by a dedicated KPFK listener
Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015 at 8:46 PM
A staff member, Ian Masters, who hosts a regular newsworthy program 6 days/week [and also has a public forum at the Hammer musem too which promotes KPFK by ] , has written a clear letter indicating his concerns . He wrote a truthful explanation of what is happening to programming and what he said about this also on-air, and has been duly threatened.
Anyone concerned over such unreasonable acts at Our Radio Stattion should write to the current new GM at KPFK.org and state your views, concerns, and or willingness to continue pledging $$$.... or not. His emailed letter is below:
"Dear Listener/supporters of KPFK,
I have just been informed by the new GM at KPFK that I have crossed the line by announcing at the end of Thursday's program that I will be preempted on Sunday by Dr Kwaku Person-Lyne who was previously banned from KPFK for anti-Semitic and homophobic rants that cost us dearly in terms of donors and listenership.
I'm told that I have to meet her on Monday and can bring a union shop steward with me. Perhaps I have handed her an excuse to get rid of me and Sonali etc., since her faction have branded us as the 1% who have to be purged and replaced by volunteers from the "oppressed communities".
The new GM, Leslie Radford, was recently appointed by the board having no professional radio experience or background in finance or management, but was a hardcore member of the board's wannabe-revolutionary faction now in control of Pacifica.
Radford made the appalling decision to have this reactionary charlatan on in the middle of a fund drive, after Margret Prescod (who has enormous credibility with and knowledge of the African/American community) and I had a meeting with her and begged her not to go ahead with giving over the weekend to this poisonous audience killer
But the GM said the station's credibility was on the line. We pointed out that there is no obligation to give our air time to just anyone off the street without any community credibility or following.
In truth it is clear that neither Margret or I have any credibility with the new GM and that she only listens to the most extreme members of her faction who have no audience, raise no funds, but have been promised more airtime. I do hope my colleagues stand by me for voicing an objection to rewarding anti-Semitism and homophobia but I am not counting on it.
Instead I'll proceed with the California Attorney General to have the court order that brought in the crippling governance structure 15 years ago, reversed.
If necessary I'll petition the FCC to remove the wrecking crew who have destroyed Pacifica and brought it to the brink of collapse, and have this community asset returned to the listeners and programmers who keep it going in spite of serial mismanagement and demented interference.
With your input and the help of an attorney or a law firm familiar with the legal coup that enabled the disastrous takeover of Pacifica in the name of democracy, we will draw up a listener/programmer petition ASAP to demand that the Pacifica Foundation be returned to its original mission that did not involve a governance structure and was dedicated to bringing diverse races, religions and cultures together. Not using racism and revolutionary ranting to divide and inflame our communities.
Stay tuned (even if I'm off the air),
Cheers,
Ian Masters
host of "Background Briefing" at ianmasters.com
Save Pacifica Radio · Los Angeles, CA 91604, United States "
KPGK.org