“LA Observed” printed a leaked memo to KPFK staff from General Manager Leslie Radford. She "explained" that she was clearing off the station’s public affairs and arts section, which aired between 8pm - 9pm. These programs include

Indymedia On The Air,
Deadline LA,
Poets Cafe
LA Theaterworks,
made effective July 11.

These programs will be replaced with 5 hours of not yet defined programs, but these will be all in Spanish language only.

This is a distinct move from the English listener audiences - to one that has proven to be valued by some, but also unable to provide sufficient funds to sustain even their own time on-air on KPFK radio waves - with all the expenses entailed of Spanish language programming.

The breakdowns of what funds are received for each programs must be available for public view somewhere, or at least for KPFK donor-members, but it is not on the website and the LSB do not share the information they obtain.

It is presumably available from the Gen'l Mgr. or Business Director of KPFK, somewhere, somehow, .... maybe...

Ms. Radford did not specify the names or the subject matter of the new programs yet, nor who would be hosting and producing these new Spanish-only programs.

So KPFK will now be broadcasting exclusively in Spanish from 8 pm to 12 midnight every Mondays through Thursdays = 4 days/ week.

Then on Fridays there is a program in English that is slanted towards Latino/ Hispanic / Chicanos also.

If this is true (Leslie Radford said a few months ago additional program changes were coming), American Indian Airwaves would be affected, too. I wonder, then, if these shows will be rescheduled. (IndyMedia was on Monday afternoons for several years, and American Indian Airwaves has been moved around, too.)

When Radford was asked by listener-callers about shows that had been truncated (i.e., Roy of Hollywood and, I believe, Sonali's show), she said she couldn't comment on specific shows/specific hosts but that changes were necessary to keep up with the times*.

However, my understanding is shows with salaried hosts has been another factor, but none in the 8-9pm slot fall into that category (that I know of), whereas Sonali's show and Roy of Hollywood do.

I was thinking just the other day that perhaps Freedom Now should return to an 8-9pm slot to maximize its reach (plus it's just harder for me to catch it on Saturdays, though that's just me). Rescheduling can be good or at least bearable. It's scaling back and eliminating good shows that concerns me.

*If keeping up with the times is indeed the rationale for all these programing cutbacks, I guess that puts me among the obsolete and that I'm gradually being replaced by a different audience.

Spanish programing has indeed been pushed to start an hour earlier on Mon-Thurs nights. However, last night there was an announcement that both Flip the Script and IndyMedia on Air will return in a few weeks at new times.

There was an announcement tonight that American Indian Airwaves will similarly return in a few weeks at a new time. I'm hoping LA Theater Works (Thursday nights) won't be cancelled either. There was an announcement for during the last fund drive, so hopefully that's a good sign.

I heard it today at 11:30 am. It was announced that this is the new time slot. There was coverage of the incident at the pipeline protest with dogs being sicked on peaceful demonstrators and . It's not archived under its proper name at KPFk.org, but you can find it under today's Global Village (skip ahead 30 minutes into it).

American Indian Airwaves is now on Fridays at 7pm. At the moment it isn't being archived.