For the last 5 years, there has been no open discussion within KPFT/Houston on what the programming should be. The inexorable drift to full-time DJs playing play-list country/Americana music has occurred without any open debate. The station manager Garland Ganter does not discuss his future plans within the open sessions of the station’s advisory board.

Individual listeners as well as the organized reform groups (Houston Committee for People Radio (HCPR) and the Pacifica Listener’s Union -PLU) believe that the time has come to discuss what goes on the air at KPFT. At many community radio stations, review of programming is done routinely by the community/local advisory board (LAB) and/or an internal programming council. As detailed elsewhere in this issue, KPFT’s LAB is not functioning in this role and has not done its (federally mandated) review of programming for several years. It also does not give the required public notification of its meetings and routinely violates federal guidelines in on taking its discussion into non-public executive session

Recently, I presented a proposal for a new task force to review programming options. First presented in May, this idea has not been acted upon yet by the LAB. To advance a real debate on programming, we present his plan here for discussion.

To address the goal of enhancing the range of quality, well researched and presented local/regional public affairs/issues programming on KPFT not found through other media outlets in this area, we propose the following initiative:

The creation of a task force (under interim leadership of Stan Merriman, listener and progressive community activist) empowered to develop a local/regional public affairs/issues broadcast plan to augment current public affairs programming on KPFT.

Volunteers for the task force will be solicited on KPFT’s air over a two-week period and will include interested members of the KPFT LAB and listener community. Under this plan, recommendations for development of programming would include (but not be restricted to the following) topics:

1. The human, civil and electoral rights of residents in Southeast Texas,
2. Systemic changes needed in our criminal justice system.
3. Public health and quality of life issues, environmental policy/practice by local governments and industries, especially related to air and water quality.
4. Public education issues of relevance to low income and minority families.

The plan would include recommendations on volunteer production, minority community outreach, standards for research and program quality, issues/program schedule, program time requirements and budget/funding needs and funds development strategies. The volunteer task force will be responsible to complete its recommendations and present it the LAB and station management by no later than October 31, 2001. The results and recommendations would be reviewed and acted upon by the KPFT LAB and station management