[Kzyxtalk] [MCN-Discussion]- new article

[doug mckenty]

 *Response to Tom Melcher*


  I just wanted to take the time to respond to the article written by Tom
Melcher in a recent edition of this newspaper. Tom and I have had a few
phone conversations and I have seen him at a few board meetings of
Mendocino County Public Broadcasting over the last year or so. While I
respect that he has some experience in understanding the complex issues
surrounding our only countywide community radio station, and many good
ideas as to how it may go forward into the future, it is my fear that he
does not yet have the depth of understanding to interpret the current state
of affairs at KZYX. I will say that it took many years for me to learn the
history of the station and years after that before I actually met and got
to know the diverse and varied cast of characters that make up the KZYX
family. After almost a decade of experience at our local radio station,
both helping to produce multiple programs and serving as the programmer's
representative to the board of MCPB, I would like to throw in my two cents.
I will say that in my experience everyone I know who is associated with the
station has its best interests at heart. This may be difficult for some to
believe, as it is easy to point fingers, and even easier to get angry when
someone appears to be acting out in an irrational way.

I wonder how many of you were raised in a family that had issues? If your
family is anything like mine, you probably experienced more than one
irrational outburst from a parent or family member over the years. This is
pretty typical and no one is to blame, for life is complex and we are all
working on something, right? Nobody is perfect. Problems arise, however,
when the pressures that cause these outbursts don't get resolved. Those
pressures build and build until somebody becomes overwhelmed by them and
lashes out in any of a variety of ways. These situations often devolve into
real self-destructive behavior. Because everybody has issues, and nobody is
perfect, the world of psychology typically does not address mild symptoms.
Only when the problems prevent an individual or family (or community) from
functioning in a healthy way is intervention necessary. At that point,
without intervention, these unhealthy patterns can become habits that are
very difficult to break.

One thing I have learned when observing dysfunctional relationships is that
it takes two to tango. All addicts invariably hang out with enablers.
Enablers are typically hiding problems of their own behind the obvious
foibles of the addict. Very often there is passive aggressive behavior
going on which is difficult for an outsider to understand, and even many
insiders can't see it unless the passive aggression is targeted towards
them. A lot of people have control issues and will do whatever is necessary
to maintain control even if that behavior triggers the addict. A lot of
people have addictions, its not always as obvious as drinking alcohol until
falling down or hitting the crack pipe. Things get complicated really fast.
In psychology the “addict” is called the identifiable patient. They are
very easy to spot and often take the blame for the dysfunctional situation.
What is interesting, however, is that if the enabler is treated, the easily
identifiable problem almost always resolves itself as well. As I said, it
takes two to tango. It is important to have compassion for both an addict
and an enabler as these are all just coping mechanisms for trauma that
happened in the past. Resolving past traumas usually results in the
cessation of this cycle of violence.

Just pointing out the identifiable patient only enables the enabler! It
will only make the identifiable patient more self-destructive. As a
community I caution against that kind of thing. Yet living in denial can
cement unhealthy habit patterns, causing the destructive situation to last
for years. Only by bringing these issues out into the daylight can they be
resolved. Most of the time when you bring the skeletons out of the closet,
you find out they are just skeletons. The mortal remains of past trauma
that no longer really apply to what is happening right now. There is
nothing to be afraid of. No Hitler, no Stalin, and no megalomania, just old
coping mechanisms that aren't working anymore.

So how does this relate to our KZYX family? Well, you will have to fill in
the blanks for yourselves. All I can say is that the radio is a great place
to talk things out. I hope to hear more Open Lines type discussions in the
future, allowing as much input from the community as possible. Also, I
really like the mission statement of MCPB when it says, “the membership
controls the stations programming and operational philosophy,” and I do
believe the airwaves should be open to “all points of view.”

By the way Tom, I hope you don't catch that nasty virus that's going
around...


 Doug McKenty


 Elk

On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 10:23 AM, doug mckenty <dougmck at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have been thinking about all the infighting at KZYX and what to do about
> it.  The us vs. them "bunker" mentality of staff combined with the all out
> attack mentality of Sakowitz is really dragging the reputation of the
> station down throughout our community.  While John Coate has improved the
> stations situation financially, he has done so by increasing personal
> donations, acquiring rural status with NPR, and receiving another $120K
> from the CPB in the last two years, membership dues have remained
> stagnant.  This implies to me that the community as a whole is not
> satisfied with the service KZYX is providing.
>
> Much of this dissatisfaction from the public is, I believe, a result of the
> constant infighting that continuously plagues the station.  Many people are
> just tired of it.  As Ed Keller said in last weeks debate, KZYX now has a
> hard time finding people willing to volunteer.  I have spoken with many
> ex-volunteers who just walked away after encountering the confrontational
> attitude at the station and never looked back.  Many now help out at other,
> smaller radio stations around the county.
>
> I have written an article for this weeks AVA at least outlining what I
> perceive as the problem.  I am not sure what the solution is but the entire
> community needs to at least start talking about it without pointing fingers
> and naming names.  Yelling back and fourth is not functional
> communication.  There will be no change for the positive until we become
> capable of listening to each other with an open mind.
>
> Check this out and let me know what you think,
>
> Thanks,
>
> Doug McKenty
>
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