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Rumor has it that Roy Campanella fired by Kpfa Governing board

by Viva KPFA !
Roy Campanella was reportly fired Jan.7 by a 17-5 majority of the stations's board . Why is unclear .
Rumor has it that Roy Campanela , KPFA Station manager and son of Pioneer Black Baseball star . was fired Saturday Jan.8 by the KPFA governing board By a 17-5 Majority . Why he was fired is uncertain . Whether it was because of the sexual harassement allegations raised several months ago or because of new complaints by African-American activists like Fred Hampton Jr. over the Stanley Tookie Williams coverage no one has yet said . Hopefully this action will not hurt our station . I do not think it will . Roy alienated just about everyone associated with Paciifca .
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by johnx
I met Roy once. He treated me with kindness & dignity when he did not have to do so.
by KPFA listener
It just doesn't sound at all likely. Unless you can substantiate this, which it appears that you can't, there's no valid reason to post such a report.
by Happy Listener
This is no rumor . I was told by several relieved staff members. As a Feminist Woman i am pleased. He richly deserved it , as the Purple Berets documented. I am glad that both board factions finally united on this issue .
by KPFA watcher
The board kept Campanella in the job last year despite credible reports of sexual harassment, an internal investigation that said he should be fired, and the signing of a letter of no confidence by nearly 100 staffers. Board members smeared KPFA workers who spoke out against Campanella -- particularly the women who courageously stood up to him. The board only acted now because the first case came back from the courts saying that a woman worker had the right to sue the station for sexual harassment. They were acting to cover their asses and personal financial assets.

Glad Campanella is on his way out -- but the board majority should be too.
by looking back
I met roy several dozen times. He treated me with dishonesty and disrespect when he did not have to. people are complex. go figure.
by Toni Costello
Why was Roy Campanella fired ? Was it because of last year's sexual harassement charges or something new ? What caused the Peoplesradio.org group to alter their position ? Will there be a public statement about all this ? I am not a happy listener about this whole situation .
by Old Lib
According to reports, Richard Phelps, chair of the KPFA board, has declared Sarve Randawa "disqualified" to be a member of the Pacifica board.

Phelps cites no authority, just declared him ineligible and appointed a new member in Sarve's place. Phelps waited until the KPFA board had adjourned before making his move to consilidate power.

He is also suing an elderly retired KPFA listener for exercising free speech and criticizing Phelps about how he treats staff and listeners.

Lsughingly, Phelps claims to be a vital supporter of democracy and transparency, but takes every opportunity to block democratic votes, free speech and open governance at Pacifica.

Phelps is the architect of the plan to get rid of Campenella; the intention was to keep Campenella because it pissed off the staff, who Phelps sees as parasites and useless to his plans. When staff began working with Campenella after the vote to keep him, Phelps organized to get rid of Campenella.

Phelps has previously applied to be manager of KPFA, but has never been considered adequate to the task by any hiring committee.



by Tomas Moran (TomasMoran [at] aol.com)
Roy Campanella has been manager at KPFA for a little over one year. Shortly after his arrival, various factions within the station started to position to disempower the new GM in case he did not go along with their agendas. This escalated to straight out character assassination.

Unfortunately, this has been the pattern of the intramural fights at KPFA, following the successful ending to the Pacifica phase of the struggle at the end of 2001. The players in this intramural fight include the staff and many of the regulars in the LSB.

It is time for the listeners to re-educate ourselves about the real factors that will continue to undermine positive change inside of KPFA.

Roy made several mistakes in the past year, but the biggest one may have been not understanding the viciousness of a system that is resisting change.

In his public presentations to listeners, Roy consistently presented a vision that was in line with the goals during our previous struggle with Pacifica. He has been willing to meet with all kinds of listener groups and to discuss openly the underlying causes of root problems at KPFA and has been open to suggestions.

I have worked with Roy closely on a number of projects and found him receptive. I also disagreed with him on a few decisions he made, and was able to continue to work with him. Most of our differences stemmed from his lack of familiarity with the cast of characters and, therefore, with how willing different factions would be to use disgusting methods to carry out their narrow goals.

It has been a sad episode to watch. Listeners should stay alert in the next few months to prevent another insider takeover.

