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Since our last issue of Houston Radio Report, there have been rapid developments both nationally and locally in the battle to reform and reenergize Pacifica radio and KPFT/Houston. We review a few highlights below.
12/12/01: A Final Settlement Reached at Pacifica. Elections to be Held for new Local Advisory Boards (LABs) at all Five Stations Within One Year.
A settlement of the 3 (or maybe 4) lawsuits was signed by Pacifica national board members and the listener and LAB plaintiffs (under the supervision of the presiding judge, Ronald Sabraw, and the Attorney General of California). The two most significant parts of the settlement were the formation of a new interim board (the "iPNB") and the requirement that the iPNB establish an election process for all 5 LABs, based on the subscriber-based democratic system developed at KPFA over the last 2 years.
The new iPNB is now constituted of fifteen directors with the (former) majority members of the old board controlling five seats, the (former) minority/dissident members of the old board selecting five directors; and the Chair of each of the five LABs naming one director each.
The iPNB was reconstituted with the following previous members, including from the old majority- Bert Lee (DC), Dick Gregory (DC/NYC), James Ferguson (DC), Marion Barry (DC) and Wendall Johns (DC, since resigned)- and three from the old minority- Leslie Cagan (NYC), Pete Bramson (CA), Rob Robinson (DC)- as well as new members Janice K. Bryant (NYC), and Teresa Allen (Houston), and new appointees from the LABs- Ray LaForest (WBAI/NYC), David Fertig (KPFK/LA), Carol Spooner (KPFA/Berkeley), Jabari Zakiya (WPFW/DC) and George Barnstone (KPFT).The iPNB will serve only for fifteen (15) months beginning on 12/29/01, at the end of which time all directors will resign in favor of directors to be elected pursuant to new bylaws to be developed by the iPNB. LAB elections pursuant to new bylaws will be held one year from 12/29/01, and within three months after the LAB elections the election of a new national board will take place. To cover potential problems in organizing bylaw changes, an application may be made to the Court to extend the term of the iPNB.
12/29/01: The iPNB Gets Underway
At its first (webcast) meeting, the new national board elected Leslie Cagan, a long-time peace and social justice activist, as chair. Carol Spooner, the chief plaintiff in the listener's lawsuit, was elected Secretary, and Jabari Zakiya, a media activist from Washington DC, was elected Treasurer.
At this meeting, the iPNB ordered the return of the news hour Democracy Now! to all five stations, set up a committee (composed of both iPNB and WBAI LAB members) to resolve problems at WBAI and lifted the "Gag Rule" which had prevented on-air discussions of Pacifica issues, recommending 3 hours/week of Pacifica programming for each station.
A Whirlwind Week: Ganter and most of KPFT's Staff Quits and the iPNB holds a Successful Public Meeting in NYC
On 1/9/02, Garland Ganter, the general manager of KPFT for the last 7 years, gave two days notice of his intent to quit. Program director/Morning DJ Mary Ramirez and several other staffers leave with Ganter. PNB chair Cagan appointed Steve Brightwell, KPFT's chief engineer, as interim manager. Roark Smith and Phil Edwards stay on to continue the daytime music programming.
The iPNB meeting meets on 1/11-1/3/02 in a Union Hall in NYC in front of an exuberant and occasionally rabid crowd. The Board accomplishes the selection of a new interim Executive Director, Dan Coughlin (formerly of PNN), a return of the fired and banned programmers to WBAI (with the removal of acting GM Bob Daughtry) and passage of a resolution urging the dwindling KPFT LAB and iLAB to merge and become a fully-constituted board. Portions of the meeting are broadcast live on KPFT, with commentary by Larry Bensky from KPFA.
1/18/02: Merger of the KPFT LAB and iLAB Occurs at a Packed Public Meeting
At an overflowing meeting attended by over 350 concerned listeners, the KPFT LAB (5 members) and the iLAB (19 members) merged their membership, as requested by the national board. Deb Shafto was unanimously elected Chair. Dan Jones was elected Secretary and Mary Ann Martinez was elected vice-chair by voice votes (after Russ Setzekorn declined to be nominated). Following a vociferous public comment section, the formal meeting adjourned for another hour of small group meetings in 6 different rooms with LAB members facilitating the discussion in each room. The meeting was the first freewheeling public discussion of KPFT in the last year.
Independent Audit Reveals Deep Debts Incurred by the Pacifica National Office, Primarily Lawyer and Public Relations Fees
An audit performed by independent accountants pegged Pacifica's debt at $4.8 million, at least half of which was for outstanding bills to lawyers, public relations companies and security guards hired by the previous board to resist reform. The most egregious charges were those from Epstein, Becker and Green, the law firm of one of the recently resigned PNB members, John Murdock. The entire debt constitutes nearly 50% of the total revenue of the network, which was anticipated to be $10.8 million this year. The new Pacifica management hired its own competing white-shoe law firm (Sanders, Squire and Dempsey) to challenge the legitimacy of many of these charges.
