Some programmers have refused to sign the agreement, and a few are retaining attorneys.

The pretext for this legally dubious contract is alleged copyright issues raised by plans to webcast KPFK programming. KPFA has been webcasting for a long time without benefit of anything like a "Y2K Agreement." The last line of the document reads, "It is the responsibility of programmers and station volunteers to be familiar with and abide by these policies and other programming guidelines provided by the station." The reality is that there are no written programming guidelines, other than the gag rule (Dirty Laundry Regulation), which management uses to prevent programmers from telling the listeners what’s really going on at KPFK and Pacifica.

The next fund drive will be October 11-20. While recent fund drives have produced some impressive numbers, the pledge totals do not tell the whole story. In the last few years, KPFK fund drives have become more "premium-driven." Some call it the "liberal home shopping channel." Marc Cooper, management’s super cheerleader, pushes subscriptions to The Nation (his other employer) and has stated on the air that nearly 500 copies of Arianna Huffington’s latest book have been given away. But these books are not given to KPFK, and data on the net income from the fund drives are not available to us.

Recent advances in lawsuits against Pacifica management hold the promise that financial records and other information may soon be made available to the people whom the stations are supposed to serve. As the secrecy shielding the corruption at Pacifica begins to crack, we have the hope that real community radio can be restored here.

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