Tag Archives: Pacifica National Board

UCR Says “No” to the NPR-ization of KPFA

Posted on by Webworker1

 

By:  UCR Candidate Sharon Adams

UCR’s opponents were in control of the Board of Directors when John Proffitt was hired — a man who spent 25 years as general manager at an NPR station prior to coming to Pacifica.  Because UCR’s opponents have a majority on the Pacifica Foundation board that hired Proffitt, one can assume that our opponents support the NPR model of public radio.red-42286_1280

Today, I listened to Morning Edition on NPR, and once again realized how very lame the news and analysis is on NPR.

The issue was Syria, with a shown entitled: “Did Russia’s Entry Into Syria’s Conflict Take the West By Surprise?”  Well, Russia’s entry into Syria didn’t take me by surprise, since Russia publicly announced its intentions prior to going into Syria.  Nevertheless, the NPR story delves deeply into spying, technology, and the remnants of the Cold War in an attempt to figure out if the West and/or Obama knew about Russia’s plans.  Not once, did the so-called “expert” mention that Russia had made numerous public statements about it plans.

For example, on September 18, Russia stated that it will provide troops to Syria, if asked.

On September 27,  Russia publicly released information about an intelligence sharing agreement between Russia, Iraq, Syria and Iran.

On September 28, at the UN General Assembly, Putin announced Russia’s intention to provide military assistance to Syria and Iraq:

“Today, we provide military and technical assistance both to Iraq and Syria and many other countries of the region who are fighting terrorist groups.”

The facts show that Russia’s plans were not secret.  Thus, the entire premise of the NPR story was false.  The NPR story is simply misdirection — talking about something completely irrelevant to the story (spying? the Cold War???), while ignoring the real issues.

We at UCR demand real news and analysis, and that’s part of what we intend to support and promote at KPFA.

Vote for UCR — LET’S LIBERATE MEDIA TOGETHER!

KPFA LOCAL STATION BOARD – RESOLUTION REGARDING MORNING MIX

Posted on by webweaver2
KPFK's Facebook Logo

KPFK’s Facebook Logo

WHEREAS the powers, duties and responsibilities given to Local Station Boards in the Pacifica
Bylaws, Article Seven, Local Station Boards, Section 3: Specific Powers and Duties, include, “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

WHEREAS the Morning Mix aired on KPFA at 8 am Monday through Friday for approximately three-and-a-half years, and

WHEREAS the Morning Mix was produced and hosted by a diverse team of KPFA staff, and

WHEREAS KPFA’s interim General Manager canceled the Morning Mix without ever holding a meeting with the Mix hosts, nor was any evaluation of the Morning Mix prepared, and

WHEREAS KPFA’s interim General Manager notified the Morning Mix hosts by email on May 22, 2014 four days before the programming change was slated to begin, and did not explain why the Morning Mix was being canceled, except to say that the replacement show, Uprising from KPFK in Los Angeles, had “performed well” in the preceding three days of fund drive, when it preempted the Morning Mix,

WHEREAS the cancellation of the Morning Mix, with no prior consultation or program evaluation which was extremely disrespectful of the Morning Mix listeners and the KPFA staff who worked on the Mix, set a poor example of management-staff-listener relations, and

WHEREAS replacing a locally-produced program with a program from outside Northern California will inevitably diminish the quantity and quality of local coverage during the 8:00 am hour, and

WHEREAS, the restoration of the Morning Mix has been endorsed by the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 214, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 10, and the San Francisco Labor Council,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The KPFA Local Station Board urges KPFA’s General Manager to promptly restore the Morning Mix to the 8:00 am hour, Monday through Friday, and

Before a locally-produced program is canceled or subjected to a major schedule change, a policy should be followed that includes a program evaluation, consultation between the programmer(s) and management, and a time period granted for remedying perceived problems.
(Offered on June 6, 2014 by Janet Kobren for June 6, 2014 Local Station Board agenda.  This is a modified version of the original motion.)

Pacifica National Board Minority Position (report)

Posted on by webweaver2
Janet Kobren talking at a fundraiser for the 2010 Gaza freedom flotilla. Ms Kobren participated in the Flotilla and organized the fundraiser

Janet Kobren talking at a fundraiser for the 2010 Gaza freedom flotilla. Ms Kobren participated in the Flotilla and organized the fundraiser

Prepared by Janet Kobren, PNB Listener Director from KPFA*

I am one of nine Pacifica Directors for Good Governance (PDGG).  Since being seated on the PNB on January 30, 2014, I and my fellow PDGG colleagues have witnessed a majority of 12 of the 22- member board put the Foundation at financial risk by violating meeting notice requirements and recklessly rushing through major personnel decisions, in the dark of executive sessions where the majority has manipulated the meeting process, misemployed Roberts Rules of Order including showing favoritism.

 They have acted without official process or documentation, and disallowed discussion or independent legal consultation on very sensitive motions (except outside the meetings, and perhaps by majority and obviously biased directors that happen to be lawyers), all of which may take the Foundation down by opening it up to possible major lawsuits, jeopardizing our insurance coverage, and losing our CPB funding and the re-licensing of WBAI.

Informed by our fiduciary responsibility, the PDGG voiced objections during all PNB meetings and proposed alternatives by submitting motion after motion, all in vain, as they were either voted down or not included in or disappeared from the agendas. Accordingly, the PDGG felt we had no other recourse but to go to the courts.

We filed a lawsuit on April 3rd at the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, case number HG14720131. And although, for technical reasons, the judge denied us a temporary restraining order (TRO) on April 9, she nevertheless scheduled an expedited preliminary injunction hearing in Oakland on May 6.

PDGG fears that there may be no Pacifica network by the end of year and believes that outside intervention is the only way that Pacifica can be saved.

*Presented during the “Pacifica National Board Report” agenda item of the April 12, 2014 KPFA Local Station Board (LSB) meeting.