[Kzyxtalk] [MCN-Discussion]- KZY?

[Cindy Swan]

Beth:

Lawsuits will not help shift the paradigm,
but
thoughtful proposals
that would allow them to achieve
their Mission Statement
might encourage
Board/Staff
introspection
rather than defensiveness.

You need to know the reason
why
Round Valley dropped
its effort ~30+ years ago . . .
it was due to the
requirements
of the FCC for the license.

At that time,
they were insisting
that we provide
a signal
and
programming
for the entire county.
A practical folk,
we knew full well
we were too isolated.
(Remember, we did not have
digital transmitters,
the Internet,
or even
"personal computers" back then . . .)
And our small town
simply could not afford
"matching funds" necessary
to construct such a station. . .
(est. at 500k in 1980)
much less power and staff
such an effort —
one that would be required to
service the needs
of the entire county.

i.e. Reagan (via FCC) "won"
and derailed Carter's
"Rural Underserved Radio
Station Development Program"
by making the
scope
too large.


There was no
"competition" for the license.
Donovan simply picked up
(several years later)
where Round Valley left off —
and, to his credit,
figured out a way to
do it.

Philo seemed like a good solution.
At the time, in the middle of "nowhere"
equidistant from everywhere . . .
Too bad it hasn't worked out.

Perhaps, the scope is still too large?

At this juncture,
I am surprised
there is not more call
to de-centralize more
via utilizing the satellite studios
in Willits and Mendocino,
with "Staff" at each location,
doubling/tripling production capabilities . . .
(You have plenty of talent in both
already existing satellite locations;
their problem is ACCESS to Philo,
=> a mere 30 minutes from Ukiah.)

...rather than reducing access
while "planning" to ultimately
centralize in Ukiah
in the effort to capture
"new audience"
in another county. (?)

IMO, The latter option
would simply be a sell-out
to the "Let's Make Ukiah San Jose North" set,
and do little to link up our
diverse yet dynamic
(more isolated) rural communities.
(Yes, we live here, too. Remember us?
The REASON you "qualify" for those grants from CPB?)

==>for far too long, the Board has found themselves
fighting to stay inside a box that no longer works.
Making the box bigger will not solve the problem, IMO.


Personally, I would prefer to see
all the "he said, she said",
finger-pointing,
name calling,
stonewalling,
and bullying
(on both sides)
end
and the Board having an environment
where they can think/work outside the box
that it finds itself in. . .

Only then will they be able to focus
on the real issue before them:
How to sustain the life
of a community radio station
that is mandated to serve
a county as large (or larger)
than most east coast states.

IT'S A HUGE CHALLENGE!

Perhaps they could begin by
Re-writing Job Descriptions and/or
Hiring staff with a passion for:
1) training/empowering
the next generation of
programmers and producers,
2) utilizing current radio production
(inexpensive, smaller-scale) technology
to link our entire county in creative ways,
3) building alliances and networks with
independent media producers, etc. who are more
"home-grown" and aware of local history,
issues and concerns.

~C.
sent from my commonsensical grammAphone


On Jul 28, 2014, at 5:59 PM, nsi at mcn.org wrote:

