The way a new host was chosen for the open Sunday Salon slot was very
disappointing, as many opportunities were missed for carrying out ideals
and goals fought for by KPFA.
[This refers to the successful fight to win back
the station in 1999 -2000.
See "Chronology" article in the Archives section.]
* There was an opportunity to deconstruct the two-hour hosted format,
in place from the time of the Healthy Stations program, and which replaced
to some extent a system which presented different speakers/programmers/hosts
within a time slot.
This opportunity was missed.
[ The Healthy Stations plan of the
conservative National Federation of Community Broadcasters favored fostering
high Arbitron ratings over station mission, and block (or strip) programming,
loss of the folio, and the firing of dozens of KPFA programmers were
a result of KPFA's version, embodied in Pacifica's Strategy for National
Programming.]
* This was an opportunity to let in segments of our community
which want to get their issues on the air - another opportunity to give
a "voice to the voiceless". [a slogan
of KPFA]
This opportunity was missed.
[At this meeting alone there was a
public commenter who urged the station to devote regular airtime to
community people who would cover urgent issues of the Bayview-Hunters
Point neighborhood.]
* There was an opportunity to decrease the paid staff by attrition,
which would work toward improving the station's finances. The recent
large increase in paid staff strains the station's budget.
This opportunity was missed.
.[At this meeting the Treasurer reported that
there was a mandatory cut in staff planned, in order to balance the
budget. But this new host was hired as a paid staff person.]
* There was an opportunity to create programming in a "fair, collaborative,
and respectful manner" as is mandated as one of the goals and duties
of the LSB in the Bylaws. But the choice was made without allowing input
from the Program Council, and as one of their reps noted, they were
not even notified of the choice until it was published on the Alliance
list.
So this oppurtunity was also missed.
[See the article Program Council Ignored Again.
The entrenched staff faction and their listener rep allies - now the
Concerned Listeners - are opposed to the Program Council having any
input into programming, and consistently ignore, stonewall. and sabotage
it, though it is composed of 60% staff.]
* There is an opportunity for the LSB to be concerned with how
this decision was made. It is a concern of yours according to
the Bylaws, Article 7 "LSB", Section 3 "Powers and Duties",
Item G.
This opportunity is being missed.
[The item referred to:
"G. To work with station management to ensure
that station programming fulfills the purposes of the Foundation and
is responsive to the diverse needs of the listeners (demographic) and
communities (geographic) served by the station, and that station policies
and procedures for making programming decisions and for program evaluation
are working in a fair, collaborative and respectful manner to provide
quality programming."
And I wanted to ask particularly of those who are allied with
the Concerned Listeners (slate): Are you concerned with
this breach of governance, which is not "micromanaging", but
which is very much within the scope of your duties?
[The Concerned Listeners slate ran on a platform
which included "not micromanaging . . . programming " and
focusing on "fiscal oversight, fund raising, and community outreach"
instead - worthy tasks perhaps and the focus of most non-profit boards
of hierarchically governed organizations, but meant to squelch listener
input into programming at KPFA, and to leave it to the staff and their
Management allies, (if Management will defer to them). Our democratic
Bylaws do not support this.]
Thank you. [It may not have been appropriate
to thank the Board for listening as it seems most may not have been
listening to the Public Comments.]
Mara Rivera
7/21/07
