LA Times: Op-Ed KPFK's death by democracy

[Bongwater]

The entire Pacifica chain today is a mess even Lew Hill himself would run screaming from. WBAI can't even mail out the election papers to it's members because they don't even have money for postage for the 3 people listening. Plus they have to move off the Empire State pretty soon (whether they do or not is another story.) WPFW and KPFA are up to here in red ink (and I'm sure KPFT isn't doing much better.) Something's gotta give because at this rate, one more problem, a transmitter beginning to croak, even fewer donations, whatever and they're going to HAVE to sell one of their commercial frequency FM stations if they even HOPE to survive. I just can't see them going on like this. But then again, that's been said before and they still trudged along. HOW they do it is something I will simply never know when many other non-com stations had to go off the air for way fewer problems than what Pacifica has now.

It seems like WBAI can't even come up with new programming and instead are playing old stuff from the Pacifica vaults. Which is great if you're an aging hippie. Not so much if you're trying to attract a brand new generation of members. And that's what Pacifica really needs NOW. Or it has no future.

 

[TheBigA]

The entire Pacifica chain today is a mess even Lew Hill himself would run screaming from.

I agree...reading that reminds me that there was a time when idealists like Lew Hill could start an FM station from scratch because no one wanted to be on FM. He started Pacifica in 1949, and KPFK in the 1950s. He wasn't a big rich financial guy. He was a conscientious objector and pacifist who loved the arts and intelligent conversation. That's why he started Pacifica. There were several similar guys at the time, like Eugene V. Debbs, who started WEVD in New York. He was a socialist who saw radio as the 20th Century soap box. That's what's missing from media today. Idealists, futurists, dreamers, and self-starters who also know rich people who can fund their ideas. Of course the cost of owning an FM station was a whole lot cheaper 60 years ago. But people like Paul Allen and Jeff Bezos prove there are still idealists around. Maybe one of them will buy Pacifica and get it back on track. except the current owners abhor Bezos and Allen. That's why they're in such dire financial shape.

 

[Radio-X]

...But people like Paul Allen and Jeff Bezos prove there are still idealists around. Maybe one of them will buy Pacifica and get it back on track. except the current owners abhor Bezos and Allen. That's why they're in such dire financial shape.

Paul Allen has experience with making non-comm stations popular. His non-profit museum ran University of Washington's college station and converted it to (arguably) the most successful non-traditional (jazz, NPR news, classical, religious) listener-supported stations in the country as KEXP. There was quite a bit of uproar taking UW's only student station and converting it to a more "professional" format and operation while telling most of the volunteers and students to get lost.

Fast forward 10-15 years and the station (now independent of Mr. Allen's Experience Music Project) is building what can be described as a multi-million dollar broadcasting "palace" for their studios. Imagine Pacifica as a younger, hipper, semi-well-funded, left-wing competitor to NPR News. You'd probably see many more stations around the country seeing them as a potential donor boost over playing PRX programming and/or being the secondary/tertiary public radio source in town.

If you corner most of the folks running Pacifica and ask if they'd take a KEXP-like corporate sugar-daddy a la Bezos/Allen/Gates over selling either WBAI or KPFA to "the 1 percent" and I feel the choice becomes much clearer. Not that this will ever come to fruition -- infighting will continue to occur between the "old hippie socialist revolutionary" camp and "creepy pseudo-new-age huckster" camp (substitute the huckster's camp for the "militant racial pride" camp in SF and DC) until the network is forced into liquidation and dismantled piece by piece.

 

[umfan]

If a radio station that almost nobody listens to fails, did it really fail? Such is the case with KPFK. The really remarkable thing is that something as dysfunctional as Pacifica lasted as long as it has.

 

[gr8oldies]

From what you describe, it sounds like the comment section of Democratic Underground amplified by 10

The whole station is a case study in what would happen if, God forbid these guys ever did get some semblance of power. They have one of the most powerful FM sticks in a liberal city and state, and yet their hate-filled communistic tripe can't even draw meager tenths of a share of listening audience. From LA Weekly (http://www.laweekly.com/news/left-wing-darling-pacifica-radio-is-sliding-into-the-abyss-4521218)

During an average 15-minute period, just 700 people listen to its Los Angeles station, 90.7 FM KPFK, for at least five minutes, according to Nielsen Audio, which monitors radio ratings. For L.A.'s other public radio stations, KCRW and KPCC, that number is 8,000 and 20,000, respectively. KPFK draws roughly one one-thousandth of all radio listeners in the Metro Los Angeles area.


