[Kzyxtalk] KZYX Discussion

[Tim Gregory]

doug wrote:
'This whole thing was started when I discovered that John Coate secretly and
unilaterally pulled a policy paper from the stations corporate documentation which
demanded by board vote that programming be determined by a consensus of the
Programming Advisory Committee.  Coate has never denied that he did this and at my
grievance hearing only said he felt the meetings were not very productive.'

doug, do you have a date for that board vote? i have no recall of it--the PAC as
created was advisory to mary, only. (ask johanna?) they were set to evaluating
current programming, reporting quarterly, to help her do her job. (ask jen?)

watered down to death?

anyway, a PAC that 'determines programming' has never flown a flag over kzyx, that i
know of...

sorry you lost it to the papers...is your grievance process still alive?
---





This whole thing was started when I discovered that John Coate secretly and
unilaterally pulled a policy paper from the stations corporate
documentation which demanded by board vote that programming be determined
by a consensus of the Programming Advisory Committee.  Coate has never
denied that he did this and at my grievance hearing only said he felt the
meetings were not very productive.  I went to current board members who
generally blew me off so I felt compelled to go public with this knowledge
because the mission statement and the bylaws demand that the members
control station policy through election of the board of directors.

Do you think I wanted to do this? Do you think this has been fun for me?
 Do you imagine that I am an egomaniac who is doing this because I want to
take control of the station and use it for my own selfish motivations?
 Perhaps I am just an egomaniac doing this to impose my personality on the
unsuspecting public of Mendocino County?  Give me a fucking break!!!  I
have spent hours of my life writing emails, publishing articles and running
for the board of directors because I busted the current GM breaking the law
by circumventing the board of directors legitimate ability to control
station policy.  This power is given to the board because they are elected
by the membership.  In other words, legally, the GM has wrested control of
the station from the members.  He chooses the product the corporation
produces and disregards the direction of the board.

I want to know, how is this not fire?  Nobody seems to want to have a
discussion about it.  Living in denial is not healthy and is only helping
to augment an already unhealthy creative atmosphere that has plagued KZYX
for many years.  Please explain to me why what appears to me to be a huge
liability issue consistently gets downplayed, generally through the use of
personal attacks.

The current board desperately needs to address these issues before more
problems arise.  At any time the station could be sued by any member or
members.  The CPB grant is in serious jeapordy if the FCC informs them of
these issues.

I have pleaded with the current board to vote to eliminate the PAC policy
paper.  They prefer to act as if it doesn't exist.  I pleaded with then to
change the mission statement to "MCPB is a non-profit radio station that is
an NPR affiliate where the GM controls the stations programming and
operational philosophy."  They will not do it.

All I have ever advocated is for the stations management to adhere to the
corporate documentation and other legally binding contractual agreements.
 Why am I being accused of some personality defect for promoting a pretty
common sense idea, protecting the station from liability?

Why is it OK to you for the current GM to conceal past board approved
policy from the current board?

Please explain.

Doug Mckenty

On Tuesday, February 25, 2014, <sako4 at comcast.net> wrote:

> Done, Norman. Thanks.
>
> ------------------------------
> *From: *"Norman de Vall"
> <ndevall at mcn.org<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','ndevall at mcn.org');>
> >
> *To:
> *kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org');>
> *Sent: *Tuesday, February 25, 2014 8:20:49 AM
> *Subject: *Re: [Kzyxtalk] KZYX Discussion
>
> John et al
>
> The lack of D&O insurance for the Board of Directors is a serious issue
> and needs
> resolution.  And to this I would add two more:  Workers Comp insurance for
> the
> volunteers and whether or not station management has completed an: IIPP.
>
> Over the years I have raised the issue of Workers Comp only to hear that
> the
> station carries liability insurance and under the previous management the
> issue
> of an" Injury Illness Prevention Plan", IIPP, as required by Cal OSHA and
> the Dept.
> of Labor, was not responded to.
>
> These are issues which should be raised at the next Board meeting.
>
> Norman
>
> On Feb 25, 2014, at 7:17 AM, sako4 at comcast.net wrote:
>
>
> Shelia,
>
> For the record, I filed my complaint to the FCC to cover my ass. I thought
> things were so seriously wrong at KZYX that I feared being sued. The KZYX
> Board of Directors has no "directors and officers liability insurance" nor
> are we indemnified in any way against damages caused by management.
> Remember that the Board's chief responsibility is to oversee John Coate,
> who, incidentally, vigorously resists oversight.
>
> Filing the FCC complaint is what my attorney called an "affirmative
> defense".
>
> John
> ------------------------------
> *From: *"she-la" <sheila.dawn50 at yahoo.com>
> *To: *kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org
> *Sent: *Tuesday, February 25, 2014 1:43:54 AM
> *Subject: *Re: [Kzyxtalk] KZYX Discussion
>
> I respectfully disagree.
> We can't control how people communicate but that in itself is no way to
> judge if the issue is valid.
> What most people do not understand-- it was easy to miss as the station
> aired the message at the least probable times for full disclosure -- was
> that as part of the renewal process, the station is required by the FCC to
> ask for public input on how the station does or does not meet the
> community's needs. That is what public radio is all about.
> People could have written in glowing reports of the stations interactive
> presence in the community but none did.
> I wrote in because federal law is being ignored by station management in
> more than one instance. This is serious business and the station 's Board
> had the option of correcting the situation but chose to put their
> collective heads in the sand.
> No one benefits if the station's license doesn't get renewed and no one
> really wants that.
> What is wanted is someone with enough power who will take a closer look at
> what the station is required to do to get its tax exempt status and also
> federal grant monies and whether or not they have adequately fulfilled
> those requirements.
> Loyalty is an excellent quality but blind loyalty is a fool's choice.
>
> David Gurney <jugglestone at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I agree. There are a lot more important things on the horizon than
> attacking our public radio station.  Don't like it?  Turn the dial.  I
> think Mr. Sakawizc is pushing a personal agenda/vendetta.  Yeah, there are
> legitimate complaints, but closing down the station doesn't solve them.
>
> What about our community college that's about to be shuttered?  You want
> to get excited about something right now, that would be it.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 8:32 PM, Rick <rbharris11 at comcast.net><
>
>
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