Opinion:
THE AGONY OF KPFK 
by John Martinez

Context -

With the so-called "End of History", considering what¹s left of the political Left in the U.S., in the aftermath of more corporate media monopolies with the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, as well as the rise in prominence and influence of National Public Radio, in this context it¹s understandable that Pacifica Radio in it’s 51st year of existence, finds itself in a crisis that threatens to destroy it. To tell you that Pacifica Radio KPFK 90.7fm Los Angeles/98.7fm Santa Barbara has developed a work culture and programming practices that are antithetical to Pacifica’s, or any other progressive ideals of inclusion & equity, also shouldn't surprise anyone following the current Pacifica Crisis.

Part One

I came to KPFK IN 1992 via the now non-existent Apprentice Program and survived the current hostile environment until deciding to break the gag rule October 9th 1999. I saw Alan Fong, Bill Thomas, Cliff Roberts & Pam Burton/Sandra Rosas as General Managers before Mark Schubb dropped June 1995. A year earlier in 1994 GM Cliff Roberts, a mainstream African-American did Pacifica National¹s dirty work by cutting KPFK’s radical African Programming, as the U.S. Congress & then-Senator Bob Dole threatening to yank Pacifica's CPB Funding, attacking "hate radio" KPFK around African Programmers’ comments "Jew-CLA" and the like -- radical Afro-Centric Programmers attacked perceived Jewish-American institutional dominance at UCLA. Rather than condoning anti-Semitic slurs, I bring up this episode in KPFK's/Pacifica's history as an example that, during the early 90's as the era of "Community Radio" declines, when you could hear more diversity on KPFK/Pacifica's airwaves, that airwave diversity still translated into territorial, atomized, polarized programming cliques at the stations. Even though there was the opportunity for meaningful dialogue at KPFK in the context of the mission statement, Pacifica National & Local Management opted for PC Reactionary policies. Rather than real dialogue, Pacifica opted for the mainstream solution: "The 5 Year Strategic Plan." The plan herded Pacifica into today's dominant trend in public radio for larger audience, more funding & "improved sound' at almost any cost. Pacifica began purging grassroots programmers - hundreds nationally - while at KPFK, according to GM Schubb’s own estimates during the Houston Pacifica National Board Meeting in 1999, 150 volunteer programmers had been offed since '96. From 1992 prior to 1995, I’d call KPFK's working/programming environment "Post-Hippie," as many of the staff & volunteers were still influenced by the counterculture of the 60’s. Revolution as a concept was still possible, or at least CHANGE was still a possibility. Program scheduling was different, scattered, unique & offbeat. Programs airing at 2-3 week intervals were common. Although there was no real internal KPFK "Community," prior to '95 KPFK still had a Program Committee with management staff & volunteers giving direct input. The hallways were busy,with an 18-month Apprenticeship Program where about 36 community members annually came to KPFK to learn radio and continue giving voice to the voiceless via 90.7’s airwaves. The Apprentice Program ensured KPFK at least tried to live up to part of the Mission Statement, as "women & people of color" were strongly urgd to apply.