Their lack of any moral leadership and constant infighting has decayed the organization into a hate-filled pile of rot (from whatever noble intentions it may have had decades ago when it was founded). And David, I have heard similar things to what you have discussed said in English. I think since they know no one is listening, they can get away with it. They are right.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Not only would Pacifica probably rebuff any billionaire who wanted to write a blank check, it's hard to imagine a billionaire who would want to be associated with the ideas that the Pacifica stations espouse today.

 

[KTN Corp]

(and I'm sure KPFT isn't doing much better.)

Actually KPFT was able to raise money for the new solid-state transmitter. All $20,000 plus some on their funding page. It has been delivered and installed. I'm enjoying its more robust signal in West Houston now.

WBAI and WPFW might have to be sold off. Looks like Pacifica could not click for the East Coast listener tastes and preferences. Too much of a cultural shock to be operating out East. Expanding all over Texas might be a use for the money raised from retreating from the East Coast.

KPFA already has a strong signal (which KPFT wishes it could have--a 100 kw Class C at 600 m in Missouri City). Might need to copy notes from KPFT on the programming front that brings in the cash!

 

[davideduardo]

Actually KPFT was able to raise money for the new solid-state transmitter. All $20,000 plus some on their funding page. It has been delivered and installed. I'm enjoying its more robust signal in West Houston now.

A new solid state transmitter capable of doing 100 kw vertical and 100 kw horizontal is many times the price of the $20 k that you mention. A budget line 20 kw FM transmitter with exciter is in the $50,000 range and if Pacifica learned a lesson from KPFK, they will be using a 40 kw transmitter and a reasonable number of bays... putting the price in the $100,000 range depending on manufacturer.

Looks like Pacifica could not click for the East Coast listener tastes and preferences. Too much of a cultural shock to be operating out East. Expanding all over Texas might be a use for the money raised from retreating from the East Coast.

It's been decades since Pacifica's format "clicked" anywhere. Even the huge-signal KPFK generally only averages a few hundred listeners.

KPFA already has a strong signal (which KPFT wishes it could have--a 100 kw Class C at 600 m in Missouri City). Might need to copy notes from KPFT on the programming front that brings in the cash!

100 kw at about 700 feet in a relatively flat market area is hardly a weak signal. And KPFT is hardly rolling in money... all the Pacifica stations are in the same shape.

 

[Hot Hits]

Actually KPFT was able to raise money for the new solid-state transmitter. All $20,000 plus some on their funding page. It has been delivered and installed. I'm enjoying its more robust signal in West Houston now.

$180,000 according to their G.M.

 

[Radio-X]

My big question is...what will happen to Pacifica when (and its just a matter of time) they are forced to make a big move to ensure their very survival? Something tells me in 5 years time or less, you'll see this:

- Would they trade 'BAI for an AM station plus a hefty chunk of cash? Remove themselves from NYC all together? Notice I did not say KPFA -- though they are also commercial band, I think you'd see the rest of the network sold off before that one was OK'd.
- Would they sell a station like KPFT down the road to a group wanting to put classical back in Houston? Not nearly the payday, but would help limp the place along for a few years.
- Would they become basically a broadcast distributor only and just "sell" the stations to the local boards? This allows them to conceivably continue their "mission" while removing themselves of the burden of being station owners. It also permits a great deal of autonomy. If one station tanks, it wouldn't bring down the rest of the "network".
- Will they argue/fight to the bitter end, go into involuntary bankruptcy, and forcibly have the stations sold to someone with deep pockets who can run non-coms like EMF? I could see them quite happy to expand their reach with full-coverage signals in NYC, Houston, DC, and LA.

The fact is, Pacifica is running a completely unsustainable organization. Given the state of financial/political affairs there, the fact that non-comm radio (hell, radio in general) is being forced to become more efficient to survive and be relevant, means Pacifica cannot make it in its current state for another 5-10 years. It just doesn't add up.

Radio-X

 

[TheBigA]

They won't do anything that makes business sense in the traditional world.

I expect they'll hobble along with endless fundraisers, and live in their own isolated world.

 

[Mediafrog+]

- Would they sell a station like KPFT down the road to a group wanting to put classical back in Houston? Not nearly the payday, but would help limp the place along for a few years.Radio-X

More likely KPFT would wind up with a religious group. Classical is probably gone for good on analog FM in Houston as KUHA, even with a large University owning it, couldn't raise enough money to sustain the format. Thus KUHA is now up for sale (no buyer yet, and the Classical format is still there for the time being.) And it would be foolish for Pacifica to put KPFT on the block before any sale of KUHA closes, as having two non-comms on the market might depress the sale price for both. I'm sure the vultures are circling, though.

