Democracy Now 9:00 a.m. Morning-Time Show Replaced With Cartoons
by Ed Murray
KCET, a Los Angeles Public Television station has replaced the 9:00 a.m. broadcast of Democracy Now with cartoon shows, starting today, Monday October 5. The show is still broadcast at the early 7:00 a.m. time-slot, but the second re-broadcast on the main KCET channel is gone. KCET has shoved the program to its secondary station KCET-LInk at noon. If you are watching over the air, you should be able to get KCET Link as 28-2 on your television set. The digital revolution in radio and television allows the station to divide its bandwidth into 4 station slots, 28-1 through 28-4.
Attempts to get a statement from KCET PR folks has been unsuccessful so far, maybe they are in meetings this morning trying to figure out which cartoons to show next week.
So instead of getting some real news, politics, and alternative views, its viewers will be able to improve their understanding of world affairs by watching “Wunderkind Little Amadius”, “Bali”, and “Peep and the Big Wide World” cartoon shows. KCET, which used to have a lot of relevant programming, continues to slide down the cultural mountain. When they blew off the PBS shows a couple years ago, the station took a big dip in viewers, according to former KCET President Al Jerome. Now, its schedule has a lot of travel shows, cooking shows, and gardening shows, and almost nothing concerning what’s happening in the Los Angeles community other than mainstream pablum. Their digital 28-4 has a lot of cultural shows about Japan, well-produced by professional Japanese news and documentary film makers. But when it comes to the homeland, there must not be any homies here in L.A. who can make any culturally relevant documentaries for the main 28-1 station. L.A. must be dead-land now. Or is it the station’s management and programmers who are brain-dead?
This might be a revealing moment, however. The question that has to be asked is who is pouring money into KCET to keep the network sloshing out brain-deadening, mind-numbing drivel? The executives working at the station aren’t working for free as far as known; they need donors to pump in enough money to keep the operation going. Is the viewing audience of L.A. so dull-witted that they now would rather watch cartoons than something on world affairs? Or is the money train only coming down the tracks from foundations and big corporate sponsors? Or is there any large chunk of money at all coming in? Maybe they’re living off the big bucks they got selling their great 300,000 sq. ft. studio in Hollywood to the Church of Scientology in 2011?
Buildings Bursting With Angry Employees Is a Dangerous Thing
by Ed Murray
Dateline Los Angeles:
It’s a perfectly natural behavior pattern. As the entire Pacifica network surges toward complete disintegration, everyone is angry. There’s so much tension at the KPFK building that sometimes it seems that the whole place is just going to start spinning around and take off into outer space. Most of this is caused by the new ruling clique and their actions. Getting rid of a bunch of people and cutting the staff salaries has everyone on edge, especially those who might like to pay their rent next month and maybe have enough left over for a taco at Poquito Mas. Last week it was reported that not only were the staff union members put on half salary, but the union dues that were deducted from their wages had not been remitted to the union in months. Nice. Now the question is will the union continue to represent members who haven’t paid their dues, through no fault of their own? Tensions run high.
Louisville Hound Dog
There is, however, a solution to all this. As KPFK slips and morphs its way into the business model of Revolution Radio, these kinds of problems will melt away. As reported on previously, no one is paid at Revolution Radio, except maybe the owner, The NnightHawkk. Or “Mr. Nnight Hawkk”, as he is sometimes called. If nobody is paid, and the entire staff and all the hosts are working for free, then nobody gets mad when the pay is cut in half, or cut completely. Problem solved.
There is also the Pet Factor as it is called. The Nnight Hawkk knows that pets have a calming effect on humans. At Revolution Radio, you will see a big old hound dog lounging around, and a lot of cats. This technique should be immediately applied at KPFK, and in fact throughout the entire Pacifica organization. Pets should be mandatory at all stations.
How nice it would be if everybody could bring their real best friend to work with them. Imagine a menagerie of doggies and kitties at KPFK, and maybe a nice canary singing in his window cage at the front entrance. This would have a calming effect on the employees who are now bursting with anger. It’s hard to get upset at anything when there’s a purring kitten nestled in your lap. And if some barking dog sounds float out over the air during a show, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. It would remind the subscribers that they are listening to a radio station made up of real people. And lets face it, dogs have important things to say too.
How To Throw A Big Bash And Raise Funds. The Story of Hawk Fest
Anyone who’s been listening to KPFK the last few years has heard the sound: a near constant, shrill, whinning sound. No, nothing is wrong with your radio or the KPFK Transmitter. It’s the ever-present begging-for-money sound that drones on day after day. Down south in Louiville, at Revolution Radio, they know things. And one of them is how to bring in a few bucks and have some fun.
The Stage at Hawk Fest ready to go.
Once a year, The NnightHawkk gears up for a big bash, which of course, is appropriately called Hawk Fest. It’s a shindig that KPFK should pay close attention to. Mr. Mike Ringley, The NnightHawkk, clears the decks for action a few weeks before the Labor Day holiday and organizes the event, which took place this year on part of his farm, which is called Hawk’s Nest. Being thrifty, like most southern folk, Mr. NnightHawkk has a do-it-yourself attitude. He even built his own stage this year for the night-time music show. It looks cool at night with the color lights on it, and the performers and bands appear to be floating in the trees. A few sips of some Kentucky white lightning will help to bring that image home.
