I want to correct those who keep saying (incorrectly) that Summer Reese broke a tie on whether to renew Arlene’s [Englehardt, the previous executive director of Pacifica] contract. I’ll also state that I voted against the motion to not renew Arlene’s contract. I wanted to give Arlene more time to cut expenses and increase listenership and membership to try to get Pacifica better stabilized, and was willing to extend her contract. But the majority voted not to renew it. Summer also did not vote on the motion to make her iED (also back in 2012).
Berkeley-A bar complaint has been filed in Pennsylvania against the vice chair of the Pacifica National Board, Tony Norman. Norman, a listener representative from the DC station, WPFW, has been criticized by some for not disclosing when he ran for the board that he was an elected commissioner in Washington DC. The bar complaint, filed in Pennsylvania as Norman is a member of the PA bar, relates to legal papers prepared by Norman on behalf of WPFW-FM’s former manager John Hughes. The WPFW local board has been wracked with conflict caused largely by extensive program changes implemented by Hughes. Eventually members of the local station board sued each other individually and Pacifica as well. Legal filings prepared by Norman on behalf of Hughes were filed without representation (or malpractice insurance) in the DC case, potentially exposing Pacifica to liability.Continue reading A Money Grab and Lots of Trouble with Lawyers→
We, the undersigned members of the paid and unpaid staff at KPFK-FM, request the Pacifica National Board to implement the recall procedure delineated in Article 4, Section 9E of the Pacifica Bylaws.
Berkeley-The audit, an annual right of passage for most large nonprofits and a requirement for ongoing public broadcasting grant funding, has been delayed by Pacifica’s auditor due to the chaos created by the Board of Director’s power struggle with the Executive Director. Armanino Mckenna, one of the nation’s largest auditing firms, pushed back the start date on Pacifica’s audit, already somewhat late, from the planned start date of Thursday March 27th due to the inability or unwillingness of member station KPFA to provide print or electronic copies of their reconciled accounting records. Continue reading Audit Delayed, LA Staff Attempt To Remove KPFK PNB Staff Representative→
Berkeley–8 Former Pacifica National Board members from all 5 of the licensed station’s signal areas across the country have filed a complaint with the California Attorney General today. The board members request the AG’s assistance in investigating the chaotic board takeover of network, help to assure the integrity of the charity and to prevent further reckless actions by the board to destabilize the organization and/or cause the nation’s first public radio network to collapse. The non-confidential part of the complaint can be found here.Continue reading Former Board Members File Complaint With CA Attorney General→
Berkeley – The resistance to the attempt to fire executive director Summer Reese by a newly-elected board of directors despite her binding employment contract has entered it’s second week with no signs of slowing down. This morning, support volunteers were turned away due to a lack of space in the teensy office to accommodate them all.
BY PAUL DERIENZO | Summer Reese, the executive director of the Berkeley-based Pacifica Foundation, was fired on March 14 in a closed session of the Pacifica National Board. No official reason was given for the firing, which was announced two hours after Reese publicly announced that she had paid the overdue severances of the majority of WBAI’s employees laid off in a financial crisis triggered in part from damage from Superstorm Sandy. Continue reading After director’s firing, WBAI sale is now rumored→
Berkeley-The Pacifica National Board, which attempted to terminate Executive Director Summer Reese only 7 weeks after signing a 3-year contract, and still has stated no reason for the rushed vote taken with no legal consultation, is floating a familiar face as her proposed replacement: a recently-resigned manager in their own network, Bernard Duncan who was the general manager at the LA station KPFK until a few months ago. Continue reading New Executive Director May Be Resigned Los Angeles Manager→
I know, everyone, that you are ge1ng inundated with so much just now. But I need to say that so much of the struggle all of us face today, I think, comes from the elephant in the room, which is Pacifica’s embrace of the healthy station project in the 1990’s. Pacifica chose to go this route. Paying producers and having strip programming. This is why the bills are so high at KPFA. I think, partly and perhaps largely because of all the paid producers. It is also why Margy and other engaged in the Save KPFA initiative – to bring back a paid producer who had been let go by Arlene to reduce the hemorrhaging at the station.Continue reading The Elephant is the Healthy Station Project→
