Help save KPFA Community Radio - from"Save KPFA"!

Dear Fellow Progressives,

I need your help in the coming days to help secure the future of a vital media organization: KPFA radio. As you know, a small number of corporations now control most of the media, and even “public” media like NPR fail to challenge the dominance of corporations and the military machine. I'm proud to be associated with KPFA, an institution that does stand uncompromisingly for peace and social justice.

Since KPFA's 1999 crisis was resolved, the station has been governed by a Local Station Board (LSB) elected primarily by subscribers. Having an elected board makes KPFA a more democratic organization than most other media. However, in recent elections, there's been a close struggle between advocates of preserving KPFA's status as a community-based institution, versus those who want to make the station more like NPR, and dilute its progressive voice. I and my allies on the Board belong to an alliance called Independents for Community Radio (ICR).

Our opponents in recent elections have called themselves the “Concerned Listeners.” Now they've dropped that title and are using a new name, “Save KPFA.” Little wonder they've changed their name this year, given their record. While they held a majority on the LSB in 2008 and 2009:

- They ratified budgets that let KPFA operate in the red, quickly depleting a six-figure cash reserve that had taken years to build.

- They stubbornly backed an inept General Manager who lost a $375,000 donation by letting the check go undeposited.

- When Berkeley Police attacked and injured a KPFA volunteer on station premises, they reacted by blaming the victim and blocked a Board investigation.

- They supported an attempt to break the Unpaid Staff Organization, the only collective representation for KPFA's volunteer staff (who produce the majority of the station's programs).

- They tout “professionalism,” but ignore the many outstanding programs created by unpaid community-based programmers, such as Africa Today, Guns & Butter, Pushing Limits and Bay Native Circle. Nor have they supported the paid staff who create Flashpoints and Hard Knock Radio.

In short, “Save KPFA” won't abide by their name, because they're undermining the qualities that make KPFA great. What KPFA needs to be saved from ..... is them!

The group that I support, Independents for Community Radio, recognizes that good radio need not be “professional;” we support the numerous excellent programs produced by volunteers (such as La Onda Bajita, Voices of the Middle East, and many more). We want to see a Board and a management that will promote unity between the paid staff and unpaid staff, instead of trying to divide them. And we stand for responsible budgeting, to keep KPFA on the air despite the dismal economy. Our 2010 team of candidates will be assembled soon; in the meantime, to read more about us, see our 2009 campaign site, http://www.indyradio2009. org .

Last year we won a slim majority on the Board, and the station is now in the process of hiring a new General Manager. But there's much more work to be done. Please help us by voting for ICR candidates in this year's election.
(If you've subscribed to KPFA since last July, you're eligible to vote in this year's election, and should have gotten a ballot.) See our website for information on our candidates - http://voteindyradio.org

Thank you, Akio Tanaka
Member, KPFA Local Station Board