Berkeley – Election update. As of press time, voting has been extended at KPFT in Houston and WPFW in Washington, DC until October 7th and at KPFK in Los Angeles until October 10th. Elections at WBAI and KPFA are closed. Continue reading The Return
eBay Backstory
Berkeley – A source who wishes to remain anonymous reported to the NY-based blog WBAI Then and Now , that the 50-year old KPFA reel-to-reel master tapes being sold on eBay.com came from a storage container formerly located in Rosemead, California that was maintained by Pacifica’s national office for over 20 years and it contained thousands of tapes and old folios. Continue reading eBay Backstory
Archive Shut Down Budget Motion
In Tuesday’s national finance committee, contention broke out when, in lieu of news about 50-year-old unique archival reel-to-reel Pacifica recordings being sold off on E-Bay after a storage container was auctioned for nonpayment, Save KPFA’s Barbara Whipperman proposed asking for a shut down and transfer budget for the network’s archives department. After much yelling (some of it here, but not all of it), the proposal failed on a 4-4 tie vote with Siegel/Brazonites Adriana Casenave, Cerene Roberts, Michael Novick and board chair Tony Norman voting it down.
PNB Meeting Disrupted Again
Berkeley – Ballots mailed for Pacifica’s 2016 board elections from the East Coast on August 15th. Pacifica in Exile’s candidate endorsements for all stations can be found here. You will find online voting instructions inside your printed ballot envelope. The voting period ends on September 30 at 11:59pm in your own time zone. If you donated, but don’t receive a ballot or for any ballot-related question at any station, you can contact King Reilly, a KPFK member who has graciously agreed to assist folks, at [email protected].
For more on our endorsed slates of candidates, see the Committee to Strengthen KPFK, Move KPFT Forward, United for Community Radio (KPFA), and WBAI Indy Caucus websites. Continue reading PNB Meeting Disrupted Again
Chair of the Board Diagnosis: Executive Officers Do Not Implement
In the September 20 meeting of Pacifica’s financial committee, three hours resulted in only a recommendation to create a task force. Along the way, chair of the board Tony Norman gave his diagnosis of the problem: the executive staff won’t implement the ideas of the board of directors. His comments are recorded below and transcribed. Continue reading Chair of the Board Diagnosis: Executive Officers Do Not Implement
Radford on SAG-AFTRA: It’s All John Proffitt’s Fault
In this clip from the September 18th KPFK local station board meeting, GM Radford, whose salary cuts, layoffs and denial of severance pay actions in September and October of 2015 resulted in a $200,000 plus arbitration loss for violating the station’s SAG-AFTRA union contract, blithely proclaims her actions are not her fault at all and decides Pacifica should pay for her six-figure labor violations settlement. Continue reading Radford on SAG-AFTRA: It’s All John Proffitt’s Fault
The One-Page Financial Recovery Plan
Berkeley – Ballots mailed for Pacifica’s 2016 board elections from the East Coast on August 15th. Pacifica in Exile’s candidate endorsements for all stations can be found here. You will find online voting instructions inside your printed ballot envelope. The voting period ends on September 30 at 11:59pm in your own time zone. If you donated, but don’t receive a ballot or for any ballot-related question at any station, you can contact King Reilly, a KPFK member who has graciously agreed to assist folks, at [email protected]. Continue reading The One-Page Financial Recovery Plan
CFO Agarwal Resigns
Berkeley – Pacifica Foundation Chief Financial Officer Sam Agarwal submitted his resignation today. Agarwal came to Pacifica in December of 2015 after the chief financial officer position had been vacant for six months following the June 2015 departure of his predecessor, Raul Salvador. Agarwal’s departure leaves the network with no executive management, following a succession of volunteer executive directors for 24 of the last 29 months.
Mass Layoffs Averted; Now What?
Berkeley – Ballots mailed for Pacifica’s 2016 board elections from the East Coast on August 15th. Pacifica in Exile’s candidate endorsements for all stations can be found here. You will find online voting instructions inside your printed ballot envelope. The voting period ends on September 30 at 11:59pm in your own time zone. If you donated, but don’t receive a ballot or for any ballot-related question at any station, you can contact King Reilly, a KPFK member who has graciously agreed to assist folks, at [email protected].
For more on our endorsed slates, see the Committee to Strengthen KPFK, Move KPFT Forward, United for Community Radio (KPFA), and WBAI Indy Caucus websites. Continue reading Mass Layoffs Averted; Now What?
The Day The Insurance Died
Berkeley-PNB director Bill Crosier notified the local board in Houston that Pacifica’s directors and officers liability policy had been cancelled, with an extension for only 60 days, and a bankruptcy/insolvency exemption in effect for those 60 days. The last day the policy provided full coverage was August 11th. Insurance underwriters had been demanding audited financial statements for months. Crosier told his board (the only local one to date that has been informed): Continue reading The Day The Insurance Died