Open Letter to LA Weekly re KPFK

To : Editor of letters and of article on Pacifica last month:

The article was clearly slanted and mostly  derogatory - and someone wrote elsewhere that your writer was a Marc Cooper student or was so before  and therefore had conflict or interest in his using so many comments from someone who has long long ago been gone from KPFK in any staff, programmer, or management way. Marc was not always believed or appreciated when he was at KPFK anyhow, so elevating his position as a Pacifica 'expert' now can only be due to his current USC position. 

Is it ? 

Then of the letters you printed on line, only 1 appeared to be from a gushing female that left the impression of less reason and more a typical gender -biased 'neediness' -  leaving the letter less than valued as reasonable or thoughtful. 

Then the other letters gave little information of the chaos and turmoil, and they seemed to be only one sided - to bias against KPFK and Pacifica...

How easy it is to only criticize anyone, anything, as you and we know.. it happens all the time.Since it feels oh so powerful to criticize negatively and feel superior to those who actually do the work and invest in what the critic wants to demean or discredit. Here these letters seems to apply the same way.

KPFK sponsors/ members/ subscribers/ payers have had NO information that all this turmoil was apparently brewing, even those who attended LSB board meetings regularly. And eve nwhen some have  repeatedly, directly questioned "their"  LSB members...and yet, rec'd no responses or answers describing any problems already in wild motions -  why there seemed to be conflict that was unstated, unrevealed, and hidden to most of those who pay up, regularly too was kept totally secret, yes,again !

The LSB board represents no one but their own personal selves, maybe just a few [less than 30 if that] members and cannot name any group or whom they do Represent when asked directly. So these positions are not representative of anyone but their own biases, whichever way they like, and refuse to share information with public members. Even when clearly asked at meetings. Nor on KPFK website. Nor are they accessible anywhere on KPFK website, with only chair of LSB link available, if she responds to emails or not.

LSBs= A secret exclusive club of not-representatives in continual conflict in 'public meetings' where the few public attendees know not what the hypocrisy withholds from them and all the others who pay and pay and pay and care. 

It now appears that out of our 4 KPFK LSB that were voted to be our  PNB Pacific's board members were 4 of the 12 that voted to 'fire' the legitimately legally hired Exe Director- Summer Reese  who had worked at that job as an interim ED for many months before without notice of a problem. 

Not that  there were no differences of views and loud arguments always in every meeting anywhere that involves the left, Pacifica, KPFK, et al. But the ED was hired and then voted out by 12 to 10 PNB members [total of 22 PNB members], apparently without notice, without direct discussion with ED or in open PNB meetings with all present, nor  with stated reasons or evidence - and it has been said:  without Human Resources standards or assistance nor  with the legal opinion of the Pacifica legal services. 

Such actions lead to questions and concerns, of course. That actions can be taken by secret collusions and without adequate legal fair work standard  notices - decided  by those just 'elected by local boards' to the PNB national board, This makes the actions suspicious and elicits serious concerns for the whole organization - as some are acting as do military armed rebels in some war torn up country elsewhere =  A dangerous wild spree of gun-words fighting with injuries and many in danger...of losing what Pacifica has been [when stable and honest] and provided so far.  

Also note: trying to read the letters on your website a pop-up repeatedly kept forcing me to REload the page in order to exit the insistent page asking any reader to be subscribing, when we only want to read and not pay up now, not get on lists, not have to repeatedly [4x reloaded ] page to read some misc. letters.  And did not access even the original Pacifica article [which original version of  hate-Pacifica was poorly done,  with sharp breaks in thinking/writing between topics within the writing, and notably having biased quotes from carefully selected one-sided whoevers... 

This article not a representative of the Good Writing often found in your articles, or we would not be reading this paper at all...

so plse share this critique to your writer too if you want. The topic is timely, the writing poor and the bias and chosen 'experts' are one sided and too limited too. This was less expose than maligning and pretending to inform. 

My being a questioner and involved with KPFK since it's inception - and having worked there as a volunteer for many many years - being dedicated and paid up, but concerned of how little transparency there ever has been, I implore you to oversee what and how information about KPFK and Pacifica is being presented by the LA Weekly.

And especially now with such wild actions occurring there, coverage is needed and appreciated.  [not since approx 1990's was there another similar subversive attempt to take over and sell the stations - then with David Adelson working a lawsuit to prevent a take-over, this may be a comparable  move - even tho most of us in LA have no idea whatever that it is happening -  not-in-our-backyard, but the maneuvers that affect the apparent take-over or toppling is the danger to our KPFK too.  

sincerely dedicated to alternative media

daring to speak up and out is courageous and sometimes dangerous...but when the TIME is right and we break  the fear barrier, we too can be more honest, truthful,  and helpful to others, instead of hiding behind old collusions.  No one will ask you to. Just DO IT, finally. 

(c)  al 2014