Tomas Moran
Former Pacifica Board Member
1999-2001
by Anonymous
It doesn't seem particularly helpful to me for people to speculate on here about personnel actions that haven't been announced publicly and may or may not be true. Rumors are just that, rumors, and while they may be okay at the water-cooler, they can be trouble when they end up in writing on the web.

I'm pretty familiar with the situation at KPFA, and there isn't any doubt that Campanella has been an unsuccessful manager and that he lost the confidence of the people he has to work with a long time ago. Letting him go without performing an evaluation is one thing, and letting him go after performing an evaluation is another and that is certainly one thing that has changed since the issue originally came up.

Whoever you want to blame, the fact is that there is no managing people unless you have their respect, he doesn't, and therefore it isn't going to work. Not much you can do but clean house and begin again. There are disgusting tactics on all sides of this thing, but that doesn't change the fact that there is a job to be done here and that job is managing.
by Toni Costello
I called Pacifica National office hoping to get a little clarity on this messy situation . I was told that Ambrose Lane, Executive Director, would be issuing a statement on Roy Campanella . When i persisted on getting at least some light on this subject i was refered to the Human Resources director . ( I love it ! Our Pacifica uses the same corporate titles as P.G. and E. ) That person wasn't in . I did talk to a friend on the KPFK(L.a.) board who did confirm there was a vote by a large margin to remove Roy Campanella on Jan.8. This person was upset by the decision, felt that it would negatively impact the network as a whole . She/he was supportive of the decision not to fire Camapanella last year and had no idea what occurred to cause the Peoples Radio people and others to change their position . ( I write ''He/she'' and ''This person '' because they insisted on remaining anonyomus even though they're in Southern California .This secrecy disease is really out of hand ) Oh Well . On Jan. 22 there's supposed to be a KPFA board sponsored Town Hall meeting at the Women's building In San Francisco . It's billed to be a discussion on conflict at KPFA . Hopefully some light will be shed at that time . One can only hope .
by Dave Rand
Tomas Moran's attempt to absolve Roy Campanella of most of the responsibility for the situation that led to his dismissal is misleading at best.

Tomas is not a impartial witness but some one who very actively worked to keep Roy in the job in the face of the latter's constant mismanagement of the station (including "mistakes" such as sexually harassing young women of color at the station), so that he, Moran, could rule through Roy. Talk about an attempt at an insider takeover. When the LSB met last summer to determine if Campanella should be fired for sexual harassment, violently threatening staffers, and other outrageous behavior, Tomas showed up to break the proceedings up.

Now Moran is put out because Roy is out of his job. Moran has wanted to play the role of kingmaker since he was on the interim national board and he is trusted by few people. People should take what he says with a grain of salt.
by Old Lib
Moran is working with Phelps and Peoples Radio. One of their members left copies of their e-mail strategy sessions on the table at one of their propaganda meetings for everyone to see.

Moran wrote about getting a recall election to remove non-Peoples RAdio members of the LSB if that was what it took to get his agenda passed.

It seems odd that Campenella would be fired now, until one finds out about the missing $250,000 from KPFA.

When Campenella was at a national Pacifica meeting, Dennis Bernstein got a manager to sign a check for buying equipment for him to install a studio in a private office in SF and for Bernstein's home.

Maybe Phelps and Moran are covering for Bernstein, and are holding Campenella as the scapegoat, releasing the information once he is gone so they can destroy Campenlla's reputation.



by no take-over here
It is a sad day when you have someone like Thomas Moran who still questions the credibility of the young women of color who have gone through a very difficult period.
It is sad that the DFEH found "cause" in one of the claims while Thomas Moran, rather than really being an ally to the women of KPFA, chose to discredit the women, claiming that these women had "secret agendas."
It is sad that in the year 2005, some in the progressive community that call themselves caretakers of "free speech" still need alot to learn when it comes to sexual harrassment and ineffective leadership.
Tomas, I just hope that one day, if you have a young woman in your community that might go through what these young women went through - that they find someone more compassionate, more of a mentor and more of a feminist than you have proven to be.
by snarkboy
phelps was so hot to trot that he went to roy and told him to resign or get kicked out on his ass

but roy works for pacifica not kpfa so phelps made an ass of himself and may cost $$$ when roy sues pacifica

