FIRED FROM KPFK FOR SPEAKING OUT

I have a been a producer, host, and correspondent for KPFK and Pacifica for seven years. I have covered virtually every type of story that has occurred, including on location coverage of the RNC as well as other national political conventions, and I was the Network’s field correspondent in Iraq – just prior to and during the start of the Iraq war. I also later returned to the region to cover continuing US military and political policy in the region. I host an afternoon drive-time show called Beneath the Surface. I was hosting the show at 5pm, Wednesday through Friday, regularly, sometimes more often, and usually 5 days a week during station fund drives. Because I’ve spoken out, loudly to station staff, about management failures at KPFK, station management has retaliated against me and fired me. The reason I was fired was as retaliation for my blowing the whistle on broad and consistent failures of management that have allowed an unhealthy climate to take root.

In brief, late last year I was awarded a teaching fellowship from Stanford University. I conferred with station management, and was allowed to take a four month unpaid leave of absence to teach at Stanford from January through May of this year. While teaching there, at my own expense, I traveled back to Los Angeles every Friday to continue hosting Beneath the Surface one day a week and to keep continuity during my unpaid leave.

In mid-March an article was published in the Jewish Journal. KPFK Staffers sent out information about the article on March 20, which was the first time I was aware of the article. Briefly (read article above) the article was about anti-Semitism that had been occurring on KPFK’s airways. There was tremendous staff concern, and commitment to taking some action to address the problem. This was initially manifest in emails that were being exchanged by the staff, which were also CC’ ed to station management. There was, appropriately, condemnation about the anti-Semitic comments made on a KPFK show. I wrote an email to staff and station management (see below), that made clear that the problem had as much to do with management as it did with the individual show.

——————————————————————————–

From: “Jerry Quickley”
Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:48:13 -0700
To: Station Management and Staff
Subject: RE: KPFK in the Press

I read the article in the Jewish Journal and found the tone to be reasonable and measured. I haven’t checked the archives, but if the claims and quotes made by the article are accurate it begs a serious question: Why did it take an outside article to bring this to the attention of the programming department? How is it that there’s such a gross disconnect between programming and the Program Director, that the PD has no idea whatsoever that these many many transgressions have been occurring - not over a single day or even a few weeks - but have been occurring for many months and possibly years? How is it that the Program Director apparently lacked the foresight, wherewith all, or basic managerial diligence to have established and made known effective protocols, reviews, or insights that would’ve minimally made himself aware of this serious issue?

The issues raised in the article point not just to the clear and obvious problems (again - if accurately quoted) that have occurred with the show, but rather point to a problem with how the show has been managed, or more accurately how the show has not been managed, listened to, reviewed, or seemingly had anything meaningful occur as to connection between the Program Director and the show. These sad and deeply offensive occurrences cannot possibly be described by any stretch, as an example of what a stellar job is being accomplished by our Programming Department. When a show fails this broadly and consistently at the Pacifica Mission, it is a failing of the manager who’s supposed to be contributing to and helping to oversee that mission.

I care deeply about KPFK and Pacifica and it’s disingenuous to point a finger at the problem without a sober assessment of what has facilitated the problem. The source issue isn’t the show itself.

Sincerely,

Jerry Quickley

Host/Producer

Beneath the Surface

——————————————————————————–

Just about an hour after I sent out the email above, the station’s general manager sent out an email to all staff telling us to not go out “on the offensive”. The next month I was scheduled to end my unpaid leave of absence and return to work. Instead the station General Manager, Sean Heitkemper, informed me that I was being fired. I was beyond shocked. It was clear to me that I was being retaliated against for having spoken out to staff and management about the article that was published in the Jewish Journal, in addition to my many other complaints that I’d made to station management and the union (AFTRA) about issues of racism and discrimination at KPFK that are endemic in two regards, the persistence of those issues, and management’s persistent refusal to address any of my complaints.

