[Kzyxtalk] Interaction with Members

[King Collins]

In an off-list discussion, someone said:  "KZYX listeners don't give a rat's ass about anything other than what they like to hear on the radio, period. I know this and am surprised that you don't...nothing has ever changed and probably never will."

Dear ________, .... Martin Luther King would never say something so disparaging of the members of any group. A radical respects people. Woody Guthrie said he hated songs that put people down and he would never sing one. Or read Studs Terkel, or any of the real leaders. A radical gets to the root of things, of himself, of herself, and reflects back. We are everyman and everyman is good, unless you believe in sin and hell, which a radical does not. I see in the members a lot of good and even great individuals and there is no sense putting them down as a group. Or look at it this way. Some of us are trying to set up a mechanism by which members and listeners can talk directly to the board, and to accomplish that we wouldn't start by insulting the people we are trying to empower. Would we?....This has been a good year for democracy at KZYX, and it is getting more interesting. 
-king
"Anybody can be redeemed. I've seen it." (Studs Terkel)

* * * *
> From: king at greenmac.com
> Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2014 16:35:08 -0700
> To: discussion at lists.mcn.org
> Subject: Re: [MCN-Discussion]- [Kzyxtalk] Interaction with Members
> 
> Ann brown said: "To expect a board member to be constantly available and accountable to any member at anytime for anything is more than unrealistic."
> 
> Thanks Ann, but I think you misread my question. It is: 
> "Will you report back, regularly and transparently, to the rest of us on this list (or one that is equally open) about the dialog taking place on the board?"
> That is not asking much of a board member who respects the members. The individuals we elect can read and write and think and they can report back. Not "constantly," not "anytime" but "regularly and transparently." Maybe every week or so, as things come up. Is that really too much to expect? That is certainly what I would expect of my own participation on any elected board, especially a board that controls an important media organization, the only "community" radio station heard by the whole county.
> The problem is not that it is too much work for a volunteer. The writing and thinking isn't that hard or time-consuming. There is constant discussion on the board listserv. However, there seems to be an unwritten rule that board members treat EVERYTHING the board discusses between meetings as CONFIDENTIAL and not the business of the members. That is not democracy, not even liberal democracy, That's bureaucratic, in my opinion.
> 
> Your other ideas are fine. I mostly agree and I have some thoughts which can wait, because the board's communication with members is what I hope we focus on in this thread. 
> --king
> 
> * * * *
> On Apr 4, 2014, at 3:03 PM, ann brown wrote:
> 
> How about 1) the interested public attend the public meetings they are interested in; or if unable 2) public minutes/recordings of public meetings be made available on the KZYX website or by written request along with money donated by the requester to cover postage and staff time; and 3) the minutes of appropriately and legally private meetings be respected as such.
> 
> To volunteer to serve a public institution for no pay is already a huge job. It is service. We all know virtue is its only reward…and it is actually a bountiful reward requiring almost no recognition but the knowledge that one has made one's best effort. To expect a board member to be constantly available and accountable to any member at anytime for anything is more than unrealistic. The degree of negative insinuation and criticism leveled at KZYX staff and board members by some members is not only truly appalling but profoundly lacking in gratitude and good will. 
> 
> I am not saying, King, that you expect this new Board Member to be at your beck and call, but that others certainly do act as if entitled to expect just that.
> 
> Good luck new members.
> 
> Ann
> 
> On Apr 4, 2014, at 1:13 PM, King Collins <king at greenmac.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear Paul Lambert,
> I have already said how much I appreciate your willingness to listen to members. Here's my question:
> As a member of the board willl you report back, regularly and transparently, to the rest of us on this list (or one that is equally open) about the dialog taking place on the board? That would mean that you would report the topics discussed on the board listserv and at committee meetings, not only those that are broadly agreed to but also those that are disputed, with the understanding that you would not report on matters that are properly confidential, which is limited to certain personnel or legal issues. 
> --king collins
>