by IMC
Monday, Aug. 14, 2000 at 8:37 AM
The IMC resoloution re: censorship and more at the los angeles Pacifica station: KPFK
Here are the 2 Resolutions which IMC-LA (Independent Media Center) has
passed re Pacifica:
RESOLUTION
IMC -- Independent Media Center
Relationship with KPFK
Whereas KPFK Los Angeles is a community radio station whose mission
commits
it to community involvement, free speech and an airing of a broad spectrum
of opinion
And
Whereas the station, along with management of the Pacifica network has
strayed far from that mission by:
O Practicing Censorship
O Exercising Autocratic Managerial Control
O Demonstrating a lack of accountability to the community
O Attempting to coerce programmers to sign the "Y2k Compliant" Agreement
that makes all volunteer work the property of the station
O Dismantling its training program that provided access to radio skills
for
women and people of color.
O Practicing union busting.
Therefore, be it resolved that we, of the IMC LA, condemn the above
regressive policies and practices that are antithetical to Pacifica's own
mission statement. We demand that KPFK recommit itself to its own mission
statement to become a truly independent, alternative media outlet
accessible to all communities in Los Angeles.
Be it further resolved that the IMC-LA will not share space, equipment,
programming, analysts or recorded sound unless and until KPFK
A. Renounces the gag rule.
B. The station establishes mechanisms for meaningful participation of
stakeholders (subscribers, volunteers, etc.) in decision-making
processes.
C. Agrees to cease retaliation against staff and volunteer who speak out
on
aspects of the current crisis
D. Withdraw its demand that all volunteer work produced at the station
become the sole property of KPFK, as specified in the Y2K Compliant
Agreement.
This is not to be interpreted to mean that KPFK volunteers cannot
participate in the IMC.
RESOLUTION
IMC (Independent Media Center)
Denies Press Credentials To
Pacifica Network News (PNN) Reporters and Staff
The consensus of IMC members is that the IMC will not credential PNN
reporters nor freelance reporters nor any person who attempts to file for
PNN, nor give interviews to PNN, nor allow PNN to use material created by
the IMC.
The "reassignment" of PNN News Director Dan Coughlin has caused much
controversy. PNN has compromised its journalistic integrity by acts of
censorship. There is an ongoing strike by Pacifica stringers and
freelancers, and we need to be in solidarity with them.
Since the crisis last spring, when armed guards were called in to lock out
staff at KPFA, Pacifica reporters say management has subjected
journalists,
contributors and independent producers to repeated acts of alteration,
suppression and censorship of news stories and public-affairs programming,
which they say are of vital interest to the listeners of Pacifica and the
broader communities it serves.
Furthermore, since the IMC strives to combat censorship and corporate
control of the media, and Pacifica management has failed to address our
concerns regarding these issues, there are some who consider contributing
to Pacifica Network News in any way to be incompatible with their
journalistic ethos.
The Pacifica stringers strike has received endorsements from the
"Democracy
Now" AFTRA Bargaining Unit (David Love), Aileen Alfandary (KPFA News
Co-Director), WBAI/UE Local 404, Pacifica Affiliates KCSB (which has
suspended PNN broadcasts) and KFCF, L.A. County Federation of Labor, Noam
Chomsky, Ben Bagdikian, Medea Benjamin, Michael Parenti, Alice Walker,
Mike
Davis, Barbara Ehrenreich, Norm Solomon, Daniel Ellsberg, and over 100
other scholars, academics and organizations.