I was being made an example of what happens if you’re perceived as having spoken out against management. My firing was designed to have a chilling effect on employee speech at the station should any employee ask obvious questions such as ‘how could station management have allowed transgressions like this to have occurred over such an extended period, and what plans are being developed to put some form of review or oversight or reporting mechanisms in place’

I was fired only after I’d spoken out about significant and ongoing problems with station management, and just one week before I was due to return to my former staff position. While clearly the goal was to silence me and other staff from speaking out, the station has in effect achieved the opposite. For seven years I have assiduously avoided publicly discussing significant internal problems at KPFK and how those problems impact programming and help to foster and create division, dysfunction, and discrimination. For years I have made extraordinary efforts to address those issues and create necessary and just changes from within the organization itself. I do now however feel relatively unrestrained in both the need to publicly address these issues, and as to the clarity with which these issues need to be addressed.

Sincerely,

Jerry Quickley

If you’re interested you’re encouraged to leave comments here or send email.

KPFK email addresses:
Sean@kpfk.org- General Manager - Sean Heitkemper
Quick@kpfk.org - Producer/Host - Jerry Quickley
graceaaron@ca.rr.com - Interim Executive Director Pacifica Foundation - Grace Aaron
comments@kpfk.org - Station Listener Comments

For Sean Heitkemper and Grace Aaron, this is a really brilliant move.

Just as the June fund drive starts, fire one of KPFK's most popular hosts and most effective fund raisers.

If either had a lick of common sense, they would have waited until after the fund drive was over.

I know one person KPFK is not getting ten cents from this time. Jerry has made lots of friends, and I know many of them will join me sitting out this fund drive.

If Grace and Sean want any more money from me, all they have to do is resign and I will send some.

Open Letter to KPFK/Pacifica on:
Why I'm Neither Pledging Nor Volunteering this Time

I have been volunteering every year and pledging big every fund drive for years. Except for the time when many of us boycotted the fund drive over the take-over of the network by undemocratic forces, I have pledged for decades.

But I won't be this time, nor will many others that I know.

I don't know the nature of the comments that Jerry Quickley responded to nor what he wrote in response. And, as a long-time Palestine Solidarity activist, I know there are perhaps more false accusations of anti-Semitism than true ones out here, and - to the degree that fear of these false accusations causes the impunity that Israel operates under and therefore the violence and suffering the Palestinians live with - I know that such accusations must be examined closely and debated openly.

But for Jerry to get fired for raising this criticism?

No, that is unacceptable. I might agree or disagree with the original comments or with Jerry's response, but for him to get fired for them?

No. Not acceptable.

For any programmer to get fired from our station for criticism of management is not acceptable. But for this to happen to someone we love, someone who entered the war zone of Iraq to bring us unembedded news, someone who has made us appreciate for seven years both his seriousness and his sense of humor?

No.

Let me reaquaint the management of both the local (KPFK) and national (Pacifica): you are our servants. As elected officials in a democracy are public servants, so too the management of a listener-sponsored radio are there to serve the sponsors. That's us. So you don't fire our people without consulting with us.

So the issue is not just a Friday without Jerry; it's KPFK without democracy. We didn't accept that back then, and I/we won't now.

So here it is: either Jerry's back on, or the issue is openly debated on the airwaves and voted on by members, or you will notice it in the pledge drive.

Carolfrances Likins

Carlosfrances writes comment above that floored me:

"Let me reaquaint the management of both the local (KPFK) and national (Pacifica): you are our servants. As elected officials in a democracy are public servants, so too the management of a listener-sponsored radio are there to serve the sponsors. That's us. So you don't fire our people without consulting with us."

where does the KFPK management, LSB, PNB and all the committees who try to do a job if far from perfectly, do work at making decisions with reasons that are not revealed to us, the payees.... but to call them "servants" is a bit insulting.. I doubt Carlos wants to be called anyone's "servant"...I sure dont want to be one for my employer or if I am a non profit corp worker either.

And who needs to be consultant when an action is taken after much deliberation, considerations, care motions [as much to avoid the usual retaliatatory legal suits filed against the station for trying to stay fair, balanced, honorable and somewhat effective ... no, not perfect all... but I do know that the station is always easily criticized, even by me...
and yet I would not like to do any staff person's job there either.