>
> KZYX  is turning its back on all of the initial Mission goals. It
> was due to those carefully stated goals of inclusivity, the Philo
> station received the coveted license over a competing community
> applicant from Covelo 25 years ago.
> As a founding public affairs programer with an archival memory, who
> understands why this station was founded, and how much in the last
> decade has been breached by this CEO, this Program Director and
> compliant Board of Directors,  I would be willing to be a Plaintiff
> in legal action. --beth bosk
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: ""
> To: "OBrien, Dennis"
> Cc: "dawn50, sheila" , "Collins, King" , "mckenty, doug" , "Yasmin,
> Sister" , Norman de Vall , nsi , Patricia Kovner ,
> dakini-heart at hotmail.com
> Sent: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 22:07:07 +0000 (UTC)
> Subject: Re: KZYX Response to FCC Complaint
> You're a good man, Dennis O'Brien.
>
> -------------------------
> FROM: "OBrien, Dennis"
> TO: "dawn50, sheila" , "Collins, King" , "mckenty, doug" , "John and
> Shannon" , "Yasmin, Sister"
> SENT: Sunday, July 27, 2014 12:27:18 PM
> SUBJECT: KZYX Response to FCC Complaint
>
> . . . is attached.  I received hard copy on Friday and scanned
> today.
> Their Response generally contends that the complaints raised by
> several people are not within the jurisdiction of the FCC.  I tend
> to agree.  I recently sent an email describing what I thought to be
> the possible legal claims against MCPB/KZYX.  I focused on state law
> (California Corporations Code) and the Corporation for Public
> Broadcasting, which requires a CAB.  Copy below.  The Response
> notes on page 6 that a challenge based on noncompliance with bylaws
> or state corporations law will only be considered by the FCC if a
> case is filed in a state court.
> Short of a lawsuit, a complaint to the CPB re the CAB might be
> productive.  Failure to hold public meetings, meeting too
> infrequently, lack of independence and diversity - these are the
> legal bases for such a complaint.  The general theme is the one that
> has motivated this effort - decisions re who and what goes on the air
> are too far removed from the members/public.
> I note that John Coate has finally posted the station's Public File
> and Station Activity Survey, something I demanded last year and is
> also part of Sheila Dawn's informal objection.  The Response says
> that all documents required to be posted now are.  They are buried
> in a new link, "Misc Reports", that can be found at:
> http://kzyx.org/index.php/about-us/station-business/misc-reports [1]
> On that page, there is a stated commitment to follow all EEO rules:
> "It is MCPB policy to follow all EEO rules.  (note that we do not
> need to file this for 2012 and 2013 because we do not now have five
> full time employees.)"  This flies in the face of the Response,
> which says they don't follow those rules, arguing they don't have to
> when it comes to hiring practices.  Their public statement on their
> website is at least misleading and hypocritical - do the members know
> about this?  If there is still time to file a rebuttal, I would
> include that statement.  It is most relevant to the things that the
> FCC will consider re renewal.
>
> So there's a bit for the FCC, but much more for the CPB and state
> court.
> Hope this is helpful.
> Denny
> PS - Could someone please forward to Sandra and Kathryn?  Thanks.
>
> 		
>
> 		
> 		
> 		
> 		
> 		
>
> 		Misc Reports [2]KZYX - Mendocino County Public Broadcasting 90.7 FM
> 91.5 FM 88.1 FM
>
> 		View on kzyx.org [3]
> 		Preview by Yahoo
>
> 		
>
> [earlier emails]
>
> Withholding information from the board and/or members, or providing
> misleading information, would be an abuse of authority by the
> staff.  Such improper acts could be included in a lawsuit that seeks
> to assert the rights of the membership and board members (i.e.,
> Sakowicz efforts to get information being rebuffed).  In addition to
> the flawed election/meeting procedures and the failure to provide
> policies/information, there is now the board decision to improperly
> abdicate its authority/responsibilities (recent memo), its improper
> selection of members of the Advisory Board (board member's domestic
> partner), and possibly improper exclusion of volunteers/members due
> to political beliefs (Sheila's complaint).  Perhaps also failure to
> provide mechanism for voting on member-initiated bylaw changes
> (King's issue).  Perhaps a general allegation of failure to fulfill
> its mission.
>
> I still need to be educated as to production/syndication rights.
> But that may be an action by the programmers, not the membership.
> Although it could be mentioned as part of a pattern/practice when
> alleging other acts.
>
> I would not go so far as to force the board to comply with the Brown
> Act, like King and others would.  Ultimately, it is the board of a
> private corporation, not a public entity.  But I believe the
> protections afforded members and elected board members are enough.
>
> Fraud is a more serious charge and requires proof of malicious
> intent.  At that point a lawsuit becomes a sledgehammer - very
> effective, but lots of collateral damage.  It is sometimes more
> effective to say "He has withheld information" than "He's a liar."
> Also part of non-violent communication - critique the act, not the
> person.  It is sometimes better to let the community draw its own
> conclusions.  It also helps avoid a counter suit for defamation of
> character.
>
> So I believe it is possible to include most of the complaints that
> you and others have raised in a legal action.  Since I am no longer
> an active member of the bar, I would need to be one of the plaintiffs
> to participate.  But my name should not be prominent, as it would
> appear I am doing a hit job on behalf of the MEC/KMEC.  You, John,
> and other current members would have standing.  A board member and
> several prominent members would make a good plaintiff group.
>
> One possible step before a lawsuit is a demand letter which says the
> above and allows a chance for change.  If you and others are serious
> about using the legal system, I might be convinced to draft such a
> letter.  But you must be prepared to move forward if they do not
> comply.  Such a letter will probably be made public, an "open
> letter" to the board.
>
> I hope this helps.  I will leave it to you to share this analysis
> with others.  Please let me know if there is strong interest in
> using the legal process to assert membership/board rights.  Although
> my advocacy is more limited with age, I am inclined to help.
>
> Denny
>
> -------------------------
>
> On Sunday, May 25, 2014, Dennis OBrien  wrote:
>
> More going on than I knew.  Initial thoughts:
>
> I have previously requested a copy of all MCPB and KZYX policies, as
> any member can under the bylaws.  They have only given me board
> policies, and have not responded to my followup for more.
>
> I also notified them that they were not giving adequate notice to
> members re the annual membership meeting, part of the election
> process.  These two items, perhaps others, could be part of a
> lawsuit seeking to enforce membership rights as guaranteed under
> state law.
>
> A few months ago I sent an email around suggesting that the bylaws
> themselves needed amending to bring them in line with state and
> federal law, most notably re elections and the Community Advisory
> Board.  Included specific language.
>
> The recent Board Policy memo is an unlawful abdication of board
> authority and responsibility under state law.
>
> Structurally, there are too many layers between the members/community
> and the decision making re who/what goes on the air.  The result is
> the current lack of transparency and accountability.  By giving the
> GM all personnel responsibility, then saying it's not their job to
> oversee him, they have removed even the board from the loop.
>
> A lawsuit re the license would involve the FCC.  I do not know that
> process.  The review initiated by John Sakowicz seems relevant.
>
> I still think the lack of a working CAB is a major violation, which
> affects CPB funding.  Stacking the CAB rather than assuring its
> independence and diversity is a specific violation.
>
> I have never considered the production rights of programmers.  I can
> imagine some interesting legal questions, but cannot advise.
> The grand jury looks into the use of public funds, but I don't think
> that includes the CPB grant.  Perhaps other funding?
> Yes, they are failing in their mission, which may not be a lawsuit,
> but is the worst of all.
> That's all for late night.  Please respond if you want something
> more refined.
> Denny
> @hotmail
> .com
> >
> @comcast
> .net>@gmail.com>@greenmac.com>.dawn50 at yahoo.com>@sharejerusalem.com>
>
>
> Links:
> ------
> [1] http://kzyx.org/index.php/about-us/station-business/misc-reports
> [2] http://kzyx.org/index.php/about-us/station-business/misc-reports
> [3] http://kzyx.org/index.php/about-us/station-business/misc-reports
> [4] mailto:dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com
>
>


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