While the constant fund-driving-away those very listeners ultimately send them/us to other radio stations = that have 1-2 or maybe 3 such sessions that last 1 week - vs. KPFK's having 4x/yr > a month's intrusive begging sessions.
So, a staff/ programmer has written 'an article' in his weekly subscriber-sent program schedule that reads as this
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" FUND DRIVE DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER FUND DRIVES?
Because after a bitter and frustrating 3 ½ year long battle, a feckless national board majority has lost its power. This follows last year's KPFK Local Station Board's victory over our local destructive majority. And the former fearless leaders and their true-believing followers have left a mess to clean up during this dangerous time when the only First Amendment, free speech, non corporate broadcast institution in the country should be leading the battle against fake and censored news, alternative truth, and alternative facts.
The destroyers making up the former majority acted out of several different motivations. Some were purposefully destructive, as political scientist Professor Michael Parenti once said, 'There are people in Pacifica who are drawing more than one paycheck.' Some acted out of raw greed as those who secretly organized and legally incorporated the 'KPFA Foundation' and now 'The Big Tent' to "acquire" Pacifica stations into their own private organization under their own private control due to either their own high motives or in appreciation of the worth of our transmitters being valued in the many tens of millions of dollars.
Their followers were dreamers and 'visionaries' who saw or were promised more power and more representation for their own shibboleth or group or race or beliefs or personal influence despite their lack of experience or expertise in creating any successful programs which gathered a supportive audience.
This foredoomed majority had, in a word, no respect.
They blocked intelligent and responsible discussion on the boards. They 'gamed' the election process to gather more undeserved power. They blocked representation by elected members when their majority power was threatened. For three years they prevented the timely submission of audits to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at the cost of $750,000 to $1m per year. They initiated programming decisions at a frightful cost in audience and in station support. They hired inexperienced or worse management at the stations and in the national office. They disregarded union contracts. They grabbed privately obtained grants which had been limited to specific other purposes. And they lied and they lied and they lied to the staffs, to the volunteers, and to the subscribers. And thus they shepherded the downgrading of the stations' listenership and value.
The destroyers were finally voted out, but they left a mess, and it's time to clean it up and get back to the mission of Pacifica and respect for all peoples and their inclusion in our operation.
(For more than you can possibly want to know about the story, see the two links in the next section ('Behind the Scenes')
BEHIND THE SCENES
"A Tent Too Small" http://pacificainexile.org/archives/2405
"A Timeline of the Coup" (From July, 2012 to February, 2017) http://pacificainexile.org/archives/1817 "
======================================================================
The above quoted section has been copied from:
KPFK's Roy Tuckman ....from a subscription mailing May 2017 for "Something's Happening" program:
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| foto is borrowed from photosbyalexandria.com | foto's significance is how the earth swirls and changes forms, while human-built corporations/ entities tend to get stuck, rigidified, inflexible and loses vitality and beauty and value. duh..... |
a commentary here:
The promises of conflict-free management and staff harmony that may now emerging is a Hope, like all other political promises are too. The intention may be to allay all listeners' concerns and many of their recent years of avoiding having anything more to do with this radio station- which is no longer "Our Radio Station".
Many who before were loyal, devoted, & sacrificing - for keeping KPFK up and broadcasting for years - fell away. Many questioned the hidden-from-listener-donor-ears all the "what is happening in there ?" that went unanswered and was not revealed.
Only the few, who found and read a Berkeley media reporter and the re-posts of her telling some of the chaotic effects of political-power-position infighting occurring in all of Pacifica and it's individual 5 stations, had any clue as to why the station brinked on all edges to almost-collapse - like Humpty Dumpty - but with less congealed fillings inside the corporation.
Some info has been re-posted on this blog, intending to INFORM and MAKE TRANSPARENT whatever seemed pertinent from the little bits & bytes available to us. The rest was word-of-mouth - when a long-term devotee met another, somewhere, and they shared their bit of rumor, news, questions - and still, most had no actual / factual answers.
Perhaps it was Shame of the infighting, the turmoil, the obviously dysfunctionality, and harmful competitiveness within - all that claimed to be "for Peace & Harmony" and was Not so itself, just saying so hypocritically.
Perhaps KPFK or Pacifica were more likely to falter - because those who had any 'positions of influence or power' wanted no further interference in their ploys or moves -and so they kept all 'in-house' info/doings to themselves. The 'in-group' was limited to allies, cronies or enemies.
The intense dislike of others and extreme opposing any plans for Pacifica -and any sales / bankruptcies / copy-cat foundations / programs kept for umpteen # of years for exclusive use / ...
and any number of other problems that were hidden : behind the 'we play good music' and 'we are free and the Only Station that does not use Advertising' [worded in various way, while proudly repeated].
Thus claims for being 'free of any outside influences' was implied but not verifiable.
