Managing Mary’s Money

Is that your final answer?

by Kathy Rueve

 

KPFA, LISTENER-SPONSORED RADIO, for fifty years has been our radio station. The pledge drives that used to reinforce our commitment to supporting Pacifica have now become a hotbed of debate. Not everyone can, in good conscience, continue to send money to KPFA under the current conditions where listeners provide the majority of the financial funding but have no input in the organization itself. Others insist we must continue to provide the financial lifeline for the station. As we struggle over who will be served by Pacifica Foundation’s right to the airwaves, we need to look at how we as individuals and cohesive groups can direct our financial resources.

Since 1949, individuals have provided the bulk of the funding for operating the Pacifica network of stations. The last two pledge periods have demonstrated that the listeners are willing to give in record amounts to keep the station on the air. The February pledge drive may have the same success but can this momentum be maintained if Pacifica does not heed the calls for democratization and listener input?

Bob Sholes, a South Bay listener, insists that pledging to the station’s fundraisers must be maintained along with funding for other activities like legal counsel, web activities, and staff co-payment. "The integrity of the community claim on the ownership of the station is very heavily dependent on the community’s direct financial support of the station itself, " he says. "Other funding targets must not compete with or reduce the community level of financial support for the station. The community claim on the ownership of the station is the real war that absolutely must be won."

Some listeners can accept that Pacifica gets a share of all pledge money received since the station gets a much greater portion, 83%. A similar situation exists when we pay our taxes, knowing that we are helping fund things we don't like but hoping that the greater good is served by supporting the system as a whole. No one can predict for sure how far Pacifica would go if the station did not receive enough money for the station's operating expenses, but harmful layoffs and budget cuts would be inevitable. And we do know that if KPA is dismantled or destroyed, we will not be able to replace it's spot on the dial with anything comparable.

Not sure which way to turn? You want to support the fundraising efforts of the station but you can’t quite put your name on the dotted line, remembering how Pacifica resources have been squandered hiring armed guards and an expensive public relations firm while connecting KPFA’s broadcaster to an outside source last summer? Loraine Mirza suggests a compromise position of giving a "delayed pledge" or a written IOU to be paid when certain demands are met. Mark Hernandez thinks a good strategy would be to send in an unsigned check to act as a promissory note to be replaced with a signed check when one’s demands are satisfied. These are individual acts that may or may not have a significant effect but certainly make a personal statement.

Gregory Wonderwheel feels quite differently. He says, "What can staff do to keep faith with the listeners? You ask for money, I ask to vote for the Station Board (LAB) members. I want an absolute commitment that a pledge will get me a ballot. When I get to vote in an actual election, you will get my actual money sent in."

Another way to help is to contribute to one of the organizations that have formed to offer financial and legal support. One of the most visible, Friends of Free Speech Radio (510/548-0542) takes donations for the legal and political struggle against the current board, contributes to beleaguered staff members, advertises the struggle in high profile publications and helps pay to transport protesters to board meetings around the country. The two lawsuits against the Pacifica National Board are supported directly by listener funds (the LAB suit - Siegel & Yee 510/839-1200 and the listeners' suit - Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board 707/526-2567).

Many of us organized into listener groups and continue to work toward democratization of the governing structure so that our station can be directly tied to the community that supports it. These groups have been discussing the use of escrow accounts as a strategy for listeners to join with others to direct their funds in a united effort.

An open escrow account can be used to channel funds for designated uses under restricted conditions. The Listeners’ Fund (510/496-6000 x121), co-sponsored by Coalition for a democratic Pacifica (e-mail: johnsher@LanMinds.com) and North Bay for KPFA (e-mail: northbay@sonic.net) has been set up to channel listener contributions directly to pay for station expenses. Marc Sapir, one of the founders of the fund, explains, "The Fund exists to create a bankroll for operating the station outside of Pacifica control. The Fund, if it grows large, has strong negotiating potential with the Berry Board. If we show the ability to raise large sums, it means that the listeners might switch total financial support away from Pacifica in an organized way in a future confrontation. We can achieve this purpose if a few thousand listeners contribute to the Fund as well as the marathon, even without a boycott." The Listeners’ Fund, active since last fall, has collected $5500 to date and is set up to pay for routine operating expenses upon station request.

A closed escrow fund is an account used to hold money until designated conditions are fulfilled. An account funded nationally could show listener support of the Pacifica Foundation while withholding funds from the current Board of Directors. Paul Palmer, a North Bay listener, states... "As things stand today, Pacifica takes the pledges for granted and the listeners stand divided and powerless. If we had started diverting pledges last year, we might now have an escrow fund hovering around a half-million dollars or more which could be used as a club over Pacifica during negotiations."

Money collected in a closed escrow account would not be released until specific conditions, such as resignation of the current national board, were met. If there were enough to provide for one hundred percent of KPFA’s operating expenses, it would be difficult for Pacifica to declare the station bankrupt.

Some listeners are concerned that a decline in KPFA’s fundraising will give Pacifica an excuse to close down the station. Others, such as Lauren Ayers, worry that an escrow account would be ineffective. She asks, "Will an escrow account get enough publicity to generate much money? Or will people be so discouraged and confused that they don’t give anything?"

Matthew Lasar, Pacifica historian, thinks since staff are unable to promote an escrow account over the air because of potential Pacifica retribution, such efforts will "draw a lot of effort and not a lot of money. The fundraising marathon, invented in the mid-1960s, is powerful because it draws upon the maximum audience: the listeners. Previous attempts at fundraising without the marathon at Pacifica stations did not do very well. They included door-to-door solicitations, mailings, benefits and other efforts. All of them had the same problem: too much labor bringing insufficient money. For all the moral, political and practical complexities involved in having a marathon that siphons some money to Pacifica, it seems less complex than an escrow account. But I’m ready to be convinced otherwise."

For many listeners who feel they can no longer contribute to the station’s fundraising efforts, a boycott or listener’s strike may be the answer. Pacifica Supporters Association’s (e-mail: pacifica@joe.to) members contribute to a democratically controlled fund where they can designate how their pledges will be used. They have voted for "not one cent for the Pacifica National Board." Founder Ross Boylan says, "this is not a strategy of maintaining the moral purity of our pledge dollars and seeing that they be used only for good purposes. It is a strategy of withholding funds to create a crisis which can be used to wrest control of Pacifica from the current board. Let’s get our eyes off the next marathon, and back on the long run survival of the Pacifica Network as an oppositional voice. We have to use every resource, including the power of the purse, to get this board out, and a democratic alternative in."

Rafael Renteria of The Pacifica Listeners’ Union (e-mail: listenersunion@hotmail.com) says: "For the listener the most potent weapon is the Listener Strike or boycott. But we have to be determined to go all the way with it, to stop trying to appeal to the board in any way other than by economic force. We shouldn't relent until the demands for structural change at Pacifica have been met, or until the current board is out, or both." (See page 10 of The Folio for more on the Listeners' Strike.)

We know that our power base is connected to our financial support of the Pacifica Foundation, but we have yet to come together in a cohesive group to confront Pacifica with our funds. We need to find the most effective strategies to return KPFA and the other Pacifica stations to a local base of support. The decisions we make in how we direct our financial support may become one of the most critical things we can do, requiring us to listen to all sides of the debate and consider our choices wisely. The folio invites you to enter into this dialogue by sending your responses to this article to: The Folio, c/o Peace & Justice Center, 540 Pacific Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95404, email to folio@sonic.net.

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