looks like phelps really wanted roy out so he could apply for the job again

funny thing is most female staffers think phelps is worse than roy
by Richard Phelps
It is sad commentary that those that don't want democratic process at KPFA and Pacifica and that want to continue with patronage and cronyism running the station under the radar, have so little to offer politically that they have to resort to lies, distortions of fact, libel etc. to attack the people that stand up for truth, justice and the Pacifica Mission. Isn't Pacifica about the truth, getting the alternative ideas on the table for us all to examine? I can't imagine any role in Pacifica or any decent society for political slander by anonymous posts, except from the reactionary forces working for their own narrow self-interest and/or the govt. I have offered to debate anyone on these issues in public or on the air and NO ONE has been person enough to step up, but the anonymous lies keep coming. I challenged Mark Hernandez on several occasions, KPFAForward, KPFAWorker.org and any of these anonymous posters. Now I will deal with the lies as best I can, given that I am required to maintain confidentiality on some things. That gives the anonymous posters a slight advantage and the truth will win the listeners. PS, I have never been a Trotskyite. Red baiting seems to be in vogue by the KPFA anti-democratic folks. That is real progressive debate."Good night and good luck."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
According to reports, Richard Phelps, chair of the KPFA board, has declared Sarve Randawa "disqualified" to be a member of the Pacifica board.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The bylaws (Article 5, Section 3 A) require that LSB members running for the Pacifica National Board (PNB) be nominated in writing and the writing be given to the LSB Secretary by 12-31-05 for 2006 seats. There was some controversy about the nominations and I offered to give the Secretary a ride to her house to get them and she refused. This was before the meeting when the election was to happen. After the election I asked the Secretary to make the nominations available for review and she refused for a few days. Finally she sent them to me saying that this was"all of them". There was no nomination of Sarv Randhawa in those she sent me. I called her and asked her again is this all of them and she said "YES". I then sent out an e- mail saying that since Sarv was not nominated in a timely fashion he was not eligible to be elected and the next person would take that seat. About an hour later the secretary called back and said she found one more that nominated Sarv. End of true facts.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Phelps cites no authority, just declared him ineligible and appointed a new member in Sarve's place. Phelps waited until the KPFA board had adjourned before making his move to consilidate power.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is a complete lie. I waited until the Secretary produced "all" the nominations. I and many others wanted them produced before the election.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
He is also suing an elderly retired KPFA listener for exercising free speech and criticizing Phelps about how he treats staff and listeners.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The person I am suing has printed libelous material several times.(lies and distortions of fact, he claimed I was in political groups that i have never been in etc.). Free speech does not include lies and false attacks on a person. After each time I asked him to please confirm his facts before printing. I told him that he could attack my politics anytime but i would not tolerate his lies. I warned him that I would sue if he didn't stop, he didn't and I sued him. His handout after suit was filed didn't mention me. Another false attack on me, why?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Lsughingly, Phelps claims to be a vital supporter of democracy and transparency, but takes every opportunity to block democratic votes, free speech and open governance at Pacifica.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
More lies with no examples except the dishonest ones above. I have been giving constant support to those on the PNB that finally managed to start Director's inspections despite the Dan Coughlin attempts to stop them. Perhaps this is why some of these folks are after me? Where is there transparency with anonymous posts? So believe who you want. I sign my posts and that is transparency and I am willing to debate the issues in public. Why aren'y my opponents or these cowardly posters? Perhaps they are one and the same? Some of this info was put up here shortly after it was posted on the private LSB list????????
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Phelps is the architect of the plan to get rid of Campenella;
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
What plan? More lies. I didn't put up signs around the station attacking Roy.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
the intention was to keep Campenella because it pissed off the staff,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
this is a joke. I voted to keep him a few months ago since there was not evidence to support firing him, despite all the rumors and claims. Besides, there are many different groups among the staff.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
who Phelps sees as parasites and useless to his plans.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Another undescribed plan? My plan is to consolidate the democratic process that the listeners fought for and set up fair practices for hiring and air time allocation. I have many friends on the staff, ask anyone that puts the Mission and the democratic process first. It is true that those that want to continue with patronage and cronyism don't like me. I can't and won't worry about those folks.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
When staff began working with Campenella after the vote to keep him, Phelps organized to get rid of Campenella.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
More fiction. No support, just talk from a person who won't ID themselves so you can judge if they should be believed and so they can't be held accountable for their lies.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
by LSB Watcher
Perhaps if you weren't busying yourself with SUING LISTENERS, Richard, fewer people would post anonymously.

