On her Monday morning program, Connect the Dots, June 9, 2008, controversial KPFK talk show host Lila Garrett stated:

"A word about KPFK. You know, we had an election last year, which was very successful.

"Some of us formed a group called [the] committee to strengthen KPFK. We got a group of candidates together who won overwhelmingly, improving on our local board, our Pacifica National Board, getting us a really good executive director of Pacifica, and setting us on a search for the best possible general manager of KPFK.

"We have taken giant steps forward this year. KPFK is more professional, more focused, more determined to get the truth out to you our listeners than ever.

The attached audio file includes the excerpt.

Other people would say the opposite. They would say that KPFK has not gone forward this year, but rather backwards, less focused on community problems, and more determined than ever to keep its listeners in the dark about what is going on at the station.

The new station board, worried about criticism of itself and of its pro Democratic party electoral politics, provoked major controversy by turning off the station's web listener forums. "Grace Aaron Committee to Strengthen KPFK Run Station Board Shuts Down Web User Forums."

http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/05/217405.php

Station listeners separated by distance in Southern California now have no way of discussing among themselves the station and its policies, unless they can find and get to various committee meetings, often at hard to find places with little parking. Cutting off the listener forums was a big step backwards for the KPFK listener community.

Despite widespread calls from the listener community to turn the forums back on, they remain off.

Workers attacked KPFK for not covering the local area Hollywood labor disputes involving WGA, AFTRA, and SAG and not giving workers an independent voice that local media denied them. "KPFK Continues to Ignore AFTRA and SAG Labor Disputes"
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/06/218040.php

Garrett said, "Some of us formed a group . . . and [our] candidates . . .won overwhelmingly." The candidates won because the group got money somewhere to pay for mailing slick slate mailers to everyone eligible to vote in the election. The mailer included a platform full of platitudes that no one would dispute.

Many in the KPFK community regard slate mailer political tactics as antithetical to the mission of KPFK.

None of the independent candidates could afford the expenses of a mass membership mailing. As a result, the people who elected the board knew nothing of the underlying personality and policy disputes and goals, including promoting Democratic party electoral politics, behind the group. Without financing, the other candidates had no way to address comparably the KPFK voting community.

Controversial KPFK talk show host Ian Masters was a member of the slate mailer group.

These goals emerged in the censorship of Amy Goodman's interview with Ralph Nader. "KPFK Listener Outrage at Censorship of Ralph Nader's Interview by Amy Goodman at 9 a.m." http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/06/218394.php

Also See "Offical response to allegations of censorship of Democracy Now at KPFK" and responses http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/06/218424.php

Who financed the slate mailer and now controls the KPFK board through the faction remains unknown. Listeners ask how can we trust a group beholden to unknown sources of money. KPFK is not supposed to be for sale, but the slate mailer committee appears to have done exactly that.

Rumors continue that the group's goals may include cutting Spanish programming.

Pacifica has rules about equal time for parties to campaign for seats on the station advisory board. Garrett violated those rules by promoting and pitching slate candidates to the KPFK audience in a way that no board opponent ever could. Critics have no way of addressing the audience and KPFK election voters as Garrett did in her program.

Listeners had to wonder if Garrett included the four day transmitter outage earlier this year in her characterization of the station as more "professional."

The slow response to the recent fund raiser likewise does not evidence progress by KPFK.

Garrett stirred controversy last year with a piece she wrote "HAIL TO THE JEWS" http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/11/210662.php and "Response to Lila Garrett" by interim General Station Manager Jim Lafferty http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/11/210763.php.

Some observers thought her reference to getting "the best possible manager at KPFK" was an intentional dig at Lafferty.