If consultation for every action taken, even firing, releasing or eliminating a staff that has maybe stayed on way longer than many others than Carlos think he is worth or funny
[not funny at all for a long time now]...nothing would ever get done and KPFK would turn ito another WBAI, dead on the spot and falling fast.

So criticize all you want, but let's get real and say it in an understandable manner. You want Quickly back ? I dont. But no one is a servant, not in US govt, not at KPFK, and certainly no one who reads Indymedia, I'm sure.

Jerry Q is clearly playing the "victim card" and the "retaliatory card" here, not explaining his part if being insulting to many groups that he happens to disagree with or not like on his prior airings on KPFK. He pretends he is funny when he is being mean, demeaning and hateful, but then says he is joking.

many listeners have long wished for his exile, but did not make a move to say so. maybe they should have earlier.

To play "poor me", no one appreciates me or wants to give me WHAT I WANT and presume I deserve FOREVER...to have a show to expose MY views, My cleverness, My slant on this life, etc.etc. etc. is a big presumption that the listeners all want what he spouts off with some venom and sometimes informatively.

Anyone can interview people who all want more exposure on media, especially when they have a book or event to publicize. That's a lot of what Jerry has given us, as do other programmers.

So, no ...Jerry, I am glad someone Else now has the opportunity after "seven years" - during you hogged the space and now insist you should still stay there longer ?

Why ? Why you ? Why not give other people have the chance to show their stuff ? Might be better or different than yours?
[which got to be pretty repetitive, explosive, insulting, presumptive, and boring....]

some listeners deliberately avoided listening to the station when you were on...but how would you ever know ? you like and hear those who agree with you, a closed loop.

there are others who surprisingly have agreed with wanting someone else with a different narrative and other talents to be on air.

now, finally, others will also have a chance.

good.

not sorry for you, you are sorry for yourself enough. Big baby.
and there is an article about 'narcissism' on Indy you might want to check out ...

then go cry and do your revenge someplace else for a while...

Quickly has made both allies and non-allies during his tenure. I'd suspect far more of the former, judging by both his longevity and his fund-raising abilities.
I for one, found humor on the KPFK schedule to be refreshing and necessary.
Jerry is able to combine his university-educated, Wall Street experience and his honed street smarts to host an engaging program delving deeply into the issues that affect us most and 'hit the pipe' often enough to remind us that we're not listening to "the Man".

Jerry is yet another gateway to an undeserved community.

This is sounding pretty white and uptight.

The dude has got his sh*t together and calls it as he sees it. Which us right on most a da time.

Firing the guy is a bad move. Especially when it's done on the low down.
Heitkemper best have a damned good reason to let one of KPFKs most popular programmers go.

I haven't given this trimester and am considering holding out, too.

-A volunteer of many years, events and donor phone calls.

original article from the Jewish Journal?

If there are people who agree with the firing of Jerry then why not share what the concerns were for firing him. It does not seem coincidental that his firing comes after sending his criticism of management. If there were other reasons shouldn;t he have been warned first before actually firing him? I can't say I particularly like the way Jerry hosts his show, but I do think he has really solid politics on a station that has more and more wingnuts by the day- in terms of programming (um... conspiracy theories anyone) and in terms of many of the listeners that call in to the various shows

The jewish journal does tend to be fairly reactionary, certainly in regard to things regarding Palestine- given they are staunchly zionist- so it's not surprising they are making accusations of anti-semitism. - there certainly may be instances of anti-semitism at KPFK, but if it's regarding stuff around Palestine- it seems hard to swallow given their reactionary politics around Palestine

KPFK is on the take http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/la_causa_kpfks_anti-semitic_radio_show_gets_suspended_20090326/

La Causa, KPFK’s anti-Semitic radio show, gets suspended
By Brad A. Greenberg

http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/la_causa_kpfks_anti-semitic_radio_show_gets_suspended_20090326/


Last week, Roberto Loiderman of The Jewish Journal exposed the anti-Semitic outbursts of the KPFK radio program “La Causa.“ It’s not secret that Latinos, as a group, are the most likely to harbor anti-Semitic attitudes, and “La Causa” host Augustin Cebada is no exception.