Meanwhile, Programmers and their guests promo'd their own mdse... and events ...and concerts ....and books ..and themselves.
"Premiums "were sold with much promotion and hype, while claiming them instead as "gifts" - and for much higher [double/ triple] prices compared to the same availability at any other bookstore or website.
Staff hid and did not interact with on-site volunteers - for whatever personal reasons.
And volunteers were dismissed and not used for a long year ? or until the management realized that paid-services for phone pledges was not a better solution, after all. So volunteers were then called back to return - to do free work there.
And many volunteers never returned again.
Others wanting the socializing with like-minded folk, a free meal and a claim to be dedicated to KPFK and Pacifica then returned to Work w/o compensation of any kind. And that work-time-effort at KPFK was a difficulty too. Oh well, some people do like to feel they are doing "important and valuable" free work, plus being inside a radio station seems to have and give status, thus it is worth later bragging about being there too.
So if the disappearing KPFK crowds, that have rejected the prior years' unstable management models ...and gone elsewhere - to pay for and volunteer at other radio stations instead,- may not return even if some changes are hoped/planned to be reality. Or.... if listeners were lured back to their old 'Home', how can these be counted accurately ?
While some others do want to re-hear the same messages from those ancient-clingers-on / old - same programmers - repeating their same basic programs from many years ago -so some listeners may come back to the familiar old KPFK.
There are those 'coming home' -to again be 'in house' - to those comfortable old prejudices - denied but still voiced- to those programmers that are still repeating their own version & biases - and doing the usual exhortations. Hear the same Venting... and sometimes shouting ...the mostly outrages and anger at any targets that are considered " P.C" . .... and liberal enough ....so as to continue 'fitting in' with the group and ...what is popular in 1-sided circles.
Tho "Independence" is often claimed to be part of KPFK and it's main mission - but then it not really allowed to fit into this KPFK-party-lines either.
Critical Thinking is also applauded but not allowed when any 'other' thought diverges from the limited version of what is "right" or "good" or "ours" in 1-sided minds.
Vote this way only ! Agree or exit. Don't think for your own self, be one-of-Us !-only !
Creativity is admired but not utilized nor barely heard at KPFK, since the same-old-same-old people return and hold-on to their on-air-access Power Positions there. And righteousness prevails, eking out any creative inputs or outputs there.
But the current 'fund drive' may be more mellow and less bellowing than the last years, and the hope is that , once again, "More More Money ! send us Money, on your Credit Card or Text us ! More !
More !" may prevail. We'll listen and then decide if changes are valid, helpful, and become actually effective.
While, many do NOT WANT ANY CRITICISM of the poor ['victimized'] KPFK radio broadcasting station that is forever "trying" and not often achieving any improved goals. So anyone daring to state the obvious or note the hypocrisies and pretenses and opaqueness [vs. 'transparencies ' claimed] that do exist. So be it.
No one wants to admit imperfections, Nor that their preferred-image has flaws, holes, gaps, and are faked.
But then, without cleansing out what has been found and destructive so far:
the old-repetitions [behaviors, programs, declarations, etc.] that have been dragging down the station's viability and sustainability, [in so m any ways: financially, socially, and demographically, etc. etc. ] how can KPFK become what insiders say 'it is' or that station sustainers want to be?
May changes be made - that improves all aspects of this resource - just 1 in a panoply of radio offerings in the LA area - just to have another variation. So as to not to be a sole-source enigma or lone-wolf outcrier.
May KPFK improve in any and all ways possible.... or end up where it had been steadily
heading...out !
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Repeated suggestion to all readers here :
DARE to give current management your suggestions, concerns, criticisms - in person, by phone, or less effectively by email. The website recently has a talk-back box that may or not reply... nowadays . Check them out to see if they are responsive or still reluctant [ secretive ? ].
Write a hard-copy ,P.O. letter and then send it elsewhere too : about what you think, want and want to 'pay for' too. Write it to more than 1 person: a staffer, manager, director, LSB person, Pacifica board person, ..... or for publication elsewhere.
See KPFK.org for directions to station, the phone #, hours open, and tho only a few of staff are named & listed there now.
Notice how same programs are on the schedule on website. Sadly, Few innovations, changes are found there. Experimentations or improvements are very few and most programmers remain for decades in situ.
Find ones you like - and try to inform Programmers too - about what you want/ like/ don't appreciate in each program, whether they reply or not. If they don't care, inform the station staff about this disregard that has happened there for years already.
Maybe, or not, attend at least 1x a [LSB] Local Station Board meeting. See when in 'events' section on website. Public comments are very, very briefly, allowed, tho who there listens or cares
is not so noticeable.
Add a pertinent, polite, but relevant comment here too.
But: Dont wait for 'someone else' to fix it.
That may not happen, or soon enough to re-establish a vital, relevant, creative and innovative radio station at KPFK... it might still be revivable. Maybe.
(c) ha
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