The NnightHawkk’s costume ready for action
The Hawk Fest is a fabulous event. It only costs $25 bucks for a ticket, which comes with a camping spot. Or you could bring your own RV. In that case the fee is only $20 bucks, which is really a bargain on many levels. The food plates cost extra, but are very reasonable, like about 25% of what you would pay in L.A. From the youtube videos, it’s obvious that the food is fantastic. The pre-fest video walk around showed the NnightHawkk’s gardens, he and his wife grow their own food. A lot of the listeners at KPFK are always talking about going to an expensive market to buy “organic” food, which costs a lot more than just regular food. At the Hawk’s Nest farm, they GROW their own food. How many KPFK folks actually grow their own food? Some are even a little snobby about eating only organic (the wealthy folks). But down at the Hawk Fest, real, home-grown food is served, and lots of it. KPFK should take note of this – there’s plenty of room on the roof of their building to start a big garden. This is a very sheikh thing to do, nowadays in urban areas, and a roof-top food garden could supply all the future non-paid volunteers with some good, healthy grub, since eating at fancy-pants restaurants will be a thing of the past for them.
And no big bash is complete without some entertainment. The NnightHawkk is no stranger to music. His bio says he studied music at UC Berkeley. He had his own band and is killer at rock-and-roll. There is a problem, sometimes, living in a rural area, in getting some musicians together. A recent Facebook post by Mr. NnightHawkk brings his frustration to the surface: ” i may be a musician but i fucking hate musicians UN trustworthy distracted lot nu reliable put off people that have no clue that this a business behind all this this is why i quit music.” (sic) Also on hand at this year’s Hawk Fest was stand up comedienne Tere Joyce, and the master of ceremonies was the beloved Sean David Morton. Click here to see Tere Joyces’ impromptu interview with Sean David, and get a glimpse of the famous white lightning.
KPFK could certainly learn a lesson here and put on its own bash. Get some of the “work in kind” contractors to build a simple stage at the end of the parking lot. Get out the folding chairs and tables and have the local restaurants cater the food, like they used to do for the phone volunteers in the old days of fund raising. Tickets for the event could include a meal. Get a few bands, or if nobody will pitch in, how about forming your own group? A monthly night -time Progressive Radio Bash should bring in enough money to buy seeds for the roof garden.
One warning should be stated, and this is from the Hawk Fest official rules of engagement: Leave your firearms stowed in your vehicle trunk or safe. Anyone giving adult beverages to anyone under 21 will be violently ejected from the event. This event is family friendly will be many kids around. Anyone that imbibes to the point where they become a nuisance will need to go to their tent or be ejected form the event. (sic) Suggest KPFK also post these rules in large print, especially since there are so many angry employees and staff members.
Give Progressives and West-side Liberals What They Really Want
by Ed Murray
Now that KPFK has pretty much gutted out some of its award-winning programs, like Sonali Kolhatkar’s Uprising, and Ian Masters’ Background Briefing, it can concentrate on programs that Progressives really want to hear about, like the annual Venice Beach Go Topless Day March, Rally and Protest. And let’s face it, awards for quality broadcasting are monstrously over-rated. Really, an award is just a piece of paper with some words on it, in a nice frame. KPFK is now free to print up their own awards. Or, they could do a 3-D plaque by making a quick trip to Radio Shack and buying some cheap mics for about $5-$10 bucks each, get a couple of “U” shaped clamps at Home Depot, and mount the mics on nice pieces of wood. These could be KPFK’s “Golden Mic” awards. Give them out to all the new revolutionary volunteer programmers, it’l make them feel swell.
Note the cute UFO Alien pasties
Obviously, it’s way past time for KPFK to jump in the mud bath with the other tabloid media. Look to Revolution Radio for guidance. One of their shows, for instance, “Freedom of Joyce”, with host Tere Joyce, puts out some interesting topics. Stand up comedienne Tere even beat out KPFK on it’s own turf when she went to Venice and filmed the Free The Nipple Parade for her show. This was a big event in Venice, with hundreds of young women demanding the right to go topless at Venice Beach, and parading around with only little pasties covering their nipples. It was quite a scene. The question has to be asked: Where was KPFK? A “Go Topless Day March, Rally and Protest” program would be popular with a big portion of their listeners. This is what progressive folks and westside liberals really want to hear about. Who cares about politics anymore? It’s such ugly stuff. And soon it will be nothing but history, so why worry about it?
Which Loon Made Those Decisions?
And while it’s being discussed, what’s with KPFK having a table at a recent Los Angeles City-Wide picnic for Unions and union family members? KPFK was accused of “union-busting”, but they showed up at the recent Union picnic. Weird. But they didn’t show up at the huge Los Angeles Times Book Fair this spring at U.S.C., or the equally cool Spanish Language book fair. Which loon made those decisions?
“It Was a Thin Book From Beginning To End”
Funny Girl Tere Joyce from Revolution Radio scoops KPFK every time.