Loiderman wrote:

Cebada, co-host Rafael Tlaloc and their callers draw parallels between Latinos in the United States and Palestinians in the Middle East: Just as American descendants of Europeans “should go back to Europe,” so, too, the descendants of European Jews in Israel should leave the Middle East and go live in Europe.

Though it presents itself as a program by and for Latinos, “La Causa” spends a lot of time on the subject of the Middle East, all of it fiercely critical of Israel. Referring to the recent military actions in Gaza, the show’s hosts characterize Israelis as perpetrators of “genocide,” “massacre,” “slaughter,” “war crimes,” “ethnic cleansing” and “atrocities.”

Cebada and Tlaloc have said Israelis are “acting like Nazis.”

A sampling of recent comments on “La Causa”:

“Rahm Emanuel is a Trojan Horse making sure that Obama does not push for peace in Palestine that would free the people of Gaza.” Emanuel was “forced” on the Obama administration by “certain interest groups.” (Dec. 17, 2008)

“Israel controls the media here; Jewish AIPAC controls the media, so the only real news we can get is from Al-Arabiya….” (Jan. 7)

“The U.S. doesn’t get to see the horrible things taking place [in Gaza], bombing of schools and hospitals. [Israelis] kill a lot of children; they don’t care….” (Jan. 14)

“This whole thing about Israel being a democracy is a farce. Total BS…. A charade…. And our tax dollars pay for the slaughter.” (Jan. 14)

“[Gaza] is total imprisonment, a concentration camp…. The Nazis would have been envious of the Israelis at this time….” (Jan. 14)


Augustin CebadaCebada did not respond to repeated requests from The Journal for an interview. He has said on air that he’s 46 and has been a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. (The LAUSD has no record of anyone with the name “Augustin Cebada” ever having worked as a teacher or in any other capacity.)

Photos and audiotape of Cebada from a 1996 appearance at a July 4 pro-Chicano rally in Westwood can be found on the Internet. Dressed in a Brown Berets uniform and presenting himself as “information minister” of the group, Cebada told his listeners, “We [Chicanos] are not going to be pushed around…. We are the majority, and we claim this land as ours….”

Maybe that’s because Augustin Cebada’s given, and I believe legal, name is Chris Eichwald. Chistopher—as in follower of Christ—is hardly a Jewish name, but Eichwald’s father was named Aron. And well ...

Anyway, apparently KPFK program directors either don’t know Spanish or never bother tuning in, but they said they would take the allegations seriously. To their credit, the station did—and today KPFK suspended “La Causa.“

Of course, that action is being blamed on the Jews. Gustavo Arellano, the genius behind Ask a Mexican! and someone who was glad to see some attention being paid to Cebada, explains:

Oh, happy day! KPFK-FM 90.7 management has suspended the anti-Semitic hatefest called “La Causa” for six weeks for the obvious reasons, a week after the Jewish Journal published a devastating exposé of the program. I didn’t find out from a KPFK statement or the JJ, though; rather, the people to break this news was the Jew-bashing, gay-trashing La Voz de Aztlan. And if there was any doubt of a connection between this piece of Internet caca and “La Causa” host Agustin Cebada, that La Voz published this information before anyone else proves it because La Voz is to reputable news gathering what a piece of shit-smeared toilet paper is to a Picasso*.

“Zionists force KPFK radio to suspend ‘La Causa,‘“ screams the La Voz headline, and isn’t it so precious that sole writer Hector “His Last Name Has Jewish Roots” Carreon continues to blame the Jews for everything? He goes on a diatribe about how “Zionists” threatened to turn KPFK over to the FCC and the IRS. “The Zionists have great influence with the FCC now that Rahm Emanuel runs the White House and Timothy Geithner runs the IRS as Secretary of the Treasury,“ Carreon writes. “Both Emanuel and Geithner are Jews.“

Tee-hee! Congrats to the Jewish Journal for making the most fevered conspiracies of Carreon and Cebada come true! And congrats to KPFK management for not tolerating hate of any kind, even if it comes from Chicano dinosaurs.

What’s best about this episode is that the defenders of “La Causa,“ rather than take the high road and argue for the beauty of free speech, have proven themselves to be the Tan Klan that they are.

