KPFK: program changes ? Eliminations ? Financial discrepancies? Archives failing? more….

                                                        KPFK  Program changes …… 

Are program changes made by unilaterally made by a few cronies running KPFK now, with less stability of regular favorites available and experimentation may help or wreck listenership…
and how long will it take to find out if KPFK can ‘maintain’ = survive=continue on       ….in any/ all ways ? 

It was heard that KPFK’s general Manager announced [some, how many ?] undefined program changes for January. such ambiguities and lack of specifics is wholly unhelpful and uninformative, and sounds more like a warning than a managerial announcement. 

That is less than 1 month from this date and advance notices to employees, staff and volunteers is also “good business practices” as seen/ heard at other corporations. 

              FINANCES…..   hmmmm... not looking good or self-sustaining ....

$$$$ does not seem to be either coming “in” nor are long begging sessions keeping listeners listening any more. Plus the books look like they have been cooking and overboiled and spoiled already too….Bank reconciliations do not prove honesty prevails or numbers can be validated…hmmm

And…then let’s us as members, donors also look at what is happening to Finances at KPFK:
It’s bank reconciliations are still not done and have been transferred to the national office for completion and further adjustments…” 

while the 2014 audit has not yet been completed either. 

Ms. Radford instead encouraged f.t. employees to quit. She instead was offering them buyouts - on a 6-month installment plan. Then she conveniently blamed the National Finance Committee instead, for her broken promises to her staff. This is done after that same committee was disbelieving that KPFK could even produce what they need to $ raise:  $550,000 annually in “silent drives”. 

[ if ‘silent’ means not the same as when louder on-air fund drives are perpetually on air ?    or are these another  kind of donation solicitation – a different effective version ? Like the KPFK website that has been neglected and not updated, that resource is suppose to elicit more $$$ by it’s silent self ?  huh ? 

Especially when  KPFK “has already said it intends to default on past-due premium gifts for subscribers unless compelled by “legal action” to provide what was paid for and promised at various prior fund $ drives? 

Is this how KPFK management solves it’s problems by reneging on promises ? 

By ignoring debts owed ? By cheating pledge-paid-donors from their promised premiums, for which they donated generously ? 

What is this new management style ?

Or  to get $$$  from the richer folks to give of their wealth maybe?   How are ‘silent’ solicitations done and why do they not produce enough $$$  to prevent the long, exhausting, irritating, begging that is repeated so, so frequently on air. Just what is that ‘silent drive’ and does it produce much? ].   

Ms. Radford  then proposed to run a donation request drive for 95 days and hope, maybe, to raise $6,000 a day via the website.  But the KPFK website [KPFK.org] apparently has no one updating it, nor staff dedicated to serving and uploading on it. 

Plus the website was also broken and “out” for much of the prior 2 months. Who is watching the store ? Anyone ?  

Then the serious problem of prior promises that full time staff’s work hour reductions at  KPFK would end in December. This sounds like it may not be so. Just a week about 24 grievances with SAG-AFTRA  will go into arbitration on December 13^th.  Mgr. Radford now  told the station’s staff they would not be restored to full time work in January as previously promised. What ? Why the delay or change of plans ?  

Note also that SAG-AFTRA union staffers, who were previously informed that their involuntary cuts to 1/2 status would end at the end of 2015, after which they would resume their full duties. But now the PNB-finance committee changed the story: now the message is that “ the restoration of staff hours will be contingent upon, and proportional to, the achievement of fundraising goals in the budget”. 

Good luck, if any can be found, in achieving “GOALS” set at any high level, but hardly ever, ever being reached …ever reached?   How clever a ploy to insure that the delayed re-hiring can be avoided, especially with the regular donations & listeners going down…down…down………and almost ‘out’ now….

and then….the Pacifica Finance committee [ = KPFK’s national umbrella org]  voted to go on vacation and let the holidays keep the debt collectors away, maybe….  by taking a month long vacation between December 15, 2015  thru  January 19, 2016.   
Enjoy yourselves, dearies !!

Maybe these authorized PNB folk hope for some magic to erase the oversights, the errors and  all the $$$-questions of 2015 ? 

Plus forget that the audits were not done for 2014 and 2015, so are now way overdue too?   Well, Hawaii may not be their main vacation choice, but why not take a nice trip away from the Pacifica turmoils that they will be leaving left unresolved- the 5 station + affiliates can well fend for themselves meanwhile, right  ? No, no sunshine here. 

   Audio Archives are hardly available anymore. What gives or doesn’t any more ? 

KPFK’s infrastructural breakdowns  continue and even to worsen, with the Archives uploader, which has been broken since Dec 6 and because of that lack of maintenance the station has  prevented all website after-broadcasted listening for most of the station’s programs. 

This lack of maintenance will be blamed on ‘look, no money, ma !” but is probably more that the staff attempting to replace those fired/reduced paid staffers are unable and not knowledgeable enough to do proper Upkeep.

And so current staff cant keep the Promises made for years about programs being available for Afterwards Listening too,  for those who can’t listen ‘on time’. Archival access is an important way to retain listeners and donors, as more limited program access means less interest and trust in KPFK’s stability &, reliability.

     Debts need to be paid and arbitration completed satisfactorily. But not done yet.

While KPFK still  struggles for cash needed to run the heavy radio station, and it prepared for the  difficult December 13,2015 arbitration with SAG-AFTRA, GM L. Radford and one faction continued meanwhile to pursue replacing of  many profitable-programs with even less-profitable programs.  

The station’s unionized  staff already has made some $150,000 in concessions before,   but it appears that station’s debts were not fully or mostly paid down, not yet. 

So it appears that the both the broadcast and website digital infrastructures  may just continue on to deteriorate.  And there seems to be no fail-safe plans or strategies in effect. What can or will save KPFK?

[ NOTE: some information has been culled and learned from : http://pacificainexile.org/archives/    and more details and information can be found there. ]

(c) 2015    bt   on  commentary above