Today at KPFK I’d call the work culture "Post-Yuppie." Passive consumerism with a dash of liberal politics, a cowardly pragmatism re: programming & image, while those in the key decision-making roles: GM Program Director or overly influencial programmer Marc Cooper ("Radio Nation/Daily Review") scoff at Pacifica’s or any body else¹s ideals --- not usually on the air, but in the halls, in their offices & at staff meetings. Gone in 1995 was the Apprentice Program as former Training Director Marcos Frommer opts for the daily morning host program "Up For Air." Later in 1995 I’m offered the Training Director’s position. Developing an ambitious expanded training program, I'm told a month into my stint by GM Schubb that "there’s no funds" to implement it. Interesting. Marcos Frommer in an e-mail statement upon leaving KPFK October 1999 explained "although no apprenticeship training program has been run at the station for the past five years, Schubb continues to accept money from its State sponsor, the California Arts Council." In Houston October ‘99 during the PNB Programming & Standards Committee meeting, I witnessed as PNB Chair Mary Frances Berry asked Schubb about receiving CAC money without actually implementing a program, Schubb’s response - "That’s not true we don’t have a formal training program, we have blocks of training." Odds are that the upcoming report out of Assemblymen Scott Wildman’s office re: the California Legislative Audit of the Pacifica Foundation will not go far enough in uncovering the fraudulent use by Pacifica of our money. Meanwhile at KPFK: Funds? No funds. Training? No training. One thing for sure, the hallways & editing booths that were busy are now virtually empty. Anyone with an independent mind who's had a prolonged interaction with KPFK GM Mark Schubb should be able to confirm that he is a chronic/habitual liar who will constantly spin & act as though that spin is reality. Apprentice program GONE. KPFK’s life-line connection to the community GONE. Gone also are the days of the valued volunteer. According to Mark Schubb himself "Volunteers should feel it’s a privilege being on the air." When soon to be ex-News Director Frank Stoltze asked Marc Cooper (co-founder of PNN, ousted 17 years earlier in one of KPFK’s/Pacifica’s many coups - some never learn), Stoltze asked Cooper how he would improve KPFK News. I witnessed as Cooper advised Stoltze "Get rid of all volunteers." Gone today also is the Programming Committee that was open to station staff, programmers & volunteers. From my vantage point as an internal exile 1997 (when management slashed 3 hours of Spanish & Chicano programming), major programming decisions i.e. big money-making/high profile programs are declared by GM Mark Schubb and heavily influenced by programmer Marc (hoping for a "Mumia-Free 2000") Cooper.

The rest of the "minor" KPFK programming decisions are tossed to PD Kathy Lo - a minimally productive former apprentice who compensates with a steady dose of in-your-face hostility & disrespect. Management and staff today know what they air as part of the "Pacifica Thing," but the majority of the staff are 9-to-5’ers with no affinity to Pacifica or any other progressive/alternative entity. Gone are almost all of the dedicated/principled volunteers, programmers & staff; those that remain are isolated & cornered.

KPFK staff are members of the United Electrical Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) union Local 1421, a union in name only. Today the KPFK UE "union" is a bosses union, rubber-stamping or manipulated into supporting management’s reactionary stances. Two examples: KPFK Management condems both the October 7 Labor Forum last year that included Les Radkey, Bill Mandell & Dennis Bernstein, as well as a demonstration in front of KPFK the following day. UE at KPFK then condemns the event on the grounds that it was "organized without the consent or consultation of the KPFK worker’s union." Second, as both the PNB & PNN/AFTRA dismiss the current Pacifica Stringer’s Strike, KPFK UE then "condemns the strike" saying "There is no labor dispute." Censoring a journalist’s labor is a labor dispute and a free speech-human rights issue. Recently News Director Frank Stoltze offered his resignation after years of eye-witnessed harassment by KPFK Management. The continued harassment of Stoltze was recently described as "psychological rape" by one local Pacifica insider. (More on labor politics at KPFK in part 2).

