[Kzyxtalk] op-ed by a real public radio pro -- WPLN veteran

[sako4 at comcast.net]

BOYCOTT KZYX PLEDGE DRIVE 

Dear Editor, 

Looking at the KZYX Facebook page, I noticed 29 published photos from the October 11th KZYX Birthday Bash. Absent were photos of young people and families with children. Absent were Asians and blacks. There were no Native Americans represented at the party and very few Latinos. 

A friend of a friend put it another way: “When I drove by a couple of times yesterday, on the sidewalk there seemed to be a high proportion of old, gray-haired, overweight, pigtailed hippie men and miscellaneous silly women in paisley harem pants.” 


Rich Culbertson 


This collection of photos and assorted observations reflects the demographic that is known as KZYX — middle-aged, white, marginalized, and self-isolated people who want the general community to support “their” radio station and “their” programs, no matter how obscure those programs may be. This demographic has been encouraged and perpetuated by the current Program Director. 

Speaking as someone who worked for years at Nashville Public Radio, WPLN, the programs and programmers at KZYX would not be viable at any other public radio station elsewhere in the United States. As an aside, Nashville’s, WPLN regularly contributes stories of interest to KQED, a sister NPR station. I have never heard a story generated by KZYX on any other NPR station. 

Ask yourself: How many of the current programs reflect your interests as a subscriber to the station? What do you really want the station to be? 

On Wednesday, KZYX kicks off its Fall Pledge Drive. Before you pledge to KZYX this fall, ask how much of your pledge is earmarked for local news? Five minutes of news for a county as large as Mendocino? Ask how much of your pledge will go into the pockets of the staff who will not disclose their salaries and who will not produce job descriptions, performance evaluations, or work logs? Ask how much of your pledge is earmarked for broadcast equipment that is old and broken, and regularly fails? How much is budgeted to archive shows and create podcasts? How much is budgeted for a Ukiah studio? KZYX is located in Philo which is not the county seat. Philo’s population was 349 at the 2010 census. 

Visit the station in person to see how your money isn’t being used to maintain a clean, productive and professional office environment. The place is filthy and run down with contaminated faucet water that comes from a cesspool. Talk with the staff about what is important to you and see what kind of response you get. It’s still unclear to many folks what the current General Manager and Program Director actually do. They especially don’t recruit and support good talent, while developing new programming that serves the many and not the few. In other words, if you aren’t like-minded, you will not be a programmer. The mindset of the Program Director is provincial, controlling, and unprofessional. 

What IS clear is that, over the years, the GM and PD have purged good talent who have tried to bring a different point of view, including KC Meadows, Mitch Clogg, Marco McClean, Doug McKenty, Beth Bosk, Johanna Schultz, Sheila Dawn Tracy, King Collins, DJ Sister Yasmin and many others. Norman De Vall and John Sakowicz were most recently purged. 

Before becoming a member, think on this fact: The KZYX budget is more than $650,000. The KMEC budget is $17,000. How is that $650,000 at KZYX spent? Too much goes to salaries without factual and documented accountability. By the way, KMEC has a LONG list of underwriters of the station published on its website. A list of underwriters is long absent from the KZYX website. 

KMEC, 105.1 FM, is Ukiah’s own community radio station. It’s where Norman De Vall and John Sakowicz both have moved their shows until a change in management at KZYX occurs. 

Please, before you give to KZYX, ask the GM where your dollars are going. You deserve to know. Until you do know, support KMEC. 

M Kathryn Massey, KZYX Members for Change 

Mendocino 



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