© Copyright 2009 The Jewish Journal and JewishJournal.com
All rights reserved. JewishJournal.com is hosted by Nexcess.net

Someone came up to me at the Gaza solidarity rally yesterday and said he had seen my email and had differences to speak to me about, accusing Jerry of both "getting Augustine fired" and "coming out on the side of the Zionists." Accusing Jerry of causing the suspension of "La Causa" is far fetched: the article came out in the Jewish Journal, Jerry wrote that management should have been on top of this, and management both suspended the program and fired Jerry.

The accusation of Jerry being on the side of the Zionists is much more serious. I walked away from our brief conversation shaken, realizing this thing could get really, really ugly.

There are two main issues here:

One, that management has no right to secretly fire our people and refuse to let the issue be aired, claiming the refusal is based on "protecting" the programmer, who is trying to get it aired.

Two, that pitting the struggle to liberate Palestine against the struggle for Jewish dignity has always been destructive of both; we cannot - we absolutely must not - fall into this trap.

I've read and re-read lists of quotes from "La Causa": a few are anti-Semitic in that they use words like "Jews" instead of "Israel." The vast majority of quotes, though, are righteously critical of Israel, including the comparison of Israel to the Nazis. Well, as several people have said in one form or other: if Zionists don't want Israel to be compared to the Nazis, they should get their friend to quit acting so Nazi-like. Or if Israel doesn't like the comparison, they should quit trying to exterminate the Palestinians. You may or not like this concept - generally depending whether or not you know the facts - but this idea is not anti-Semitic. (If the statements seem too strong, check out statistics and stories on sites like "ifamericansknew.")

This also doesn't excuse rudeness. I get angry when I hear a programmer dismiss and hang up on a caller; there is no excuse for that.

These insensitivities by pro-Palestinian spokespersons don't help the cause. Palestine needs progressive media and activists to be extremely cautious that we don't make enemies to their cause by our carelessness or rudeness.

In the same way, actions like those of the Jewish Journal throwing someone's anti-Semitic comments together with genuine criticism of Israeli brutality is extremely dangerous to the Jewish people; it inevitably leads some people who are not blind to the Israel's atrocities to take their frustrations, humiliations, and physical agony out on the people that Israel claims to act in the name of - unaware of Jews being disproportionately active in the struggle for Palestinian rights.

A few days ago, my Jewish best friend interrupted our discussion about Jerry's case with "I'm very much afraid; I sense a real danger." Though she is one of the many Jewish anti-Zionists, she wasn't referring at the moment to the danger to Palestine; she suddenly was outlining the history of anti-Semitism's rise in Europe.

It's a vicious cycle: Zionists get a voice for Palestinian rights thrown off the air; some pro-Palestinan activists blame "the Jews." And the Nazi/capitalists/imperialists laugh at all of us all the way to the bank.

KPFK needs to help break that cycle. What we need to call for, then, is a public series of airings and townhall meetings on both understanding Jerry's case and on being sensitive to the pain of everyone - Jews, Arabs, Muslims - who continue to suffer fear, hurt, and worse - around the struggle for peace in the Middle East.

Air it; don't sweep it under hoping it will go away. History shows it won't.

Carolfrances

Missing from Jerry's Indymedia post here was his admission in another version that "Station Management claims that I was being laid off due to economic reasons. I do not believe this to be true for one moment." Whether a layoff is fair or prudent is a different question than whether a firing is fair or prudent. That Jerry is convinced that he was fired for speaking out despite being advised otherwise by the station's General Manager doesn't make it so. Withholding contributions to KPFK over this dispute could result in additional staff layoffs, while a massively sucessful fundrive could allow Jerry to be re-hired if KPFK intends to continue the model of paid rather than volunteer drive-time programmers.

Terry Goodman said:

> "Station Management claims that I was being laid off due to economic reasons. I do not believe this to be true for one moment."

Does anyone knowing the people involved here seriously believe that Heitkemper/Aaron fired Quickley, one of the best fund raisers, for economic reasons?

I don't think it was "speaking out" either.