Or so said host Tere Joyce about a book she had once read. Her ever-entertaining show on Revolution Radio has such topics as the one where she exposed Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard’s connection to JPL founder Jack Parsons. The Hubbard/Parsons connections to the occult and to Aleister Crowley are bizarre. Another show was a retrospective called The Greatest UFO Story Never Told, about Giant Rock and UFO contactee George Van Tassel. At KPFK the UFO topic is basically verbotten, along with such topics as Chemtrails, 911 truth movement, and government CIA involvement in the drug trade. Any subject that has the word “conspiracy” in it is supposedly forbidden to be talked about at KPFK, unless it is after midnight or in one of the Spanish language programs. If a UFO ever did really land in the KPFK parking lot some night the Program Managers would head for the 24 hour medical clinics for blood tests to see if they had mistakenly gobbled down some LSD. However, things may be about to change, although possibly leading to a reckless catastrophe.
The Strange Universe of Sean David Morton
Another fascinating show on Revolution Radio is a show called Strange Universe Radio, broadcasting 5 nights a week with host Sean David Morton, who has been described as a “Nationally Known Psychic”. At least, that’s what the Securities and Exchange Commission called him when they pinned a default judgement against Morton, his wife, and several of his enterprises. The SEC said:
“District Court Grants Securities and Exchange Commission’s
Motions for Default Judgment against a Nationally Known Psychic
and his Corporate Entities in Multi-Million Dollar Offering Fraud.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) announced today that on February 11, 2013 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered default judgments against Sean David Morton
(Morton), a nationally recognized
psychic who bills himself as “America’s
Prophet,” his wife, relief defendant Melissa Morton, and corporate shell
entities co-owned by the Mortons. In addition to ordering permanent
injunctions from violating anti-fraud and registration statutes and rule, each
defendant was ordered to disgorge, jointly and severally, $5,181,135.82,
along with prejudgment interest of $1,171,110.54, and pay a penalty of
$5,181,135.82 for a total of $11,533,382.18. Relief defendants Melissa
Morton and the Prophecy Research Institute, the Mortons’ nonprofit
religious organization, were ordered to disgorge $468,281 plus prejudgment
interest of $105,847.23, for a total of $574,128.23.”
Secret Passages Inside the Great Pyramid
In spite of all this, Sean David Morton remains in demand. He is a very entertaining speaker. Earlier this year he spoke at the Alchemy Event in Los Angeles to a packed hall. He’s a funny guy, really. The SEC indicates that his “investment advice”, based on his psychic predictions, might be a bit risky. But the edginess of all this makes for exciting radio programs, and Sean David Morton is still pulling in listeners and filling seats in auditoriums. Maybe he should be given a shot – put him on KPFK during L.A. drive-time and see what the psychic man can do. Could he pull in more listeners than, say Background Briefing? Hard to tell, and one interesting comment somewhere was “if he was such a great psychic how did he miss the SEC event coming down on him?” Nevertheless, Sean David, as he is fondly called by his fans, is a brilliant raconteur, and can speak fluently on almost any subject: science, ancient history, politics, futurism, technology. On a recent cruise-ship gig that he was on, he mesmerized a large audience for more than an hour giving a detailed description of the passage-ways that are under the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, and how he has figured out that the measurements of the passages relate to events in world history. Mind-blowing stuff, although a little off current mainstream thought. However, he could be the savior of KPFK as a 5pm-7pm Shock Jock, if Pacifica could borrow him for a while from Revolution Radio, where he claims he has about 11 million listeners world-wide to his radio program. The Pacifica network of stations could use a few million new listeners. But first they have to replace their almost continuous fund drives with some interesting programs, and Sean David is the man to deliver on this. A side benefit is that if any secret passages are found underneath KPFK, he may be able to predict the future of the station by measuring the distances between certain mathematical points in the passages themselves.
Successful Southern Internet Radio Station Lights The Road To KPFK’s Next Destination
Part 1
by Ed Murray
Mike “NniteHawkk” Ringley
What’s apparent in the current struggle at KPFK and Pacifica, is that the new regime of “revolutionaries” is intent on pushing the entire network into a murky, unknown area of operation. The model of listener-supported by voluntary contributions, which replaced traditional radio station advertising, could be going down the drain. Recent mis-management at the network, causing a huge financial loss, has led to almost endless fund drives, causing cursing listeners to find solace somewhere else on the dial. There’s a lot of other problems, of course, but lets kick those aside into the cardboard box to go through at a later time with a six-pack of Corona, when retrospection will be like therapy. Make that 2 six packs.
Because It could be, that purely by accident, Pacifica is headed toward a new paradigm of radio station operations, one that has already been pioneered by a good ole southern boy musician turned internet entrepreneur who is causing a storm of attention across the land. Since Pacifica’s yellow brick road has now ended about a mile into the bog of the doomed, one could ask “if KPFK broadcasts a program at 9pm on a weeknight and no one is listening, has it really happened?” I can’t tell you the answer to that, because I was never good at deep phisics, but it is a slim possibility.
