[This Open Letter was written to the general manager of KPFK at the only identifiable email address allowed - "comments@kfpk.org" - the 1 place to send any questions / suggestions / information / inquiries / or make any attempt to contact someone who is not specifically an overburdened staff person [remember recent layoffs and reductions ?] or a programmer.

Staff when written to also do NOT respond at all. Anyone wanting to Offer anything - information, speakers, resources, and there is only silence to the desire to be heard or be of help to Our Station's functiong better.

Programmers also do not respond to emails either. Never have any even said "thanks for writing" or referred to another place for our concerns. We've written. We've called. We've tried. We've almost given up.]
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The issue is that NO INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE on the website - or any where else - on how to communicate with our people at the station - To "communicate " means a 2 way access, not just from insideKPFK ] out to the rest of the [KPFK] payees... even tho one way may be more limited : to feedback, or questions, or suggestions, or comments.. and yet at KPFK there is no one apparently 'response-able' at the station to respond to any questions or concerns from those who loyally pay to keep KPFK going.

Only information is what is heard 'on-air'. From inside KPFK out here to the rest of us. 1 way only "= no response needed ?"

The volunteer receptionists do not know answers and while they try to be helpful, they are also basically uninformed and so only 'take messages' that do not ever get replied.

COMMITTEE MEETINGS are suppose to be open to the listener-sponsors to attend. But...

Please advise any one who may be responsible that the listings are NOT PUT ON the KPFK WEBSITE in a timely fashion to inform any of us out here in radioland just when the next committee and board meetings are being held... oh, they may be listed lalter, much later, but if made visible only late in the month it is a deterrent to having listeners attend... and how many times must an interested person return to 'check again',and again, to see "is it on their website yet ? when is it ? where is it ? why was it not announced visibly sooner ?"

Go ! look it up right now [2/23/09] to see that there is NOTHING listed for the month of March. No meetings are listed, and it is 5 days from end of Feb. Why is anyone waiting to give the audiences the ACCESS to attend meetings ?

Tho the February calendar was checked at beginning of Feb month, again, nothing was announced there and only after mid-month or later and the meetings were already past were they on the Events calendar and thus were un-attendable by any non-members. That means no KPFK sponsor could listen in to find out what is being discussed or decided by those "in charge".

In addition, the KPFK website lists a link to make PROGRAM COMMENTS, but those who use library comuters cannot access the link nor even find it's address when clicked because the library does not have it's own email programs set up.

Are you all deliberately excluding all those - who are concerned and interested listener-funders -who really want to communicate or attend the governance, finance, program coucil,LSB and any other committees and board meetings ?

It sure seems so...in so many ways

It was stated that someone from the LSB would see the comments made ...if one wrote to "program comments" and it was cuddly called 'a comments corner' to reach the ears of the LSB ....however, it does NOT go to the LSB member [and receptionist at KPFK] or whoever is suppose to receive a copy of these comments... again, how does one reach the LSB ?

or is it deliberate to protect any & all LSB members from those they are suppose to be representing... as there is no place on KPFK's website to be found where they can be actually accessed ?

No LSB email address is visible, findable. It is not clearly or easily locatable - even by searching, scrolling, returning, seeing the word "LSB" link on left of webpage and not having an email available from those contents either ....
So searching logically no LSB access address or phone was found - showing inaccessibility again. Are the LSB and other committees hiding behind their obvious lack of access from us it's station sponsors for some power-playing reasons ?

Please inform all of those KPFK people concerned about both these matters- as these difficulties have been written and asked about before - If there is no way to know our mail to "comments@kpfk.org, gm@kpfk.org" is received, or answered in any way, for so long now, why are there NO IMPROVEMENTS OR CHANGES to allow us the shareholders into the conversation that affects our lives and wallets ?

is this called transparency ?
honesty ? real communications [ or different than the 'other' corporations ?]
honest representation ?
or is any one else's free-speech locked out except those already inside the powerbox that radios out to the rest of this world, to only listen and be glad we have that much ?

the result is ill-will- not good will - engendered to KPFK as a closed corporation that has no feedback process, no accountability to it's sponsor-payees, no alliances formed that would create the desire to fund in greater $$$$ amounts.

This policy of hiding behind the 1-way website and 1-way programming on air is one that thus breeds lisitener resentment instead of loyalty, and it breeds distrust instead of cooperation, which all results in more lack of desire to send in money at fund drive-bys. And since the on-air image is one of some dedication to its KPFK listeners, the inability to get any response or find a place where to insure a concern is heard instead becomes an image of KPFK's management's hypocrisy.

Is this what is wanted and is this what the "visions" paper read by our GM [represnting the rest of Pacifica's GMs] at PNB meetings said they would do ?

Who is not doing oversight to produce all these LACK OF COMMUNICATIONS problems ?

Or maybe does the staff/station want to admit openly and State It On The Air too that KPFK is only a 1-way out station with no direct accountability or responsibility to it's sponsors/shareholders ?

Only when a provocative or excitable topic is put on by a programmer is there on occasion some listener calls coming in - is this the only kind of response possible at this community station ?

Note: There are NO RESPONSES TO EMAILS, or TO VOICE MAILS, or TO LEFT MSGS with receptionists.

Is that a KPFK bunker to hide within from 'the public' you treasure and ultimately need to pay your salaries?? We only "know you" 4x year when begging for money is repeated endlessly and programs inducing fear and anxiety are played [no matter how old or irrelevant - the emotionally aroused anxiety makes people pay attention and then maybe out of fear they will send their meager paychecks. [Replaying old protests & uprisings just to get a rise out of listeners probably works to trick them back into fear and anger and loathing...scare them into sending in money ? ]

But when a direct question is asked, silence. No sounds emerge from KPFK. Why is that ?

Also: when changes are made that make communications even more confusing and difficult, how do the concerned KPFK sponsors find out ? ....for example.

an email sent to the General Manager,[ who up to now was listed as "gm@kpfk.org"] was returned as undeliverable. Searching further and longer for why? on the KPFK website under "staff" heading was a new e-address now listed. But when did this change ? How much searching must anyone do to get thru ?

Was there too much mail to the GM before, the same new manager that had the "GM@kpfk.org" address just a short while ago ?....does this change make it easier to discourage and divert incoming mailers and thus ignore them ?
How much work searching is needed to write to the non-accessible management of the station to which all sponsors & volunteers contribute so much to?
So yes, a new address was finally found, called "sean@kpfk.org" later. How cute. But who knew? Why is the management so ineffective as to make it so much more difficult to write to him ? Or maybe it is purposeful ? maybe......

how confusing....when the theme of the attempted email was exactly about that - the difficulty in COMMUNICATING with anyone at KPFK and knowing it had arrived, was seen, or maybe read, or ignored, or deleted, or whatever .... nothing comes out except "on air" asking for monies and programs, but no actual responsiveness to the listeners ...what is wrong there ???

expect an answer ?

dont be stupid. KPFK does not intend to give any of us anything but it's own version of THE "Truth" and does NOT want to hear anything else back. Or any other versions of truth either.

nothing !