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Survey results show 91% support Morning Show return, listeners ready to act

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Thanks to all of you who participated, SaveKPFA has just completed our first-ever survey. The survey was a response to KPFA management’s announcement of drastic programming changes — all without consulting KPFA’s listeners.

Seventy percent of those surveyed said the changes would decrease their listening time, and 65% said the new changes would decrease the likelihood they’d give financially to KPFA. Of the specific changes announced by management, pariticipants most opposed proposals to move or eliminate the 9 AM broadcast of Democracy Now!, and to move Hard Knock Radio and Flashpoints to the morning hours. In all, 948 people responded to the poll.

Your responses have already had an impact: SaveKPFA representatives Margy Wilkinson, Mal Burnstein and Barbara Whipperman presented the survey results to KPFA interim general manager Andrew Phillips — he told them his plans to scramble KPFA’s morning lineup were “in abeyance,” partly because of “enormous push back.”

91% say “restore the Morning Show”

The strongest positive survey response came in reaction to an option management has not yet put on the table — restoring KPFA’s Morning Show. A whopping 91% of participants registered support.

One wrote: “We need professional journalists covering local and national stories in depth. I miss all of the Morning Show, but especially the environmental news, the film reviews and the coverage of local politics and culture.” Another respondent: “Since the Morning Show is gone I don’t feel the tie to the Bay Area anymore. . . . I’ve been a supporter for 8 years, but this year I decided not to pay my pledge unless the Morning Show returns.”

Many expressed support for Flashpoints and Hard Knock Radio, but not for broadcasting them in the morning, which, as one listener wrote, seemed like a plan “set up to fail.” Over 90% of respondents supported the right of KPFA’s journalists to cover developments in the network and opposed any corporate funding.

Strong support for changing Pacifica’s bylaws

Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents said they’d support a recall of incumbent board members involved in misconduct, and about the same percentage said they’d support changing Pacifica’s bylaws to give KPFA more local control.

Of the 14% of respondents who said they are not currently KPFA members, nearly half (47%) said they’d be willing to become a member in order to vote on restoring local control at KPFA.

Since there is no way to randomly survey everyone who listens to KPFA, this survey used what statisticians call “snowball sampling.” SaveKPFA distributed the survey to its growing email list, and posted invitations in places KPFA listeners were likely to visit — such as the Facebook pages for Alternet and Democracy Now! Participants were encouraged to pass the survey along to other KPFA listeners. To avoid vote-stacking, survey software prevented anyone from completing the survey twice from the same computer.  | READ COMPLETE SURVEY RESULTS

Monterey Central Labor Council resolution against Pacifica’s anti-union actions

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Another AFL-CIO labor council has come out in support of KPFA’s staff. The Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, representing more than 30,000 union members in Monterey and Santa Cruz passed a unanimous resolution taking Pacifica to task for “blatant anti-union actions” in its dealings with KPFA’s paid workers.

The resolution specifically criticized Pacifica’s national board for “making individual name recommendations for layoffs” — a reference to management’s targeting of its political opponents on the Morning Show, the Evening News and Against the Grain.

Similar resolutions have also been passed by the San Francisco Labor Council, the Alameda Labor Council and the South Bay Labor Council, as well as the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the Berkeley City Council.

KPFA supporters handed out this flyer this month at a picket in front of Pacifica’s offices.  Pacifica continues to refuse to mediate the dispute.

Aimee Allison layoff headed to arbitration

The layoff of KPFA Morning Show co-host Aimee Allison is going to binding arbitration next week. SaveKPFA raised $63,000 in pledges to restore the Morning Show — that’s enough to pay Allison’s salary and benefits for more than one year. But Pacifica management has turned down the pledges and instead is paying the anti-union law firm Folger Levin to fight KPFA’s union at $400/hour. Pacifica had already paid Folger Levin over $30,000 by the end of January 2011, and once arbitration begins, it will also have to pay expensive arbitrator’s fees.

Pacifica manager’s anti-worker comments; AIDS denier being considered for KPFA show

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Workers at some of Pacifica’s stations have been speaking out about what they say is censorship, including political journalist Bill Weinberg of New York City’s WBAI. Weinberg’s show was taken off the air by WBAI’s interim general manager Tony Bates, who has removed or marginalized dozens of other programs, including left economist Doug Henwood‘s Behind the News.

Postings by Bates on his Facebook page this week display an alarming anti-worker bias. (Bates wrote as “Tony Beezy” to KPFK staffer Zuberi Fields).

“The Pacifica network should not tolerate this sort of behavior from any manager,” said Margy Wilkinson, chair of KPFA’s local board. “Arlene Engelhardt is this guy’s boss, and she needs to take strong action immediately.”

Meanwhile, over strenuous objections from AIDS activists and physicians, Bates also replaced some of WBAI’s local programming with a show by vitamin salesman Gary Null, who denies that AIDS is caused by a virus. Null openly markets his own products on the air, including one so badly formulated that, by his own account, it nearly killed him.

Critics say such programming is downright dangerous  to the millions who live with HIV and AIDS, as well as other health conditions, and could put Pacifica in legal jeopardy. On World AIDS Day last December, bay area activists protested Null’s show outside of Pacifica’s Berkeley offices. | KPFA News report on Null protest

Pacifica executive director Arlene Engelhardt and newly-appointed KPFA interim general manager Andrew Phillips are currently considering bringing Null’s program to KPFA.

Outraged? Let them know by writing KPFA here, or by calling Engelhardt at 510-402-9880 and Phillips at 510-848-6767 ext. 203. Or if you prefer, you can use SaveKPFA’s write Pacifica page and we’ll forward your email to boards and managers.