The Nnitehawkk Lands in Louisville
First, let’s make one thing clear: we have no idea why Mr. Ringley has 2 “N”s and 2 “K”s in “Nnitehawkk”. One guess is that someone else was using the name “Nitehawk”. One researcher told me that George Noory used to call himself The Nighthawk. Anyway, Mike “Nnitehawkk” Ringley studied music at UC Berkeley. After graduation, he did a bunch of stuff, we don’t know what, but then settled in Louisville, Kentucky, where he bought an attractive home where he resides with his wife, Elizabeth and their children. It was there that he set up what would become his radio empire, the subject of the present comparison with the failing KPFK business model. It’s called Revolution Radio, and the website is www.FreedomSlips.com. A facebook video of the radio station shows a room full of computers, monitors and audio equipment, in what could possibly be the basement of his large 2 story home. The house in neatly kept, and has ample grounds to have fundraisers, grow vegetables, and enjoy the nice southern atmosphere. More on this a little later.
(The entire workforce at Freedom Slips/ Revolution Radio) ” are not paid for their efforts – nor do they expect to be.”
So let’s begin by taking a look at KPFK’s current financial situation. Things are bad, like really bad. The new General Manager, Leslie Radford, has cut staff salaries by 50%, triggering charges that she is “union busting”, and forcing the union to take KPFK into arbitration, which has happened.
On the other hand, the first thing I noticed on the masthead that lists the staff and crew who run the Revolution Radio station, is the statement that nobody is paid, “nor do they expect to be.” The full statement is: “Be sure to give them a shout out when you see them around – they are not paid for their efforts – nor do they expect to be. They do this for your benefit as much as their own.” Mr. Ringley has found the cornerstone of the new economics of running a radio station. Free Labor! No half measures like the General Manager of KPFK, Leslie Radford has done by cutting the wages of the staff 50%. The Nnitehawkk got it right from the get-go. Under this model, I would suggest the KPFK public follow the advice that the Nnitehawkk gives to his listeners: next time you see Ian Masters around KPFK, give the old guy a shout out, even if he is still getting half his salary.
And before anyone gets all gushy about not being paid, flip the coin over. The staff and programmers in Louisville are gaining valuable experience. This would be useful in the future if they come to the big city and want to get a high paying job in the radio business, you know, at a real radio station, like KPFK. In the big city everyone’s gotta eat. And if there’s no union, then management can never be smeared as union busters and austerity thugs. Let’s face it, austerity is OK for those who don’t have to have it.
Work in Kind
At a recent KPFK LSB meeting someone broached the subject of “work in kind” as a way of saving money. Now the weird thing is that when you look over the entire KPFK situation, the biggest mistake that management made in the past was not filing the audit reports and financial data so they could get their grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. According to some of the LSB members, this amounts now to a staggering 2 million dollars or more. It is beyond belief, really, that this happened, because with that gigantic mountain of cash, there would be no financial crises at Pacifica. Everyone would be getting full salary. So it is almost a joke to hear some of the schemes put up to close the black hole of debt. Like such pettiness as “work in kind.” But there is some merit to the thought.
Work in Kind
Back in Louisville, Mr. Ringley has had to face these kinds of situations. He is not afraid to pitch in and get his hands dirty, get some friends, and do something. One of the projects that he completed is shown on his facebook page. He wanted to put in a nice patio, and he did. What do all the big shots at KPFK do? Many listeners and supporters are bringing in food, helping out, going to demonstrations, passing out KPFK flyers, manning tables. But what about the chiefs? The GM, or any of the higher ups? Where’s the patio that they built? A cute patio in the parking lot under the trees would be really nice. I predict it would be a popular gathering place. It would also give the staff a chance to put out some tip cups and some signs for the passerby to see. Instead of all the constant annoying fund drives, visitors to the station could drop by and leave a buck or two for their favorite programmer. Maybe even bring the poor sods a pizza once in a while.
KPFK Programming Is Fading Into Absolute Bordom
Now we come to the issue of programming. This is a hot-button topic at KPFK. There has been a titanic battle at KPFK over the years. Once the flagship of progressive thought and politics, the station is sadly fading into absolute boredom. It’s so bad that the fund drive programming is becoming more popular than any of the current shows. One wag suggested that the station should go on a 24/7 fund drive the whole year. A contest would be held as to who could bring in the most money in an hour. The winner would get a big cash prize, like $10,000 in gold. The rules would allow the program hosts to do almost anything to win and thereby enrich the station. Any product in the world could be used as a premium. Any tactic would be fair – crying, screaming, begging, sniveling. The hosts should be allowed to bring in hired guns, the pros from Home Shopping networks, or local Carnivals and State Fairs. These folks know how to pitch things big time. They know how to go for the gold.
Since 1959, KPFK, the Pacifica radio station in Los Angeles, has broadcast a wide range of liberal and hard-left-leaning programming under the rubric of multiculturalism. KPFK, for instance, airs the only LGBT-specific broadcast in the Greater L.A. area—IMRU, produced by award-winning out journalist Steve Pride.
But constant rebellion doesn’t necessarily entail respect among the programmers and community board members of the commercial-free, listener-sponsored station, so Pride created a Hate Speech Prevention policy. It took seven months to pass, but the interim policy was in effect on Aug. 15-16 when KPFK aired an unchallenged homophobic rant in which a psychiatrist compared homosexuality to bestiality, among other offensive comments.
General Manager Leslie Radford preapproved the 30-hour block of programming, “Afrikan Mental Liberation Weekend” with host Dr. Kwaku Person-Lynn.
