Update: Efforts to get AR programming on KPFA

UPDATE

€ I have been speaking with Karen Dawn about getting KPFA to syndicate her show WatchDog which aired last season on LA’s Pacifica radio station KPFK. To listen to those shows please go to Karen’s site where she has them archived at http://www.dawnwatch.com. While you are there – if you have not already – please sign up to receive her rockin’ DawnWatch alerts to keep you up to date on animal issues in the national media.

€ Karen is currently in process of determining if WatchDog will be produced another season in LA at KPFK. If it is not we plan to propose to KPFA that we produce it here at KPFA. We plan to submit a proposal to KPFA to either produce WatchDog here at KPFA or syndicate WatchDog here at KPFA. I will let you know which plan prevails as soon as it is determined...discussions continue in LA and the Bay Area...

€ Last Sunday, January 9th, Coco Hall, Cathleen Young, Alfredo Kuba, Waiswa Nkwanga and myself attended the KPFA Local Station Board special meeting at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley. Alfredo, Coco and myself read statements to the board why AR programming and AR news coverage was needed. I passed out copies of my statement from the Marin Peace & Justice Coalition AR Committee and asked that it be recorded in the meetings’ minutes. The board had to vote on this since if it passed the statement would be posted on their web site along with the minutes. 10 to 9 the board voted to include the MPJC AR Committee Statement with the meeting minutes on the KPFA website. As of this writing the minutes have not yet been posted. When they are ready they can be found at the following link: http://www.kpfa.org/lsb/index.php?page=minutes&id=15

€ Overall we found the local station board very welcoming of us as representatives for the animals via the animal rights movement. As one of us wrote ‘I was amazed that approximately half the KPFA people there were open to an animal program. This would not have been the case a few years ago, I'm absolutely sure. -- Some who were there might even go out of their way to assist. I was encouraged by that.’ And it’s true. There was a very warm reception and I feel grateful. In fact I received a voicemail yesterday afternoon from one of the station board members with whom I had not met or spoken that morning calling simply to thank us for bringing Animal Rights programming to the station boards’ attention and that he was whole heartedly in favor of it. Now that was sweet. Other station board members were clearly in support.

€ Once we submit our proposal to the Program Council / Program Committee we will have to wait for them to review it. They are apparently backed up with an overwhelming workload and have months’ worth of proposals to review first. Once they do review ours we will need them to recommend it and then we will need a time slot. This process could take some time.


NEXT STEPS

€ Determine which proposal we are going to submit: to syndicate or to produce – that is the question.

€ Call or email the Local Station Board to thank them for listening to us this past meeting or to just make polite comments about the need for animal rights programming and AR news coverage. The LSB can be reached at 510 848-6767 extension 635, or use the LSB Feedback Form at http://www.kpfa.org/lsb/

€ The local station board meets again on January 29th. Please mark your calendars and attend to continue enriching the animals’ relationship with KPFA by making a statement during the public comments section. Hopefully we will have a proposal done by then that we can speak to.

€ Pacifica is having a National Board Meeting this Friday and Saturday and they should also hear from us/the animals. If anyone is in the LA area and wants to attend to speak up for animal Rights programming at the public comments time which are included both days please see the agenda at http://pacifica.org/about/pnb/meeting.php?mtg_id=101&

€ I am going to find out the best email addresses, phone numbers, people and boards for us to make calls, and write letters to at KPFA to ask for AR programming and more AR news coverage...I will send that out in a separate email once we have determined our proposal plans.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

For now and for the animals forever,
Kate x

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