For more on the election, see "KPFK: Welcome to the Madhouse" http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/11/210215.php , "KPFK and Pacifica Need Good Governance" http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/11/210430.php and "How To Rig a KPFK Election" http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/12/211387.php

KPFK has a history of controversy. See "LA Observed: Never a dull moment at KPFK" http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/10/never_a_dull_moment_at_kp.php

I donated many times to KPFK and donated to put the new transmitter on line.
Then I was brought to the sad conclusion that this Ford Foundation driven radio station has a very transparent agenda as a method of containing the left along tightly controlled lines and ideas.
WBAI and KPFA are the only strong and fearless Pacifica stations with Bonnei Faulkner on Guns n Butter @ KPFA on Wed 1:00 PM
here is Guns and Butter 's page.
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?show=13
Or Ralph Schoenman and Mya Shone on Taking Aim @ WBAI Tues. 2:00 PST
here is their page.
http://takingaimradio.com/shows/audio.html
Otherwise KPFK has neutered itself in a

Has anyone noticed that two people are constantly maligned on these Indymedia pages? Why only them ?

How about all the others....the hypocrites who say one thing and do another...or the ones that outright lie and smile but stab you in the back in person or by gossiping...and these are KPFK people, many volunteers in fact, volunteering to help the station but then also acting-out-their-personal-stuff....

But this is the second long assessment of Lila Garret by one who may not be qualified to diagnose or have access to all the facts, tand who takes Lila to task for whatever she did or did not do well enough....

how about all the Grace Aaron's slaters?

how about those who made such gross errors in the election assignments [Peters is his name ?] and never even made an open apology to the KPFK public == where we could alllll see it...
like here on Open Indy Media site ?

What about all the programmers that are on-air in-fighting factions and claiming the station is being overrun by those others who are ....whatever 7 ugly words they chose to use....

What about prog;rammers who are so slanted towards one local region of what is called the middle-east - or called "asia" by others in that region - that they decry and demean any other regions and governments?

Biases broadcast galore...but who is complaining loudly here about them ? or that this alliance with one nation is above and beyond all reason, but any other is treason....lauding only Palestine while 'hating' the other nation states ?

and why is a person who has admitted to be a jew, and not been ashamed or afraid to say this, being the one who is again, as above, seen and stated as Bad Bad Bad....when so many others do so much that is worse...

anyone complain loudly about Lisa Garr [is she jewish too or not ? who knows ? ] who runs infomercials and commercials on what is called free radio...free to give promotions to people who make lots of money and get fame from her sponsorship on KPFK programs !!!
Why not talk & write about her antics here ?

and what about Jerry Quickly who is so pro the black set that he sounds as racist as anyone, if they too dared to say such things about any other 'group' or color...did no one notice his constant defense of all that is "african-american" [ and that does not mean african, actually ] and yet how mixed is this african with european, indian, and other groups [called races], if one asks about his heritage as well ? ...only 1/32nd is enough to qualify ? or how black is black. ? ..how bad one talks in a slang that only others of that genre understand is the qualifications ? huh?]

Why does no one complain about his sending off listeners to other stations because of his angry black man rantings on air ? How discriminatory is he ? very.

And more? there are many programmers, who should be questioned as to the benefits they get from their promoting and sponsoring people, and what kickback or benefits they accrue from their putting those programs on air ? They too need to be questined & described & diagnosed here.


and as for a few staff, since most are actually overworked and too dedicatd for their own good - - so to complain about them requires some actual act like a fact, not just an attitude problem. Some need improvement for sure, but as a group, they seem to 'pass' on the needing to be put-down or maligned group.

Again, why this one older woman called Lila? For her age? For her programming ? for her religion or culture or race? for being an older strong woman ? not ok huh ? or for her bad bad bad attitude, that is worse than anyone else at KPFK ? huh ?

clarify please. Not rehash the same old stories that may or Not be based on facts and reality. Check it out for real. Do a honest fact-check, not hearsay, not rewrite, not anyone-can-say-anything-here kind of writing that we do on Indy.

Lets get more real here and say what we want improved,
state facts
and how things need to different and what is not-ok because we know first hand [no more handed down stories & gossip] to have happened or heard what was said,
and know we are telling the truth, as best we really know it.
Let's get real, now.
for KPFK's sake.
and for ours.