[Kzyxtalk] questions

[Liz Helenchild]

Thanks much for swift response, gentlepersons.
Did this post show up on KXYX talk list?For some silly reason I don't see my own emails sent to lists. If it didn't get there, please consider FWing your answers.
Liz

      From: doug mckenty <dougmck at gmail.com>
 To: Dennis OBrien <dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com> 
Cc: Liz Helenchild <deejayliz at yahoo.com>; Kzyxtalk <kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org> 
 Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 2:02 AM
 Subject: Re: questions
   
Before John S. and Shelia Dawn wrote the FCC both of them asked me to do the same.  I will honestly say that I thought about it because as a board member I discovered that management and staff had become so entrenched that any attempt to include input from the membership about the stations programming and operational philosophy seemed impossible without taking drastic measures.  When I was first on the board I spent my first year listening and learning.  I thought it was odd that the board never voted on anything and seemed to have no influence over station policy.  I also read the bylaws and policy papers written by past boards and found it odd that many of the procedures and policies outlined in those documents were not adhered to.
What follows is a very long story that includes many frustrations on my part to try and get the organization to follow the protocol outlined in the mission statement and in the policy papers voted on by the boards of MCPB.  Without much oversight or transparency, over the years staff has managed to control many aspects of the station that I believe ought to be controlled by the membership and overseen by the board.  Obviously many past boards agreed with me or they would not have voted in those policies in the first place.  I came to feel that publisicing these issues and running for the board was a better idea than involving the federal government in our local disputes, but I understand the frustration that led five members of our community to do just that.  I will also say that discussion of these issues has somehow turned into an "us vs. them" uphill battle.  Why can't we just talk it out on the radio?  Shouldn't the station be making an effort to foster public debate about it's issues?  Shouldn't the organization be set up to make it easy to allow "membership control of the stations programming and operational philosophy" as the mission statement stipulates?  We need to make debate about station policy a lot easier and allow alternative viewpoints to be easily expressed.
In the end I did not support Sakowitz in writing the FCC, but I do think that this community should be asking the question: What drove five members of our community to do just that?  The answers to this question might surprise you, they are a lot more complicated than many have been led to believe.
To answer the second question, salaries cost a lot of money, and a lot more could be done with volunteer labor for sure.   Marco's suggestion of operating KZYX more like KNYO or KMEC is interesting indeed, and I do wonder how those operations can run on less than 20K a year while KZYX struggles with a budget of 550K.  Nonetheless, KZYX needs at least a full time studio manager.  I would argue that to really do it's job it needs to have a full time news director and an engineer to deal with the technical stuff.  I really don't think it's necessary to discuss eliminating staff, I would rather focus on how to get membership dues back up to pre-2009 levels and maybe recommend purchasing less programming and producing more of our own so the station has a feeling of abundance financially.  It's going to need it to upgrade the infrastructure that keeps causing dead air and scratchy signals.   
Doug


On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 3:12 PM, Dennis OBrien <dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com> wrote:

Sakowicz/FCC: I have chosen not to use the FCC to resolve concerns, as I believe they can be resolved locally without the expense of regulatory litigation.  At this point, the only transgression the FCC has chosen to investigate is whether or not the news director position was adequately advertized at a time when EEOC rules still applied.  My response is that the board should adopt a policy that we follow EEOC rules for outreach even if we no longer are required to do so (less than five full-time employees). So I don't support John's choice of actions.  But I can't condemn him for petitioning the government for a redress of his grievances, a First Amendment guarantee that benefits us all.
Volunteer Management: There are many tasks that the current KZYX management is doing that others could do, as I proposed in my summary of proposals for change (below).  Essentially, management decisions would be made by the board committees and a programming committee, all of which include volunteers from the community.  Whatever administrative tasks that remain are divided among paid coordinators/facilitators.  "Management" thus becomes a non-hierarchical staff that supports the programmers and the community.  That's my ideal.  And the likely savings can be used for improving production, e.g., the news department.

Thanks for your interest and for passing along the information.
Denny

Decentralized Power:  Final say on all personnel matters will be with theBoard of Directors, not the General Manager.  Final say on programmingdecisions will be with a Programming Council, not the Program Director. The Council will be formed in accordance with the policy in place since 2009;its process will open and responsive to the listening community.  The NewsDirector/Department will be independent of both the Program Director and theGeneral Manager.  The budget will be reprioritized, with programmersprovided adequate resources to maximize their creativity.  Syndication ofshows will be promoted, and the production rights of programmers will beguaranteed.
      From: Liz Helenchild <deejayliz at yahoo.com>
 To: Doug Mckenty <dougmck at gmail.com> 
Cc: Dennis OBrien <dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com>; Kzyxtalk <kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org> 
 Sent: Monday, March 16, 2015 2:01 PM
 Subject: questions
   
When I discuss your candidacy with still-undecided members, these questions keep coming up:
Do you support Sakowitz in complaining to FCC? 

Do you support all volunteer management, including General Manager?
Thanks,
Liz


   



  
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