Fiscal Year 2016 KFPK Budget Analyzed by Former Treasurer
KPFK
Comments on the KPFK FY2016 budget
General
The FY2015 budget numbers used in the draft FY2016 budget and in the Income Statement for comparison is not the budget that was approved by the PNB, NFC and LSB late fall, 2014. KPFK Treasurer Novick has been asked to find out at three sequential Finance meetings where these budget numbers came from and why they’re being used but to date has not provided an answer. Therefore, comparisons of this FY2016 budget to the FY2015 budget or to the FY2015 Income Statements (Profit & Loss) are not reliable or legitimate.
The Finance Committee met on Tuesday, August 18. Neither the GM nor Treasurer could answer what the listener revenue was based on. To be legitimate it must be determined in the budget as the amount of fund drive days times the per day average, based on historical records. Many other questions were asked of the GM but there were few answers. The GM finally said she was too busy learning the Great Plains accounting software to know everything that’s in the budget.
The LSB met the following day and approved this budget. See Revenue below for details.
Personnel
This is the most distressing area to report. What is going on here is union busting of our union staff. This is the shock doctrine happening at KPFK. Like New Orleans after Katrina, they used that tragedy as an “opportunity” to eliminate public schools and replace them with charters, thus eliminating all union teachers. The complete lack of oversight and any financial records for almost a year by the present board majority (who have stayed in power due to not holding a mandated election in 2014) in the last year and a half has created just such a manufactured “financial crisis” to which they are now using that opportunity to serve their own purposes, not those of the listeners.
At the Finance meeting, the GM said the cuts to personnel will be as follows: on September 1, on a temporary basis, we will “lose” 10 FTEs (Full Time Employee) for three months – everyone who is full time (1 FTE) will be cut 50% or to 0.50 FTE. The two management positions, GM and iPD, will also be cut to 0.50. On September 15, we will permanently “lose” 2.5 FTEs for a total of 12.5 FTE cuts. (Note: at the July 14 Finance meeting, I presented a motion, which said, in pertinent part: “All non-union staff shall be terminated until an overall agreement with union staff can be made.” The Chair ruled this out of order. The GM stated that all non-union, non-budgeted employees were no longer employed. The GM’s statement was false. There were at least three non-union and non-budgeted employees on payroll and two are in the FY2016 budget. Full benefits for the now half-timers, such as health care, will remain in place. The GM said these cuts are “for a period not to exceed four months.” In November-December the FTEs will go back up to 25.
Unfortunately, the GM’s numbers do not match the actual employees.
The union has not signed off on this. The GM said KPFK, on advice of attorney Dan Siegel, will simply go into arbitration with SagAftra. SagAftra has filed a grievance against KPFK and arbitration is the next step. KPFK’s GM has not offered any alternate plan as far as I know. A likely outcome will probably be that the GM and her attorney, Siegel, will be told they are breaking the contract and all back pay will be due to the employees. This seems to be merely a delaying tactic to further diminish KPFK’s resources, disrupt business and punish staff.
The GM’s cuts do not have any basis in the reality of running a radio station. Only after the GM announced these across-the-board cuts did she ask the staff what their duties were and what wouldn’t get done with their new half-time hours. A cart before the horse action.
Although these cuts apply to everyone not just the on-air hosts, I have never seen a cost/benefit analysis of how much listener revenue the paid on-air hosts raise on their shows. They raise practically 100% of the listener support that comes in for public affairs programming. Cutting their time in half is guaranteed to reduce listener support even further. No matter how much happy talk there is about all the new programming to come, even in the best case scenario, which is not likely, it takes time for any new program to gain popularity and support.
This seems designed to deny severance to those who have toiled at KPFK for many years and, through no fault of their own, are now made to suffer for management failures and bad board actions. In a further act of mean-spiritedness, since they are not being laid off (with their earned severance), if they quit, they will not be able to get unemployment.
This seems no more than a plan to drive away all of the present staff, not pay severance, hire all new people, and get around union rules. This amounts to union-busting. Based on the under-estimated revenue in this budget, a return to full-time status is not likely and clearly not anticipated by the makers of this budget and those that approved it on the LSB. Furthermore, if KPFK’s business plan model is to be changed to an “all part-time employees” model, or all volunteer (with, of course, a paid GM and other management), then such a significant paradigm-change should be discussed fully and considered on its own merits at all levels of Pacifica/KPFK governance, and not “slipped-in” under the guise of a temporary financial emergency, only to become the new, permanent status-quo later. Despite the GM’s public statements promising to restore the present FTE cuts in four months, this does not seem at all likely – or even desired by management.
For an organization with a history of advocating for social justice and union rights, the Pacifica National Board majority also seems to be on board with union-busting at KPFK.
Notwithstanding the ideological meanness of this unworkable plan, it is unknown what the real budget numbers are for personnel costs in this budget.
Revenue
Listener Support. At the LSB meeting, the day after the Finance meeting, neither the GM nor the NFC rep, Brazon, could say what the proposed $3,053,595 in listener revenue was based on. Treasurer Novick produced a two page narrative of fuzzy numbers – somewhere between 81 and 89 fund drive days at $30,000 per day. Neither of the three could tell us how many fund drive days there were this year. That number is 135. The per day average for FY2015 averaged about $24,000 (assuming no more fund drive days this FY). The per day average for this last drive was about $17,000. Projected revenue must be based on historical evidence with real numbers – not wishful thinking.