So much for "truth, justice and the Pacifica Mission". Usually people who really believe in those things don't need to convince others with every post, as you constantly insist that either they support you or they Hate Democracy. How Rovian.

by Richard Phelps
Karl Rove's main technique was/is anonymous attacks on his opponents. But I quess this anonymous poster can call someone else Rovian???
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Perhaps if you weren't busying yourself with SUING LISTENERS, Richard, fewer people would post anonymously.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It is not plural, only one suit, but what's a little exaggeration given all the lies. Plenty of dishonest anonymous posts before.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So much for "truth, justice and the Pacifica Mission". Usually people who really believe in those things don't need to convince others with every post, as you constantly insist that either they support you or they Hate Democracy. How Rovian.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
When you have the courage to stand up for what you post (use your real name) perhaps you can rightfully call someone Rovian. By the way, where did I say that in my last post? I don't recall using the word "hate". How can an anonymous poster even use the word "truth" with a straight face. What a sick world your mind lives in!



by LSB Watcher
Even Mary Frances Berry didn't sue listeners.





by Richard Phelps
Perhaps she was never libeled.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Even Mary Frances Berry didn't sue listeners.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
even MFB had the courage to openly talk in her own behalf on a couple of accasions. By the way I didn't sue listeners, only one and the fact that he is a listener is irrelevant. His conduct was the basis not his status as a listener. That listener told me that he gets some of his info from people at the station, so it is likely he is being used. He wouldn't say who. If a listener ran a red light and put you in the hospital and wouldn't pay your damages wouldn't you sue? Why do you hide your identity? Whay are you afraid of? It really discredits anything you say. You could be from the FBI for all we know??
Come out of your hole or from under your rock which ever it is and debate me in public. You have all the answers so what are you afraid of??????
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

by Old Lib
Did you apply for the General Manager position at KPFA?

Were you an applicant that wasn't selected?

Is it true that your legal degree is from a now-uncredentialed mail order law school?

by Woman Staff member
i do not like the so called Peoplesradio faction . I have no clear idea what they want KPFA and Pacifica to look like, but i know i wouldn't like their ultra left model ! But i have to defend Richard Phelps , one of their leaders, from the implied charge of ''SNARKBOY ' that he is a sexist like Roy . I don't like Richard Phelps . He is like a high school principal harshly lecturing students aummoned to his office, but one that discpline boys and girls equally . He actually is quite handsome but without a glimer of joy, humor, or sexuality . But i never have heard any of my collegues compare hin to Roy . There's no comparison on that score
by Richard Phelps
In relunctant defence of Richard Phelps
by Woman Staff member Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006 at 11:54 AM
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thank you! So many lies to deal with.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
i do not like the so called Peoplesradio faction . I have no clear idea what they want KPFA and Pacifica to look like,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Perhaps we should talk sometime. What we want in general terms is to maximize the use of a commons resource, KPFA and Pacifica, to get the truth out to as many people as possible. We want more progressive news, less AP corporate spin and more like the way Robert Knight does the Flashpoints headlines. Transparency, democratic process and accountability. The Mission before "turf". So many examples I could give. I would love to talk in person and hear your ideas concerns and explain more of my ideas.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
but i know i wouldn't like their ultra left model !
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I don't know what you mean. I have been fighting ultra leftism for years. Is wanting Democracy Now! on at prime time ultra left? Is wanting Directors inspections UL? Is wanting to never hear "replacement workers" for strike breakers, "pro life for anti-abortion" "the nation is mourning Ronald Reagan" etc. on our air UL?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
But i have to defend Richard Phelps , one of their leaders, from the implied charge of ''SNARKBOY ' that he is a sexist like Roy .
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thank you!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I don't like Richard Phelps . He is like a high school principal harshly lecturing students aummoned to his office, but one that discpline boys and girls equally . He actually is quite handsome but without a glimer of joy, humor, or sexuality .
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thanks for the compliment. Yes, I am very serious about the problems at KPFA and Pacifica. Not much joy or humor in opportunism and individualism. Perhaps reflecting on the vicious lies that are thrown at me you can understand why I don't expose my soft side and be personally vulnerable in a situation where people are so unprincipled. You obviously know me second hand or from tense meetings. Too bad you weren't at the Ted Friedman Memorial. I think you would have seen the real me when I spoke about Ted. You might have noticed it in the cart I did for his memorial. One of my favorite fun things to do is go see standup comics and my favorite music is "The Blues" because of its emotional quality.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
But I never have heard any of my collegues compare hin to Roy . There's no comparison on that score
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thanks again for some truth about me on this list. I am always willing to discuss station politics with honest people.