 

[b-turner]

There is good reason to presume Classical is gone from Houston radio once KUHA sells. Considering the format was separated after decades on 88.7 and still could not make it with an established audience, it seems an upstart would never be considered. My thinking is Pacifica would sell KPFT last since it seems to be doing better than the others. It will be interesting to see how long until KUHA sells and what that price will be.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

It is really inappropriate to waste so many valuable electrons on any discussion about this station and network, but as is always the case, things around the station have recently gone from bad to worse and the well deserved schadenfreude is just too hard to pass up. Seems they have been beset by even more of the usual infighting, with three resignations coming in just the last few days and the new manager is accused of all manner of improprieties relating to fund raising (missing dollars and donor gifts is not directly accused but strongly implied) and donors not receiving their promised goodies from past donations and wanting their money back.

http://pacificainexile.org/archives/1285#more-1285

Here are the two money graphs:

>>An online petition containing a Letter of No Confidence in the new manager went online yesterday and collected 123 signatures on its first day. The letter cited legal, fundraising, programming and behavioral problems including work reductions not negotiated with the union, mishandling a worksharing application, releasing employee SS# numbers, losing a Free Speech TV contract, emptying fund drive rooms during pledge drives, obscenity and homophobia on air, withholding of seniority pay to employees and union dues to SAG-AFTRA, and profanity-laced outbursts towards staff. Most of these items have been described in previous editions of this publication.<<

My favorite part is the obscenity and homophobia charge. This from the station that proudly aired George Carlin's seven dirty words back in the day, and the only phobia they have that I am aware of are duly elected governments, particularly conservative ones.

>>KPFK’s financial meltdown is having serious implications throughout the network, where the LA station’s formerly robust fundraising numbers helped with meeting expenses throughout the network. Statements were made at national governance meetings in the last two weeks about the significant difficulty of meeting station payrolls and paying for health benefits at the end of this month, but there has been no public statement to date as the end of the month passed.<<

What to do, What to do???

 

[TheBigA]

Both of those paragraphs demonstrate what I said earlier in this thread, where there's more of a concern about the internal treatment of employees and their payroll, than they are about the audience they're supposed to serve. At one time, this organization had a huge contingent of unpaid volunteers who gladly gave of their time, knowledge, and experience with no expectation of anything in return. Now it's just become another job from which to expect union benefits. If they're just another union shop, like the commercial networks, their employees should be held to the same quality standards. It's obvious that they're not.

 

[TexasTuner]

Those of us in Houston have been keeping an eye on KPFT, which would probably be the odd man out should Pacifica decide to sell off one of its stations to raise money.

The problem, IMHO, of selling off either WBAI or KPFA (both on commercial Class B frequencies, one of which [KPFA] is grandfathered with respect to height and power]) is that radio property prices have dropped a lot over the last few years. Case in point-EMF recently bought up KPRI in San Diego for 12 million. KPRI's a commercial Class B running 30kw at 632 feet haat. I believe that had this occurred even 5-7 years ago, the price for that property would have been much higher. And, most (if not all) of the major group owners are probably full up anyway. Pacifica wouldn't get near the money they could have gotten during the 90s and early 2000s, when a big B in San Francisco would have gone for north of 60-70 million. It's a bad situation which I don't see getting any better. If any of their properties were sold, it would most likely be a non-comm group that would buy a particular station. EMF (for their Air 1 format) or someone else. Just my two cent's worth.

 

[TheBigA]

Still, when you're living hand to mouth, from fundraiser to fundraiser, as Pacifica is, any amount of money is great. But they have proven themselves as being an organization that doesn't think in practical terms. If they did, they wouldn't be in this situation.

 

[TeaPartyDude]

What do expect from a station whose programming only preaches to the choir?

 

[TheBigA]

What do expect from a station whose programming only preaches to the choir?

That's what most stations, including those in music formats, do. The point isn't whether or not you preach to a choir, but how big that choir happens to be. What I've been saying in this thread is that their choir is very small, and they haven't done anything to grow that audience or appeal to people who might be willing to contribute. That's self-destructive.

 

[b-turner]

Funny, TheBigA, your words have been said so many times from my mouth to LPFM stations serving 20,000 people that opt to program for 1% of the audience versus a mainstream format that captures as many local ears as they can get. Like so many of those LPFMs, they eventually go silent as the board members tire of footing the bills from their pockets and resign from the board. Sadly they scratch they heads wondering what went so wrong, never having a clue.

From an earlier comment, lower sale prices is not important when you need cash. One guy strapped for cash gladly took about 25 cents on the dollar because he needed money now. He felt he got a good deal even though in time he might have gotten full price. When you need cash now, it's less about what you might get over time but rather what you can get before all is lost. You can bet a broke broadcaster that went silent because of it will sell for much less in week 50 of his station being silent because after 52 weeks the license is no good.