The Confusion of Save KPFA

The slate that calls itself Save KPFA put on an exhibition tonight of their total callowness and inability to come up with one productive thing to do to improve the working conditions and news coverage provided by the Bay Area's (and the nation's) oldest community radio station. Totally abandoning any responsibility whatsoever for KPFA's overspending that resulted in two back to back $500,000 dollar operating deficits, the squandering of an almost $900,00 cash reserve in less than 24 months, and indebtness of more than $250,000, every 3rd word out of their mouths was "it's Pacifica's fault".

Nothing about the stagnant programming, technological backwardness, paid-unpaid staff tensions, and notorious closed-door attitude that has marked KPFA for much of the last decade and caused many to tune out in despair, resulting in the loss of 25% of the membership between 2005 and 2010.

Attorney Dan Siegel, relishing his current bout of amnesia, forgot to disclose his service as corporate counsel for Pacifica from 2005-2009, where he enthusiastically encouraged the board to sign leases at Wall Street and the Empire State Building that caused the NY station to take on the expenses that it could not afford. He thinks their challenging financial situation is someone else's fault? Look in the mirror, my friend.

No mention of the embarrassing on-air reading of unedited wire copy by the KPFA news department which has caused thinking progressives to turn off in droves, the stunning lack of new programming, the pathetic website held in place by stubborn employees who won't get with the times and insist it is impossible to make Drupal accept segmented archives with tag words (don't think so) and the same old tired union-busting charges that have been refuted 6,000 times.

Where is the imagination? Where is the youth? Where is the humor? Is this all we have to look forward to --- another year of complaints, accusations, failed recalls and whining?

Pacifica Radio never lost a cent. The stations lost money. All of them, KPFA, KPFK, WPFW, WBAI and KPFT. And they lost money because they need to creatively, imaginatively and joyfully find ways to do more with less - as we all do in this time of economic turmoil. And that's never going to happen with these cranky malcontents at the helm.

What are they going to do with their local control? Lose a million dollars they don't have again?

KPFA deserves better. Vote United for Community Radio. Please. The blame game ran out years ago.

http://www.votecommunityradio.org