Ethnic-Cleansing KPFK-Style: The late Michael Taylor, radical African volunteer programmer was also an apprentice from 1992-94. Back then both of us were recently homeless before and during our 18-month radio training. Michael told it the best he could from the streets. He preferred the streets to the hallways of KPFK. I based myself inside KPFK with various jobs. In the KPFK newsroom one June evening 1995 we met the new GM Mark Schubb. Taylor immediately told me after "this cat¹s no good, I don¹t know man, I just don¹t dig him." Taylor was right. We thought after the ‘94/Dole "hate radio" reactionary mess, when "African Mental Liberation Weekend," "Freedom Now" and "Family Tree," when African Programs hemorrhaged off KPFK’s airwaves, we thought the worst was over. Wrong. Health programmer Al Hubner breaks the gag rule Jan. ‘95 protesting the lack of open discussion about the upcoming program changes. "Continent To Continent" host Ron Wilkins breaks the gag rule Feb. ‘96 as Pacifica goes more corporate & mainstream. Michael Taylor’s access to open programming slots becomes less & less and he's finally driven from the station after airing an interview with Mzee Shambulia. Described as a revolutionary who taught Black History while incarcerated at Terminal Island Federal Prison, Shambulia denounced middle class Blacks as "Uncle Toms & Tomasinas who sold-out their community to the almighty dollar." During the program "Bridging The Gap," Taylor aired Mzee Shambulia's interview where he described former L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley as doing nothing for blacks during his term in office, and that Bradley "...owed his sould to the Jewish Store." Even with its hyped-up Mission Statement, when L.A. burned in April '92 after the Rodney King Verdict, KPFK did a minimal miserable superficial job of dealing with roo causes of race & class conflict on the air and an even worse job in-house. Rather than dealing with the issues of race & class conflict raised in Taylor's program, KPFK Management opted for the PC "1-Strike You're Out" rule. Forced out of KPFK, Michael Taylor was later shot to death in the streets of L.A. as an attempt at starting a micro radio station went bad. Ironically, the same Mzee Shambulia was rumored to have a hand in Taylor's execution.

People on the streets to this day remember Michael Taylor, and they remember KPFK. As a Chicano, during this era of Pacifica’s "5 Year Strategic Plan" and under the current KPFK management of Mark Schubb, I can attest that the hiring of mediocre or de-politicized "People of Color" in key management/staff positions to do Pacifica’s & Schubb¹s dirty work has been a key element that has helped bring the Pacifica Crisis to its current state. Throughout its recent history, Pacifica has many times failed in furthering the goal of equality by sloppily hiring unqualified/politically antithetical "People of Color." What radical African/Chicano Programmers in the early 90's called "Paint Jobs," I call colonized people of color. For example, current Program Director & Chinese American Kathy Lo, at best a mediocre, minimally productive apprentice/volunteer, receives the PD position in 1996 even though other applicants for the position had 10+ years more experience. Lo did so poorly during her interview that she literally came out in tears. Why hire an inexperienced UCLA English major with little life experience as Program Director for one of the largest radio signals in the Western U.S.? Why womeone like this for one of the most creatively challenging positions in media? The answer: CONTROL.

Mexicano, Centro-americano, Chicano, Spanish & Bilingual programming and their respective radio production collectives at KPFK have come & gone during the station's 41 years. In 1979: 30 minutes of programming. 1985: 4 hours. In 1995 it peaked with 6 hours of weekend programming. Still tokenism & anglo-centrically short-sighted for a station with a potentially huge bilingual listening audience, as current demographics reach 40% within KPFK’s 112,000 watt Southern California signal area. KPFK Managment's short-sightedness turned to blindness in April 1997 with the canceling of Centro-americano focused "Pajaro Latino," the bilingual hemispheric/internationalist "Clave Latina" produced by veteran Pacifica Programmer, Fernando (probably most-often thrown out) Velasquez, the slicing of 30 minutes off "Enfoque Latino" and the cutting in half of the program I produced "Radio Chicano" from 60 to 30 minutes. Among the reasons for cutting the interlingual (English with Spanish-no translations) Chicana Radio, programming "visionary" & former English major Kathy Lo said she had a "problem with the language" format. Lo also opined that Chicano/Mexicano/Indigenous issues were "irrelevant." After that, as we say in Aztlan, it was "ON."

___________________________

(In part 2 John Martinez details KPFK Managerial harassment & intimidation of staff & volunteers, labor violations, management’s recent attacks against the KPFK LAB, programming trends at KPFK, recent Pacifica National presence at KPFK, Marc Cooper-Mania, the differences between KPFA’s struggle & that in Southern California, and the state of resistance among the different Pacifica dissident tendencies trying to retake KPFK/Pacifica).

Return to NB4KPFA FOLIO Home Page