- The Folio Yellow Sheet -
VIII
Pacifica Hires a new Public Relations Firm
Having apparently no concern for squandering listener/sponsor pledges, Pacifica has hired another expensive public relations firm. This time it’s Levick Strategic Communications. Here’s what they have to say about themselves, "Law firms need media relations professionals who understand the media in their hometown as well as in every other region they represent. Levick Strategic Communications has a finger on the global pulse, with an established presence in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. We place stories in broadcast and print media outlets worldwide and make contact with journalists in major media every day. In fact, by the time you finish reading this, we will have placed another story in the news." These are the folks who specialize in manufacturing consent and you and I are paying for it. Their first service for their new client was the release of a horribly misleading spin on the Superior Court decision to refuse injunctions against the PNB. Pacifica is playing hardball.
You can and should let Levick know what you think of using your donations to your local station for such purposes. Express yourselves at: Levick Strategic Communications, 1900 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. Phone or fax them at: Phone - 202.973.1300, Fax - 202.973.1301 or email them at: info@levick.com
Brian Levitt is handling the Pacifica account. You can telephone him at: 732-761-1156 or email him at: blevitt@levick.com
For a chilling example of their work go to: http://www.levick.com/case_studies/Public_to_Private.html
PNB Meeting - Shy and Safe
Pacifica has just announced that the Board Meeting for September will be moved from the New York City area and instead be held in Washington, DC. Due to "a variety of constraints", they have had to relocate the meeting. What a surprise. Ignoring the tradition of rotating the National Board meeting through the Pacifica signal areas, the board will once again be hiding undercover of the beltway. This is unprecedented; what are they hiding from? The dates will still be the same: September 15th, 16th, and 17th. The location is still in negotiations.
Shakeup at KPFK
Say goodbye to KPFK’s heavy handed Program Director Kathy Lo. She officially announced her resignation at a staff meeting July 26th. Bessie Wash and KPFK GM Mark Schubb took her to lunch and tried to convince her to stay but failed. Lo is leaving August 7th for a job in the news office at PBS. Our source goes on to say that Lo’s badgering of popular morning show hosts Mark Hafele and Erin Aubry and producer Griffee accusing them of not working "full time," has caused the whole bunch of them to give notice. Word is that they will all be leaving the first week of August. Job announcements posted as of 7/25 for KPFK now include: Asst. to General Mgr., Volunteer Coordinator, Program Director, Asst. to Program Director, Development Director and Drive Time Host-Producer.
North Bay for KPFA Hosts Bay Area Picnic
July 23rd was the date of a terrific multipurpose picnic hosted by North Bay for KPFA. The event drew Pacifica activists from as far away as New York City. According to the Ragle Ranch park ranger, over 200 people came together to celebrate. The crowd heard many speakers elaborate on the upcoming KPFA LAB elections and met several candidates for the local station board. Sharing the delicious barbecue were many activists from the Bay Area. Members of North Bay for KPFA also celebrated the anniversary of the lock out of KPFA staff that precipitated the formation of their organization. The Acme String Ensemble provided wonderful traditional music throughout the day.
Busy Bessie Attacks Democracy
Effort was underway to tie the latest KPFA "mini pledge drive" to the upcoming LAB elections. KPFA staff was cooperating with activist requests by mentioning the elections while fundraising. Well, that didn’t last long. On Tuesday, July 18th, an "absolutely livid" Pacifica Executive Director Bessie Wash called Jim Bennett and demanded that there be no mention of the LAB elections during the pledge breaks. So now Pacifica is censoring free speech AND free elections!! By the way, there are now almost 20 potential candidates for the KPFA LAB. Here’s the latest election schedule - August 23 - Nominations materials due, September 8 - Ballots out, October 9 - Ballots in, October 11-13 - results announced.
Pacifica Hires new National Program Director
Somebody named Steve Yasco has accepted the position of National Program Director and will be joining Pacifica on August 14, 2000. Bessie Wash has this to say, "Steve is a 10-year veteran of public broadcasting, who has developed and assessed national and local programming for a variety of radio stations and organizations. Most recently, Steve has identified programming opportunities for public radio where he participated in the creation, marketing and ongoing evaluation of the News/Talk lineup. He has evaluated and examined budgets for new programming initiatives and developed effective on-air promotional strategies for local implementation. Steve has also produced call-in programming for national distribution." Whew!
KPFA Steering Committee Issues Their Statement of Purpose
"The KPFA Steering Committee, composed of representatives selected by the KPFA staff (paid, unpaid and administrative), Local Advisory Board, and concerned community organizations, is a crisis management council. Its purpose is to mediate, coordinate, and facilitate communication and strategy among its members. The objective of the KPFA Steering Committee is to insure that KPFA and the Pacifica Network are free speech, public, community-based media. The Committee continues to support and promote the thirteen demands developed in the early phases of the struggle to preserve the independence of the station and the network." (Please see the Steering Committee’s thirteen demands published in the July Folio)
LAB Lawsuit Depositions to Begin Soon
The LAB lawsuit is moving into the deposition phase. Unfortunately, depositions are very expensive. It costs approximately $1000 to pay a court reporter to record each deposition and to print it for the court record. The law firm of Siegel and Yee is developing a "target list" of Board members that they intend to depose. There is always a need for more contributions to be made to the LAB lawsuit fund. Please send what you can afford to - Siegel and Yee Trust Account (write Pacifica Suit in the memo area of your check) and mail it to: Siegel and Yee, 499 14th Street, Oakland, CA 94612
As part of the deposition process, there will be discovery of Pacifica’s financial record that has not been forthcoming from the Foundation. Hunter Pile of the Siegel and Yee office has told the Folio that the process will begin very shortly. Hunter says they intend to grill Lynn Chadwick.
Kahlil Tries for Justice
Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, 24, filed a one million dollar civil rights lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, naming the city, Police Chief Dash Butler and several officers as defendants. In his lawsuit, Jacobs-Fantauzzi claims Officers Randolph Files, Russell Lopes and Kevin Schofield assaulted and arrested him without just cause, denied his request for medical treatment and taunted him while he was in custody. He also claims the officers filed false reports claiming he resisted arrest. Kahlil’s attorney John Burris of Oakland said "it was important to bring this lawsuit to show the police and others that he will not be cowered by the forces of oppression and that it is his duty to vindicate himself from the officers' Gestapo tactics."
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Written by Michael Costello