However, using one choice of Treasurer Novick’s numbers, the calculations are: 89 days at $30,000 = $2,670,000 [pledges] @ 80% fulfillment is $2,136,000 for listener support. That is ($917,595) less than the budget for listener support and the $30,000 per day is merely hopeful not realistic. Treasurer Novick presented some other non-fund drive ideas for raising money, all of which have been talked about before, but to date have raised little to nothing. Such efforts cannot be relied on to make up the $900,000+ difference in listener support. And even so, most of these ideas are not listener support and would fall into some other category. Deduct $917,595 from listener support revenue.
Website income is close to $200,000 but for some reason doesn’t get broken out at KPFK. This has been an area of growth, but is obviously a political battle not having to do with the financial health of KPFK.
Community Events. This category needs more transparency and accountability for these largely cash events.
Renewals (of lapsed memberships) at $30,000 is overly optimistic for a variety of reasons.
Grant Income – non-operating – This does not go on the operating budget because whatever money comes in is not to be used for operations but for some other designated and restricted purpose. Deduct $30,000.
Restricted/Contribution/Special Projects. This contains:“Special projects” – Whatever that is.
FSTV (aka Uprising TV show) – I have asked repeatedly for some clarity on this. This has a separate bank account, a separate contract and a revenue stream and expenses that are not KPFK’s. The GM said the revenue goes to the Pacifica N.O. and “somehow” comes back to KPFK. FSTV needs its own budget and should not be co-mingled with KPFK’s budget. There is, apparently, an FSTV fund drive the GM is planning which should not be on KPFK’s operating budget.
Studio A – Payback of $30,000. Does not go on operating budget.
What is the status of the Film club and the subscribers to it? Now that the position of the Film Club coordinator has been eliminated, who will be servicing the members who have signed up for this? There may be members asking for their money back.
The GM’s plans for soliciting grants this year may be difficult since there does not appear to be an audit forthcoming until well into the first quarter of FY2016, if we’re lucky. Grants will not be awarded without a current audit being provided to the potential grantor.
When Treasurer Novick told the LSB his proposed assumptions for listener support, I pointed out the approximate $900,000+ shortfall in listener support. The Acting Executive Director, PNB Chair and KPFK’s National Finance Committee representative, Brazon, made an amendment to approving the budget: that the LSB shall fund raise with a goal of raising $5,000. Add $5,000.
Total Revenue – Deduct $1,008,595 for total revenue of $2,310,139
Expenses
Administrative:
Telephone – The budget is $127,000 which would be accurate based on historical data. However, the GM said costs would be going down due to new VoIP system. In the Fund Drive line item, she thought the new VoIP phone system was included there. Will there now be two phone systems – one for operations and one for fund drives? We need some clarity. Where are the staff cell phone expenses? Should this line item be reduced? Or increased?
Insurance – There is no Earthquake Insurance expense and it appears no earthquake insurance was paid FY2015. Are we doing without? Why? Add $12,000.
State Filing Fees – Looks like this hasn’t been done in FY2015 yet. Someone should look into this. It appears to be overestimated for FY2015 and in the FY2016 budget unless there’s some change in status which we should be apprised of. Deduct $16,000.
Rent and Lease of Equipment – Is there some reason this will be lower than FY2015? Or just wishful thinking?
Utilities – Office – It was $68,000 in FY2014 and is presently at $52,000 with two months to go in this FY. Unless there’s some reason we don’t know $46,000 seems low. Add $10,000.
Total Admin – add $6,000 total.
Programming
News Department – Stringers –It appears this unbudgeted expense has already started. Not sure what the $41,000 in column S denotes.
Programming Services – FY2016 budget = $40,873. Projected for FY2015 = $27,249. Actuals as of July = $38,508 with two months left to go in this FY. Everything in this line item was unbudgeted and otherwise unapproved by the LSB. It contains expenses for FSTV such as contractors which should be reflected separately in personnel expenses and otherwise under the FSTV category. The other expenses belong elsewhere. Unless there are specific expenses denoted for this category, which presently there are not, deduct $35,000.
Other Programming – Since this used to be for Arbitrons, which service we are told has been canceled, there appears to be no purpose for any expense. Deduct $5,000.
Maintenance – Technical – Considering the recent two hour off-air experience, the budgeted amount may not be enough. KPFK has purchased two new Nautel transmitters and rebuilt a backup generator for close to $250,000 in the last few years for the express purpose of not going off the air. What else can go wrong that we can’t anticipate?
FSRN – Why is KPFA offloading $5,000 of their bill to us? It was not approved as an expense last year when it suddenly appeared as a paid item.
Total Programming – deduct $40,000 total.
Development
Caging – Why is this going up when it should be going down?
Fund Drive Expenses – The GM was very fuzzy about what’s in here – phone lines for phone room? Food? Contract people? The amount is extraordinarily high. We don’t historically pay for food but get donations. The food coordinator was just fired. Hiring new contract people might be a problem and, at any rate, should be in personnel costs. If there are phone costs in here, there needs to be a different line item for phones for fund drives which are related to operations. There needs to be a delineation of defined costs in this line item. Deduct $35,000 total.