by Richard Phelps
I suggest that everyone take any anonymous post with a ton of salt.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Negligent LSB Only Acted Because they Had To
by KPFA watcher Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006 at 3:56 PM

The board kept Campanella in the job last year despite credible reports of sexual harassment, an internal investigation that said he should be fired,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There were two (2) different investigations regarding the charges of sexual harassment. Given confidentiality I can't disclose what the conclusions were but I can tell you that neither one found that the GM was guilty of sexual harassment and neither one recommended that he be fired for sexual harassment.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
and the signing of a letter of no confidence by nearly 100 staffers. Board members smeared KPFA workers who spoke out against Campanella -- particularly the women who courageously stood up to him.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Anonymous allegations with no facts. smeared? where is the evidence?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The board only acted now because the first case came back from the courts saying that a woman worker had the right to sue the station for sexual harassment.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
First, I didn't know of this until I read this and I don't know that any other board member did. More important is the distortion of reality, intentional or just plain ignorance. The courts do not give a right to sue. That is done by the Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH). After an investigation of a complaint the DFEH may make a finding that there is a problem and contact the defendant to try to resolve the case, this is rare. Genreally when they don't have enough evidence to make a finding they close their file and issue the plaintiff a "Right to sue letter". At that point the one year statute of limitations for filing a law suit begins. So a "right to sue letter" means nothing except that the DFEH investigation is over and inconclusive.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
They were acting to cover their asses and personal financial assets.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
More anonymous talk with no facts.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Glad Campanella is on his way out -- but the board majority should be too
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
What is the matter, you don't like people that deal with the facts and evidence and won't do what you want just because you want it done?
by concerned listener
Yes thanks to Phelps for letting the listener community know what the People's Radio bunch really want. He said he wants information and news at the station to be delivered in the Robert Knight/Flashpoints fashion of overheated rhetoric and preaching instead of honest and accurate reporting. He called the Associated Press corporate. That is totally false. The AP is a cooperative made up of over 1700 newspapers and 5000 broadcast outlets. The AP has 242 bureaus in 121 countries. That means they have reporters at the scene of practically any major news event. There not at home in NY in their pajamas, scanning the internet and then phoning it in, which is what Knight does. The AP stylebook is the defacto standard for newswriting in the U.S. The AP courageously challenged government censorship in every major war. Because it doesn't use clumsy, politically loaded rhetoric, Phelps finds it inadequate. The AP isn't perfect and needs to be checked against other sources, but I'd take it any day of the week compared to the windy, self-righteous pap put out by Flashpoints and Robert Knight, any day of the week.
by Sunnie Ruiz
If A.P. isn't part of the corporate media then no media outlet is . I'm sure there's some in depth critique out here about how A.P. gets it wrong overall but allow me to relate my experiences with them . I was in charge of Media outreach for a Mexican-American Student group at a large Southwestern university years ago. I talked to A.P. often . They almost always got it wrong . Once we had a very successful meeting . The audience filled up all 450 seats and several dozen stood in the aisles. We estimated 500 . The A.P. reporter who attended the entire event , printed 100 ! One of five speakers made some anti-white , anti-asian remarks from a misguided Chicano Nationalist perspective . Many in the crowd booed him . Guess who was the one speaker quoted ? On several other occasions A.P. proved itself to be the most biased of any of the local media . Some years later i first heard the term ''Replacement workers'' in a A.P. report on a strike i was in . The only union member quoted was one of the few that voted against walking out . So hopefully KPFA can do a hell of a lot better than to rely on these corporate spinmeisters . One last comment . Last time i wasn't able to vote in the KPFA election because of forgetting to renew . I will correct that next fund drive and i will vote the full Peoplesradio ticket . All of those that i have heard speak , Gerald Sanders,Chandra Hoffman, Stan Woods, LaVarn Williams, Richard Phelps, and Joseph Wanzala made a great impression on me . I just hope there will be some good staff candidates next time.
by Richard Phelps
When you read "Thanks" by Concerned Listener, another anonymous post, and "A.P is part of the problem" you see the difference between someone who is not afraid to say who they are and stand up for what they say, Thanks to Sunnie Ruiz for joining the few willing to do so. The Concerned Listener sounds just like a certain KPFA news staff person who like so many of them are using KPFA to audition for corporate media jobs so they mimic the corporate ways and justify the use of AP. ( I have no problem with them wanting a job in corporate media. I just want them to not sound like that with corporate content when they are on our air.) Notice the marketing details about AP and the absence of any analysis of their politics by Concerned Listener and just the opposite by Sunnie Ruiz. That tells it all!!!
by Concerned Listener
Phelps is at it again. He thinks any listener that doesn't agree with him is part of some manufactured staff cabal. THE UNMITIGATED ARROGANCE OF THE MAN! Also, the Ruiz comment is based on that person's own observations, which are based only on that person's word. A few experiences Ruiz may or may not have had with some reporter here or there is supposed to be representative of the millions of reports AP has put out in a century and a half of reporting. That my friends is representative of the kind of rumor, innuendo and half-truth that the People's Radio bunch would like to present as news at progressive media outlets. We serious listeners don't want you speaking for us.
by Richard Phelps
Maybe when Concerned Listener has the courage that Sunnie Ruiz demonstrated by taking responsibility for what she posts and quits hiding behind anonymous posts we can take him/her seriously. I have had similar negative experiences with AP over the years.
by concerned listener
The fact remains you haven't presented a cogent argument as to why progressive media can't use mainstream sources. Some of us listeners are open-minded enough to go to mainstream and alternative media.

