Tag Archives: Margy wilkinson

System Breakdown

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Berkeley-The Pacifica Foundation, 19 months into a coup by the Siegel/Brazon faction, is starting to project its internal demolition onto on-air operations. In the past two weeks, LA station KPFK’s website has collapsed at least three times, once for 4 entire days and the station fell off terrestrial broadcast, the website at www.pacifica.org went dark, the website at www.kpfa.org went dark, WBAI-FM aired the Progressive Radio Network’s internet stream having misplaced its own programs, and the LA archives failed, storing only 15 of the last 132 hours of programming since 6:00am on Monday November 16th. Continue reading System Breakdown

What’s The “New Low” and Who Is “Sleazy”?

By Frank Sterling

I was astonished to read the latest edition of Save KPFA and its attack on local station board member Janet Kobren. As we all may have heard, the $400,000 bequest left to the Pacifica Foundation was almost grabbed by KPFA for its sole use.

So who has sunk to the “new low” of “sleazy politics”, the person who has pointed out the mistake or the people who show their greed by hoarding the money for themselves to dole it out as they see fit? And their intense expression of hatred and vitriol for a person whose fiduciary duty it is to oversee funds for our network and who pointed out the mistake. Continue reading What’s The “New Low” and Who Is “Sleazy”?

Partial Document Dump Re: Bequest

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Berkeley-The “60 pages you can’t see” of documentation regarding the bequest directed to Pacifica Foundation Radio that was incorrectly reported as a restricted donation for the exclusive use of KPFA-Radio, has finally been made available. The national board of directors voted the bequest had been made to the Pacifica Foundation and then to distribute the document package to the network’s five local station boards. Continue reading Partial Document Dump Re: Bequest

The Limits Of Documentation

 

At KPFA’s local station board meeting, Save KPFA-affiliated secretary Craig Alderson began the conversation about the misdirected bequest, whose 60+ pages of paperwork continue to be available only to board members, by saying “we all know the limits of documentation”.

This clip contains then-ED Wilkinson making a verbal slip: “I desperately wanted the money to be for KPFA – er – for the foundation”.

Later in the three hour meeting, UCR member Janet Kobren, who was verbally assaulted by Save KPFA board members calling her “unethical”, read from the hidden package emails from Pacifica CFO Salvador saying he “had only bits of information and could he please see the bequest paperwork” and Wilkinson stating she “had not shared it with him”. Continue reading The Limits Of Documentation

Bankruptcy Is A Beginning

 

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Berkeley-The Pacifica National Board had an informal “strategic planning” meeting Thursday night. In the hour-long meeting, KPFA director Jose-Luis Fuentes pushes for the Pacifica Foundation to move into voluntary bankruptcy, which is described as “a beginning” by PNB director George Reiter. The board indicates they wish to consult with their FCC attorney John Crigler about filing for reorganization, although Crigler is an FCC and copyright attorney, not a bankruptcy attorney.  Options on the table are described as a sale of Berkeley’s national office building or a lease, sale or swap of WBAI’s broadcasting license. PNB members Adriana Casenave and Tony Norman insist the board’s discussions about selling real estate, leases, swaps or sales of broadcasting licenses or “debt reorganization” be held in executive session where the network’s members cannot hear them, and discuss how these decisions are “political”. The full meeting audio is here, a seven minute clip is hereContinue reading Bankruptcy Is A Beginning

KPFK Website Gone For Hours

 

Wednesday night, at the stroke of midnight, LA station KPFK’s website disappeared from the Internet for about three hours, putting a sad cap on a month-long fund drive that ended on Friday 11/6 at $608,000 or $142,000 short of the goal.

Why did the website completely go down? KPFK didn’t pay the bill.  Continue reading KPFK Website Gone For Hours

Censoring Arun Gupta

 

On November 10, 2015, supporters of the Berkeley wing of the Siegel/Brazon faction (Save KPFA) targeted an interview between Flashpoints host Dennis Bernstein and Indypendent editor Arun Gupta.

Gupta, who writes for The Nation, The Progressive, Al-Jazeera America,  and The UK Guardian  and has been a Democracy Now correspondent, was accused by Save KPFA supporter Sheila Sexton of being anti-union. This was quickly echoed by SaveKPFA-affiliated local station board member Kate Gowen and former Pacifica IED Margy Wilkinson, who asked for complaints to be filed with KPFA’s general manager and program director over Gupta’s interview. Continue reading Censoring Arun Gupta

4th KPFK Host/DJ Quits On-Air

Melting Pot host Michael Barnes announced on Friday November 6th that his last program would be that evening after five years on KPFK.

Off-air, Barnes said he “was done with the place and how badly it was being managed”.

Barnes is the fourth consecutive on-air host to announce a same day resignation citing new manager Leslie Radford’s mismanagement of the station.

Barnes kept it classy on the air, and here is his on-air goodbye to KPFK.

Wilkinson’s Hit Piece

 

In an unsigned blast, former Pacifica IED Margy Wilkinson attacked her colleagues on the national board who assisted her in taking over national leadership in 2014 (including several she called “workables” in her notepad) accusing them of “grabbing KPFA’s money” and “redirecting it”.

The post, oddly titled “Move on KPFA” can be seen here. Continue reading Wilkinson’s Hit Piece

The 60 Pages They Won’t Show You

News and Information about Pacifica Radio

Berkeley–  Thursday night’s Pacifica National Board meeting focused 2 of its 3 hours on the bequest to the Pacifica Foundation deposited into KPFA’s operating account in the spring of 2015 by board chair Margy Wilkinson. The conversation occurred in two parts. In the first hour of the meeting board members jockeyed around agenda items calling for the release of documentation on the bequest diversion. At the end of the hour-long agenda setting session, the document release motion ended up close to the top.

In the third hour, the board voted to release a 60 page document package about the bequest diversion to the network’s five local station boards, but in closed session and not until November 14th. Continue reading The 60 Pages They Won’t Show You