Advertising/Promotions – According to the GM, there is no plan in place for this allocation of $21,000+. It seems like a lot when personnel is being cut so dramatically and there is a $1M deficit in revenue before the year even starts. Unless there is a real plan for a specific advertising campaign this is not enough money to do anything meaningful. A motion was passed to keep it in, but I would recommend not.
Printing/Marketing promo – $12,000 for Club Cards, tabling supplies, banners. Seems like a lot for this item considering the overall deficit.
Community Events – It seems to me that not all expenses have reached this line item yet. Or they are buried elsewhere. I think this is an under-estimate.
Development:deduct $35,000 total
Overall Expenses – deduct net $69,000 from expenses.
My Recommendation
This clearly is not a balanced budget, as it runs close to a one million dollar deficit, and should not be approved as is by the NFC.
LSB Meetings Reveal Tough Problems and Possible
Conflicts of Interest at Pacifica
Dateline: Culver City
Southland News Bureau has taped some of the LSB meetings of late. Listen carefully and you will see the really tough problems they face to keep the network alive and functioning. Much of this caused by a loss of money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting when Pacifica failed to produce financial documents. Additional problems, like the huge debt load, the approximately 2 million due to Democracy Now Program, the possible conflict of interest of past Pacifica director Margy Wilkinson for forming a secret shadow foundation to possibly bid for the KPFA radio license should it become available, cutting the staff pay by 50%, and much, much more. We will have additional information in the future, meanwhile here are a few links of interest that details important information, opinions, and documents on this subject.
METRO Reps Taking Information by Hand – Where’s The Computer System?
Where’s My TAP Card?
Dateline: Los Angeles
Several Los Angeles residents have told the same story: Metro L.A. has no access to certain TAP card information and is telling their customers to “give us your phone number and we’ll call you back when the NEW computer system is up and running. Does this mean that the old system to keep track of TAP cards has stopped working? Has the information been lost?
As any computer programmer will tell you, a new computer program is rigorously tested, sometimes this is called a “Beta Test” way before it is put up on a system “live”. Meanwhile, the “old,” or “current” system is kept in place until the “new” system is tested. Only then does the “new” system replace the “old” system.
For Metro to trash it’s own computer system way in advance of a “new” system going “live”, indicates that their current system is so flawed that it was taken down. One question would be “Has the Metro TAP system been a victim of hackers?” If not, is it a victim of a collapse or corrupted system done by either internal Metro programmers or outsourced to an independent company? For Metro to lose track of TAP cards and the possible hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) that resides on those cards, is an outrage to the poor and low income people using the system. Take a look at the massive salaries that the top 100 Metro executives are raking in, and ask if ANYONE is going to get fired for not doing their job, or allowing hackers to break into their system. Demand an explanation from these millionaire elites who run this system.
She is Set to Challenge State’s ‘Wall of Debt’ Created by the Big Banks and Corrupt Politicians.
Dateline: Los Angeles
Here is Ellen Brown’s Statement on how to move California from Austerity to Prosperity
Ellen Brown
Governor Jerry Brown and his staff are exchanging high-fives over balancing California’s budget, but the people on whose backs it was balanced are not rejoicing. The state’s high-wire act has been called “the ultimate in austerity budgets.”
Welfare payments, health care for the poor, and benefits for the elderly and disabled have been slashed. State workers have been downsized. School districts in need of cash have been reduced to borrowing through “capital appreciation bonds” bearing 300% interest. In one notorious case, the Santa Ana school district actually borrowed at 1,000% interest. And the governor acknowledges that California still faces a “wall of debt” amounting to $28 billion. Some analysts put it much higher than that.
At the end of the 20th century, California was ranked the sixth largest economy in the world. By 2012, it had slipped to number twelve. It is coming back up, in part because European countries are falling further into recession; but California’s poverty rate remains the highest in the country. More than eight million Californians struggle to meet their daily needs, and one in four children lives in poverty. Income inequality is higher in the nation’s most populous state than in almost any other.
California cannot solve its budget problems by slashing services that have already been cut to the bone or raising sales taxes that hurt the poor far more than the rich. We are fighting over a pie that remains too small. The pie itself needs to be expanded – and it can be.
How? By reclaiming that portion that is now siphoned off in interest and bank fees. When tallied up at every stage of production, interest has been calculated to claim one-third of everything we buy.
How can that money be recaptured? By owning the bank.
The approach was pioneered in North Dakota, the only state to escape the 2008 banking crisis. North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, the lowest foreclosure rate, the lowest default rate on credit card debt, and no state debt at all. It is also the only state to own its own bank.
In the fall of 2011, a bill for a feasibility study for a state-owned bank passed both houses of the California legislature. The Public Banking Institute, which I founded and chair, was instrumental in helping to get the bill as far as it got. But it died when Jerry Brown vetoed it. His rationale was that we already have a banking committee, and that the matter could be explored in-house. Needless to say, however, we have heard no more about it since.
I am therefore running for California State Treasurer on a state bank platform, along with Laura Wells, who is running for Controller. We are throwing our bonnets in the ring for the opportunity to show the Governorr or his successor that a state-owned bank can be our ticket to returning California to the abundance it once enjoyed.