No other leading light of the left than Noam Chomsky says he relies on mainstream sources in his work. In his latest book he says if he had only one paper to read everyday it would be the New York Times. How much more mainstream can you get than that? The NY Times also uses the AP liberally I might add. Chomsky says mainstream reporters generally are dedicated, honest professionals who put out good work. He says mainstream media has certain assumptions built in, but he's smart enough to know that and still realize the information is mainly useful, accurate and reliable. KPFA News seems to have figured this out, why can't Phelps and his fellow members of the media police? Nobody needs people like Phelp's hero Robert Knight and his windy tirades disguised as news. Those so-called Knight reports are anything but progressive.
by Old Lib
Did you apply for the General Manager position at KPFA?

Were you an applicant that wasn't selected?

Is it true that your legal degree is from a now-uncredentialed mail order law school?
by Informed Source
Roy Campanella was fired Jan.8 by the KPFA station board . the vote was 18-3 .I wish ''Happy Listener'' was right about ''both factions uniting '' in defence of the women at the station but not so. The Peoplesradio clique finally decided to get rid of Roy for the wrong reasons , such as Roy giving in to the just demand of 75% of the staff and some prominent listeners,( real friends of the station )not to change the times of Democracy Now and The Morning show . Which had it happened would have only benefitted the greatly overated Amy Goodman . How can these self proclaimed radicals justify not backing our women staff ?Ask them . Especially Riva,LaVarne, Sepideh, and Nora . But at last Roy is gone and , lets hope, Amelia will soon be in . Yes, Viva KPFA
by just wondering
you still haven't answered 3 very simple question.

1. Did you apply for the General Manager position at KPFA?

2. Were you an applicant that wasn't selected?

3. Is it true that your legal degree is from a now-uncredentialed mail order law school?

By the way, given that you're after a listener and you have participated in maligning the women that came forth at the station, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out why people don't post their names.
by clarification
that wasn't nessie. it was someone else using the nic
by Old Lib
> But at last Roy is gone and , lets hope, Amelia will soon be in

Not likely. Several members of Peoples Radio have been talking around,
and they have no intention of supporting anyone who is currently at the
station as staff in any position.

People may not remember, but the last time the LSB attempted to interview
candidates, Riva Enteen was asked to step off the committee because she
was talking around who the candidates were, violating their privacy and
jeopardizing their employment at the time.

This brought about the incident of violence that Enteen refuses to discuss,
since she instigated and caused it to happen.

Expect to see some crony of Peoples Radio get chosen, instead of someone
who is actually qualified. Peoples Radio will demand and force the choice
of someone that they feel is politically "qualified" to replace Campenella.

Or Richard Phelps may apply again.
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