Rather, as with Bernard White at WBAI, see http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/06/227975.php we see the Grace Aaron/Ian Master/Lila Garrett gang of three supported by the underwriters of the "Strengthen KPFK" slate mailer campaign eliminating people with independent minds who would oppose their efforts to remake KPFK along DLC/puff Obama lines, such as we heard from Ian Masters Sunday. White and Quickley would rank at the top of that list.

Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez both know they are on that list too.

I understand the Aaron Gang group was upset by Democracy Now running a story about a Mulsim in pretrial solitary confinement for two years signed off on by Holder, undermining and contradicting rather then puffing Obama's Cairo speech, as they dutifully did on the evening news.

History is repeating itself. Once again, a DLC group wants to remake Pacifica as an outlet to advance the Democratic party rather than a truthful source of information.

Listeners once again have lost their station.

Pacifica stations have been sacking their best talent for years....here in Houston,KPFT likes to 'permanently banish' those it gets rid of to create the impression that rather than simply being taken off the air,they were some kind of totally disruptive influence or borderline psychotic or congenital;y criminal.....Pacifica seems to have a knack of hiring incipient petty Mussolini types as management who have a habit of taking themselves far too seriously and letting their tiny bit of power go to their heads and the on air talent and the listeners always seem to get the dirty end of the stick as a result

"...two main issues here:

One, that management has no right to secretly fire our people and refuse to let the issue be aired, claiming the refusal is based on "protecting" the programmer, who is trying to get it aired.
" [snip}

a commentator wrote above, so this needs to be reviewed and corrected:

everyone who listens or even contributes $$$ to KPFK thinks they are a better Manager or that they own more Shares than others to decide who gets to stay on forever as a programmer, who gets reprimanded or s suspended or who gets to continue on their own wild trip insulting, accusing, hating, aligning, ranting, or whatever they do W/O ANY MONITORING nor censorship.

this has been a problem for those who like to Listen to the station, w/o being offended, bewildered, angry, frustrated or wondering why no one is in "charge" there ....

The assumption that "management has no right to secretly fire our people ".... means that we out here who do not work or enter the station do not KNOW what is happening, if it is secret or just not within our hearing...and that we are going to tell Management what right they have to manage...huh ???????

What is the Manager and his crew getting paid for if not to insure that the ethics and fairness and honesty and viability of the station and it's employees remain
above-board ?

OPf course, from Indymedia posts, it is easy to make absurd proclamations and assertions

let's all get real and be honest....if we want input, we can write, call, go on an appointment or telegram the management...and ask for informatioin from LSB members who are suppose to represent 'the rest of us' and ask for more information...

and stop assuming we know it all or that rumor, accusations are accurate and fully informed.

Why did Quicky get fired ? Did he tell us the truth or play out his victim role for retaliation ? Did the station write about this move somewhere we can access?
We can ask and demand to be informed. But we are not the ultimate deciders and we know not all that happens with people programmers and how they behave or are evaluated at the station.

so let's find out instead of pretending to superior to the staff & management of KPFK.

let's get smart for a change

Jerry Quicly was promoting and passing out a 9-11 conspiracy DVD that
can be summed up as "the Jews did it." Jerry was pushing this 9-11 anti Jewish stuff very intensively for months and months. He carefully never made any extreme anti Jewish comments himself but anybody who got the DVD or linked to it on line would see that Jerry was promoting anti-Jewish hatred.

from 1994 to 2007, I lived in Seattle and listened and supported both to KEXP and KBCS community radio stations, where a wide variety of music and content was presented. I am also a fan of Berkeley pacifica, especially Guns and Butter. Although I listened to KPFK on moving to Los Angeles in 2007, and supported it, I find now that it is becoming Ian Masters Radio, who I find to be an "insider" promoting not free discussion, but only the free discussion that he is comfortable with. He sounds like a VERY VERY OLD MAN...I wish there were more perspectives on KPFK, and will stop supporting KPFK until as they say, THIS TOO WILL PASS....WHY ISN'T THERE A DECENT RADIO STATION IN LOS ANGELES?????? thank you..Mike
I see we are again escalating a war in afghanistan. I can not wait for ian masters to explain it all so that it makes sense..ho ho ho..