I was a recipient of that abundance myself. I got my undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley in the 1960s, when tuition was free; and my law degree at UCLA Law School in the 1970s, when tuition was $700 a year. Today it is $13,000 and $45,000 annually, respectively, for in-state students. In the 1960s, the governor of California was Jerry Brown’s father Pat Brown, a New Deal visionary who believed that investment in education, infrastructure and local business was an investment in the future. Our goal is to revive that optimistic vision in 2014.
We are running on the endorsement of the Green Party – along with Luis Rodriguez for governor and David Curtis for secretary of state – because Green Party candidates take no corporate money. Candidates who take corporate money – and that means nearly all conventional candidates – are beholden to large corporate interests and cannot properly represent the interests of the disenfranchised 99%.
The North Dakota Model:
Banking that Supports Rather Than Exploits the Local Economy
California’s revenues are currently parked in those very largest of corporations, Wall Street banks. These out-of-state banks use our giant asset pool for their own speculative purposes, and the funds are at risk of confiscation in the event of a “bail-in.”
In North Dakota, by contrast, all of the state’s revenues are deposited by law in the state-owned Bank of North Dakota (BND). The BND is set up as a DBA of the state (“North Dakota doing business as the Bank of North Dakota”), which means all of the state’s capital is technically the bank’s capital. The bank uses its copious capital and deposit pool to generate credit for local purposes.
The BND is a major money-maker for the state, returning a sizable dividend annually to the treasury. Every year since the 2008 banking crisis, it has reported a return on investment of between 17 percent and 26 percent. The BND also provides what is essentially interest-free credit for state projects, since the state owns the bank and gets the interest back. The BND partners with local banks rather than competing with them, strengthening their capital and deposit bases and allowing them to keep loans on their books rather than having to sell them off to investors. This practice allowed North Dakota to avoid the subprime crisis that destroyed the housing market in other states.
Consider the awesome potential for California, with its massive capital and deposit bases. California has over $200 billion stashed in a variety of funds identified in its 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), including $58 billion managed by the Treasurer in a Pooled Money Investment Account currently earning a meager 0.264% annually. It also has over $400 billion in its pension funds (CalPERS and CalSTRS).
California’s population of 37 million is more than 50 times that of North Dakota. In 2010, the BND had about $4,500 in deposits and $4,200 in loans per capita. Multiplying 37 million by $4,200, a State Bank of California could, in theory, generate $155.4 billion in credit for the state; and this credit would effectively be interest-free free, since the state would own the bank.
What could California do with $155 billion in interest-free credit? One possibility would be to refinance its ominous “wall of debt” at 0%. A debt that is interest-free can be rolled over indefinitely without cost to the taxpayers.
Another possibility would be to fund public projects interest-free. Eliminating interest has been shown to reduce the cost of public projects by 35% or more.
Take, for example, the San Francisco Bay Bridge earthquake retrofitting boondoggle, which was originally slated to cost about $6 billion. Interest and bank fees wound up adding another $6 billion to the overall cost to taxpayers. Funding through its own bank could have saved the state $6 billion or 50% on this project.
Then there is the state’s bullet train fiasco, which has been beset with delays, cost overruns, and funding issues. As with the Bay Bridge, costs are projected to double as a result of compounding interest on long-term bonds, imposing huge hidden costs on the next generation of taxpayers. By funding the bullet train through a state-owned bank, its costs, too, could be reduced by 50%.
The Challenge of a “Jungle Primary”
As voters become increasingly disillusioned with big-corporate-money candidates, the third party option is gaining traction. According to a recent Gallup poll, in 2013 42% of Americans identified themselves as political independents, significantly outpacing Democrats at 31% and Republicans at 25%.
The growing threat posed by independent and third-party candidates may explain why it is getting harder and harder to run as one. In California we now have Proposition 14, the Top Two primary, sometimes called the “Louisiana primary” or “jungle primary.” It might better be named the Incumbents’ Benevolent Protection Act.
Proposition 14 requires statewide and congressional California candidates, regardless of party preference, to participate in a nonpartisan blanket primary, with only the top two candidates advancing to the general election. Incumbents and heavily-funded candidates have historically reaped the benefits of this arrangement. Third party candidates are liable to get knocked out in the first round in June, eliminating them from the November elections.
But the new system does have the advantage that anyone can vote for any candidate in the June primary; so if we can mobilize voters, we have a shot.
There is, however, another new hurdle imposed by Proposition 14. In place of the 150 signatures-in-lieu-of-filing-fee needed earlier, we now need 10,000 signatures – either that or $2,800. But we’re hoping to turn that requirement, too, to advantage, by using it to build the people power and energy necessary to take the June 3, 2014 primary. If you would like to sign a petition or donate, click here.
There is another way to balance a state budget, one that leads to prosperity rather than austerity. California can stimulate its economy and the job market, restore low-cost higher education, build 21st-century infrastructure, preserve the environment, and relieve the state’s debt burden, by establishing a bank that is owned by the people and returns its profits to the people.
Web of Debt by Ellen Brown
Ellen Brown is an attorney, president of the Public Banking Institute, and author of twelve books including the bestselling Web of Debt. In The Public Bank Solution, her latest book, she explores successful public banking models historically and globally. Her 200+ credit blog articles are at EllenBrown.com. She is currently running for California State Treasurer on the Green Party ticket.
