[Kzyxtalk] KZYX Campaign Update; Ukiah Meeting Tuesday Jan 27

[Dennis OBrien]

Next Friday, January 30, is thedeadline for becoming a candidate for the 2015 MCPB/KZYX board elections.  A person can still join by then and run, eventhough the deadline for joining and being eligible to vote was December31.  Yes, it is possible for someone tobe a candidate and not be able to vote for themselves!  The December 31 cutoff seems way too early,for no good reason.  I have met peoplewho are only now becoming interested in the election and are dismayed that theywon’t be able to vote.  Extending thetime for becoming a member eligible to vote may be one of the things we need tochange in order to make the organization responsive to the membership and thepublic. [Note: Incorrect information redeadline was on the KZYX website.  Wehave alerted them to this error and they have fixed it.] We are running an ad in tomorrow’sUkiah Daily Journal for a candidate from the Second District (Ukiah area).  Some of us will be meeting at the UkiahBrewing Company on Perkins Street on Tuesday, January 27, at 5:00pm.  Any potential candidate and anyone wishing tohelp with the campaign are welcome to attend. We hope to send a mailer to everymember eligible to vote before the election. The postage alone will be over $1200, plus the cost of copying andenvelopes.  We have already made a demandfor access to the list, and the current board has said their contractor will dothe mailing if we provide the stamped and sealed envelopes.  We are now haggling over what we can use fora return address – they don’t want “KZYX” anywhere on the envelope. If anyone is able and willing tohelp with expenses – mailer, ads – please send a check to Doug McKenty at 5575Cameron Rd, Elk, CA 95432.  We cannotafford to finance a mailer to all the members on our own. Meanwhile, the intensity level isrising.  We have received a report that theFCC has determined that MCPB/KZYX violated EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) hiring rules when they hiredJack Lambert.  One of our main proposals isto change the policy that gave the General Manager authority for all hiring andfiring, instead returning that authority to the board.  Whenever power is concentrated in the handsof too few, there is a greater tendency to ignore rules that protect thepeople.  Decentralization of power isessential for good governance. A summary of our current proposalsis below.  Though they continue toevolve, they still focus on four areas. Three are principles: freedom of expression, open governance, and engagementwith the members/public.  The fourth isthe policy decision to decentralize power. Comments are welcome. Thank you again for your interestand support.

Summary ofCurrent Proposals for Change at MCPB/KZYX  “MCPBis a membership-based organization dedicated to serving the entire community ofMendocino County and contiguous counties. The primary purpose of MCPB is toengage in providing high-quality, independent, community and public radio andother media products and services.”- The Bylaws There are four areas of change that will help MCPB/KZYX fulfill its mission: Freedomof Expression:  No one will be disciplined for expressing their opinions onor off the air.  Legal restrictionsconcerning offensive language, endorsements during campaigns, and defamation ofcharacter will still apply.  There willbe freedom of communication between and among the programmers, staff,management, directors, members, and the public. OpenGovernance: All policy decisions will be made by the Board of Directors. Directors will have access to any and all information and documents.  Theduty of each director to oversee and evaluate the operations of theorganization will not be restricted.  Members will have access to all records unlessconfidentiality is required by law.  Written notice of the annualMembership Meeting will be sent to all members with their ballot.  Memberswill be allowed to put a Bylaw amendment on the annual ballot if they obtainthe signatures of at least five percent (5%) of the membership on a petition insupport of the proposed amendment. DecentralizedPower: Final say on personnel matters will be with the Board of Directors, notthe General Manager.  Final say onprogramming decisions will be with a Programming Council, not the Program Director.  (A Program Advisory Council was establishedby the Board in 2009 but never implemented; this one will be more thanadvisory.) The Council’s process will be open and responsive to the listeningcommunity.  The News Director/Departmentwill be independent of both the Program Director and the General Manager.  The budget will be reprioritized, withprogrammers provided adequate resources to maximize their creativity.  Syndication of shows will be promoted, andthe production rights of programmers will be guaranteed. Engagementwith Members/Public: The General Manager, Program Director, News Director, and StationEngineer will attend all Board meetings.  The Board and Staff will respondto questions and comments as time permits.  The audio/video file of anymeetings and/or outreach events will be posted on the website.  TheCommunity Advisory Board will be reconstituted so that it is independent and reflectsthe diversity of the listening community, with regular meetings that are opento the public.  The Board and Staff willimplement the recent CAB recommendation for having regular call-in shows aspart of their commitment to engage with the members and the listening public. All of these policy changes can bemade by the Board of Directors.  However, any of them could also besubmitted to the members for a vote as a bylaw amendment, which would bindfuture boards if adopted.

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