[Kzyxtalk] Past threads

[doug mckenty]

I just wanted to comment on a few of the past threads so I can catch up on
the conversation.

1.  Paul Lambert, you say that if one wants to be involved in our community
radio station, all you need to do is apply for a program.  Are you familiar
with how applications are supposed to be processed at KZYX.  Mary should be
utilizing the Programming Advisory Committee, which she and John C. refuse
to implement.  If she does not feel like following that board approved
policy, it would be nice if she followed the Station Handbook.  This was
board policy before it approved the PAC.  Both of these policies require
written explanations as to why program applications were either accepted or
denied.  Transparency is good because then applicants (and interested
members) can find out why certain programs are rejected or accepted.  Mary
chooses not to follow these "guidelines" so nobody really knows why she
produces the shows she does and nobody ever finds put about the program
applications she rejects.I have heard through the years of at least four
program ideas she rejected for reasons I cannot discern as well as half a
dozen programs suspended without explanation. My fear she has
rejected applications and suspended programs because she simply doesn't
like a person or because the programs political bent was different from
hers or because they advocate station policies she disagrees with.

Does this sound like community to you?

2. Tim Brey, you claim that my "beef" with the station is personal.  It
seems as if many people think my problems with KZYX started with the
suspension of Open Lines.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  My
issues are are two fold. First, I believe station staff as well as the
board of directors should adhere to the legally binding documentation that
is MCPB's legal "personhood."  By not following the perimeters outlined in
those documents, the station could get in trouble with the FCC, the CPB,
the Ca. State Secretary of State, or a law suit filed by any member or
listener who finds out that MCPB does not adhere to these documents.  I
told this to the board last summer and was very specific about these
liability issues in an email I sent them in September.  I knew I was going
to lose Open Lines as a result of approaching the board on these subjects
and expressed this to Stuart Campbell in July as well as supervisor Dan
Hamburg in August.  Station staff prefers not to adhere to the
documentation as those documents constrain the level of control they have
over station operations.  Discussion of such things on a show like Open
Lines was unacceptable to staff, so the show was pulled at the first
opportunity.

Second, I believe minority voices have a right to be heard on KZYX, this
includes minority opinions about station policy.  At my grievance hearing,
Mary was very specific that station policy will not be spoken about on the
air.  As a board member, I respectfully disagreed with that statement and
advocated for a board access program.  I believe the stations programming
should be reflective of the diversity of the community, and so I also
advocated for implementation of the PAC.  Though these views may be a
minority on the board, I believe listeners and members have a right to
express those views on the air.  There should be a lively debate around
KZYX about station policy and the members should be informed about station
politics so they can vote in functional elections.  If a majority (in this
case, those who believe management and staff should control the station
programming and operational philosophy) gains control of the station and
uses that control to stifle minority voices (which I would argue is exactly
what has happened) the viability of the democratic process is jeopardized
and the desires of our community are not met.  I believe KZYX should serve
at the will of the membership, not the will of staff.  Either that or the
board should change the Mission Statement which I also recommended to them
if they continue with this course of action.

These are my issues with KZYX.  The loss of Open Lines was inevitable once
I decided to push for these changes at the board level.  I knew this last
July when I decided I had had enough of Mary and John C.'s behind the
scenes manipulations and the complete dysfunction at the board level of
MCPB.

3. Christina did report harassment by both David Steffen, who reportedly
called her a bitch at work, and Paul Hanson who yelled at her on the job,
to GM John Coate, at least according to her.  Rather than requiring Steffen
and Hanson to improve their communication skills, Christina was "laid off."
 Again I ask, if Christina was so hard to work with at KZYX, why does she
thrive at KMUD?  Perhaps the root of the problem does not lie in her
personality, but in the personality of others who seem to require a lot of
control over what is said on the air at our "community" radio station.

Doug M.
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