It is also revealed that departing managers Utrice Leid (with less than 1 year of service at WBAI) and Garland Ganter received 9-month severance packages, that had been negotiated many months before their departure. Managers at WPFW/DC (Lou Hankins) and KPFK/LA (Mark Schubb) were placed on administrative leave with interim managers appointed at those stations. At this time, the status of compensation packages, if any, for Schubb and Hankins are not publicly known.
The Pacifica Campaign and various listener groups ended their declared boycott campaigns on giving donations to Pacifica. KPFA and WBAI moved ahead with successful fundraising drives as Pacifica national management encouraged each station to begin local accounting and management of listener donations.
Gradual Changes in Programming Begin at KPFT
Given the lifting of the "gag rule", several programmers (Wally James and Bob Buzzanco of Progressive Forum, particularly) begin the first on-air discussions of the Pacifica crisis yet heard on KPFT. On the MLK Day holiday, Milestones' Miles Willis hosts a tribute to Dr. King featuring music and commentary by Sanders Anderson (Professor of Political Science at Texas Southern University) and Reverend William A. Lawson (a colleague of Dr. King and Founding Pastor of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church).
2/6/02: A New General Manger is Chosen for KPFT
On February 6 2002, Pacifica ED Coughlin announced the selection of Duane Bradley as the new General Manger of KPFT. Duane, a well-known figure at KPFT, is a former program director (from '88-'89) and the host of the "Spirit" program for 8 years. He was also a leading figure in the Pacifica reform movement throughout the 1990's and had been active in the Houston Committee for People's Radio (HCPR) since its founding in 1999.
Duane's selection followed a search and interview process jointly coordinated by the KPFT LAB and the Pacifica national office. Following national and local advertising for the position, there was a preliminary screening, scoring and interview process conducted by the KPFT LAB, in consultation with the national office.
The GM selection process, nonetheless, met with opposition from those who wanted more public participation in the hiring process. During the 3-week search, public jockeying and lobbying for candidates ensued and one candidate had his confidential application material released publicly, In the most unseemly episode, two GM candidates Otis Hardy Maclay and former KPFT engineer Bob Cham used Otis' internet radio show (Radio4Houston) to denounce the selection process and directly pressure LAB members to change the interview process to be held the next day. Nonetheless, the eventual selection of Duane Bradley was met with great enthusiasm by many current programmers, listeners and reformers.
2/6/02: The 2nd KPFT LAB Meeting Proves that Meditation will Not Placate Music Fans
At a packed meeting at a Krishna Temple attended by over 200 listeners, the new General Manager of KPFT, Duane Bradley was introduced. Duane briefly addressed the crowd remarking that change was inevitable but he hoped that everyone would participate in shaping the future direction of the station.
This was followed by some LAB business that included passing motions encouraging the new GM to establish a news department and to return fired and banned programmers to the air (including George Reiter formerly of Thresholds). Then Lyn Gerry, visiting Houston for the day, addressed the crowd giving background and context for the struggle to reclaim Pacifica to a "hushed" audience. The well-behaved crowd jousted with Ms. Gerry over the meaning of listener sponsorship of radio. The meeting closed with public comment and breakout into two subcommittees (programming and governance) that were open to all attendees. Most current (and many past) programmers from KPFT attended the meeting and participated in the conversation with board members and listeners.
Since his appointment, KPFT GM Bradley has made sevral changes to introduce new public affairs programming, including a lunch hour "Open Journal" that replays speeches from the Pacifica Archives or Alternative Radio. Free Speech Radio News (FSRN) also began airing at 6 PM and the Berkeley-based Making Contact from then National Radio Project has replaced the Pacifica newscast (see below).
2/15/02 Pacifica Network News Goes Off the Air.
In a move designed equally to save costs (~1 million/year) and to resolve long-standing labor issues (by terminating the show), Pacifica ended production of its nightly newscast, Pacifica Network News (PNN). More than half of the last broadcast (available online at webactive.com) was a pity party by news anchor Josephine Reed, senior correspondent Don Rush and KPFK commentator Marc Cooper, who lambasted the current Pacifica management. Frequent PNN commentator Saul Landau, a favorite target of HRR, closed the broadcast by whining and whimpering. The five Pacifica stations and many of the network's affiliates have since substituted FSRN, a half-hour broadcast produced by a large staff of stringers and correspondents, many of whom had left PNN because of concerns over censorship. Shortly after the cancellation of PNN, Marc Cooper, long-time KPFK programmer and host of Radio Nation, was suspended by KPFK interim manager Steven Starr for refusing to fundraise
As we go to press, changes continue to occur at Pacifica on a daily basis. One can only hope that KPFT and the network will emerge intact from the long struggle.
-Chug
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