Pacifica

Listener outrage forces KPFA management to abandon plans to remove 9AM Democracy Now!

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BREAKING NEWS — A VICTORY! Over the weekend, hundreds of you sent letters to KPFA’s managers protesting their plan to make sweeping programming changes without input from staff and listeners. In a hastily-called staff meeting yesterday morning, according to KPFA workers, the station’s interim general manager Andrew Phillips and interim program director Carrie Core agreed to not cancel the 9 AM broadcast of Democracy Now!. They said they’d been influenced by the outpouring of listener letters and phone calls over the weekend. You made the difference!

For instance, referring to new revelations of corporate money from Goldman Sachs, Daniel Goodwin writes “I have listened and contributed to KPFA since I moved to the Bay Area 35 years ago. I have never before witnessed such a grotesque assault on noncommercial radio, on the very core of Lewis Hill’s vision, as we see unfolding today. Corporate money flows into WBAI programming, while KPFA’s GM characterizes Lewis Hill’s values as outdated…. these people have no shame.”

Listener Iris Biblowitz wrote: “I don’t understand how Pacifica can make dictatorial changes in KPFA’s schedule, treating competent, truth-seeking, and hard-working journalists like cards to be shuffled.”

“What has been happening to KPFA programming — and what I understand is now about to happen at the hands of people who temporarily occupy positions with decision-making authority — is really horrific,” wrote listener Phyllis Willett. We need to have The Morning Show restored and we certainly should not be reducing Democracy Now’s airtime.” | MORE LETTERS

Unfortunately, Phillips and Core say they’re committed to keeping the Morning Show from returning to KPFA, and to many of the other program changes they announced last week, including moving Hard Knock Radio and Flashpoints to the morning (without explaining where exactly they’d go).

KEEP THE PRESSURE ON! Tell management to back off on these unwise changes, respect KPFA staff and listeners, and return the Morning Show to the air. EMAIL via this page or PHONE interim managers Andrew Phillips (510-848-6767 ext 203) and Carrie Core (510-848-6767 ext 209).

WBAI funds came from Goldman Sachs, says Pacifica

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Three days after the story broke on April 22, Pacifica management is now saying that its New York City station, WBAI, received $10,000 from corporate finance giant Goldman Sachs (not corporate finance giant Merrill Lynch/Bank of America, as originally stated by WBAI’s general manager). The Pacifica network has a long-standing policy of not taking corporate underwriting.

The KPFA Weekend News ran a story April 24 about the funding, which included an interview with former Pacifica correspondent Larry Bensky (audio here) on the issues at stake. On April 25, Pacifica executive director Arlene Engelhardt spoke to KPFA News (audio here), and called the money a “grant,” but said that she would not rule out underwriting in the future.

It’s still unclear what strings were attached to the gift — Pacifica managers have told various people that the gift was either unrestricted, or specifically for a series on the topic of hydro-fracking. No-strings-attached gifts are not, legally-speaking, “underwriting.” Donations to fund a particular program or series are. Engelhardt was unable to produce any documents related to the “grant.”

KPFA’s interim managers announce sweeping changes, cancellation of 9AM Democracy Now!

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An email from interim managers Andrew Phillips and Carrie Core announces the most extensive programming changes to the station in the last decade, including canceling the 9 AM broadcast of the station’s most popular program, Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman.

There was no consultation with KPFA’s elected local board, or any other parts of KPFA’s community. Phillips and Core were appointed to their temporary jobs only a few months ago by Pacifica’s Arlene Engelhardt.

KPFAWorker.org describes the changes: “Management intends to move Flashpoints to 8am and Hard Knock Radio to 9am, while Against the Grain and Living Room would be moved to 11am and music moved to the noontime for an hour and a half.  FSRN and Al Jazeera, which often duplicate coverage, would be put back-to-back at 4pm.  And an unformulated program, which sounds a lot like the concept of the unpopular Morning Mix, would be on from 5-6pm with five rotating hosts.” MORE FROM KPFAWORKER.ORG | KPFA News report

“These ridiculous changes make no sense,” said Pamela Drake, a local KPFA board member.  “And they will drive away thousands of listeners at a very difficult economic time. What listeners want is the return of the Morning Show.”

Before the changes were announced, KPFA staff had begun circulating this letter, calling for management to reinstate Aimee Allison, instead of continuing to spend listener dollars on anti-union lawyers.

Merrill Lynch underwriting Pacifica programs?

Other disturbing news surfaced today that Pacifica, which owns KPFA’s license, appears to have taken corporate underwriting from financial giant Merrill Lynch.

Activists at Pacifica-owned station WBAI in New York report that during the station’s April 21 Finance Committee meeting, its general manager admitted taking $10,000 from Merrill Lynch to fund a producer’s work on “hydro-fracking,” an environmentally-destructive method of extracting natural gas.

“No way does this happen without the approval of the CFO and PNB Treasurer,” said Debbie Speer, a long-time activist and KPFA listener via sister station KFCF in Fresno. “In my opinion, if they weren’t in the loop on this, they are incompetent. If they were, they are corrupt. Either way, they need to resign or be removed.”

KPFA’s interim GM Andrew Phillips has also said that he favors underwriting by businesses.

Judith Scherr, an unpaid staffer at KPFA, asked the question on many people’s minds: “Who are these people and what are they doing to my radio station?”

The Pacifica National Board is responsible for what happens at each of the 5 Pacifica stations, including KPFA. They hire and can fire the executive director, Arlene Engelhardt.  Engelhardt herself hand-picked KPFA’s interim managers Andrew Phillips and Carrie Core, who are directly responsible for the programming changes.

Outraged? TAKE ACTION!

EMAIL the Pacifica National Board via this page. We’ll forward your mail to all 20 members of that board, as well as KPFA’s interim managers and local board members. We will not release your email address.

PHONE KPFA’s interim managers are at (510) 848-6767. The receptionist was laid off, so please dial these direct extensions: Andrew Phillips (ext 203) and Carrie Core (ext 209).