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THE FIGHT TO SAVE PROGRESSIVE KPFK FM
- Thread starter Frequency1
- Start date
Lorenzo Milam is the father of community radio, and is the author of the book "Sex & Broadcasting."
He is basically a patron saint for those who support community radio.
Although Lorenzo died a couple years ago, his book is still available:
Sex and Broadcasting: A Handbook on Starting a Radio Station for the Community: Milam, Lorenzo W., Thomas, Thomas J.: 9780486814490: Amazon.com: Books
Sex and Broadcasting: A Handbook on Starting a Radio Station for the Community [Milam, Lorenzo W., Thomas, Thomas J.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Sex and Broadcasting: A Handbook on Starting a Radio Station for the Community
www.amazon.com
Thank you for the added info! Saved me typing.
This is a very relevant speech to the current situation at KPFK
Golden Days of serious Public radio...
I have been and am involved in radio, but that doesn't mean I can't recognize the problems the business faces.
S
Sound financial decision-making has never been one of their hallmarks.
Not a requirement in owning media outlets, as we have seen.
How do you make a small fortune? Start with a large fortune, and buy a radio station.
Is this fight to save progressive kpfk still going on? I feel like it’s been going on for 20 years
More like 70 years!
Remember, Pacifica is not a reference to the Pacific Ocean but to their origins as anti-war pacifists.
Wikipedia says "Pacifica was founded in 1946 by pacifists E. John Lewis and Lewis Hill. During World War II, both of them had filed for conscientious objector status. After the war, Lewis, Hill and a small group of former conscientious objectors created the Pacifica Foundation in Pacifica, California. Their first station, KPFA in Berkeley, commenced broadcasting in 1949. "
Because they refused to participate in WW II, despite the dreadful Nazi philosophies and the aggressive Japanese attitude of cultural superiority, their group and members were not popular and were widely ostracized in the early years. They tended to attract other narrowly focused and wildly unpopular voices.
And because they were founded on protest, even their internal "management" was always, to put it kindly, contentious.
The KPFA signal is shadowed in north Berkeley and nearby locations (Albany, Kensington, etc.) That's why there's KPFB.
At what point do we get tired of all of this fighting?! Lol!
When you say “we” the general listening public, 99+ percent don’t listen to KPFK and could care less.
If you’re saying “we” the few listeners they do have and the people who are part of Pacifica, they care a lot. They just can’t ever agree as the appear to act like feral cats.
But I guess on the board and observers who know of them but don’t care for them it can be annoying.
I feel for the workers there who are impacted. But, after all these years of internal wars, who would want to work there? From the outside, it appears it’s toxic. Audacy’s issues seem like it’s nothing compared to this. On top of that, how do stations like this survive?
Pledges and donations. In a country of 330 million, each of the fringe causes their show hosts represent have a group of followers and it is likely they are adamant in their views and beliefs... and will send a few dollars each time they are asked.
What surprises me is that they have not vastly increased their podcasting as well as having an online real-time Pacifica "network" with a more consistent and less of a "jigsaw puzzle" program schedule. Right now, they are running shows that are really "podcasts" but in real time on fixed schedules. At the KPFK site, you can go and listen to the last shows of each title but the listing is confusing, does not describe the content or focus....
The website of KPFK is very confusing: KPFK 90.7 FM The fist thing it fills the screen with is a "donate your car" plea for donations. The rest is just scattered droppings. They should have some heading under "What are your interests" with things like "immigration" and "LGBTQ" and "Politics" and "Human Rights" with details on shows that include those subjects in pop-ups or pages where one can select shows or even add the times and dates to your phone or computer's appointments or select from a number of past shows to listen to.
I see they are looking for a manager. If I thought I'd have a chance, I'd apply. They don't need a manager with an agenda... they need one who will make their many voices effective and well promoted within a structure that reflects the way people use radio and audio media today.
Nobody sane goes for these jobs. Instead of one boss above you, at corporate level, you're answering to a "board" each of whom has their own view as to how things should operate. You've effectively got multiple bosses pulling you in different directions, you please one person and someone else will be angry with you, and the inevitable outcome is that you eventually end up fired. Managing a station like this isn't programming a radio station, it's politics without the reward in the form of any meaningful power. If you "win", you've "won" control of a radio station with six guys in sheds listening.
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