[Kzyxtalk] Reasons for Challenging Programmer-Director Policy

[dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com]

I have been asked to explain what I hope to accomplish by asserting the right of the Members to elect all of the Directors.

I am a big fan of membership nonprofits. They are an excellent vehicle for the collective efforts of a group of people who are focused on a common mission.  The choosing of the Directors by the Members is an act of collective consciousness, and the Directors are charged with making decisions on behalf of the Members.

I am assuming that the Programmers are well-informed, noble, and have the best interests of the nonprofit at heart.  Nevertheless, they do not represent the collective knowledge, wisdom, and interests of the Members.  If anything, there is an ongoing tendency, subconscious at least, to support the continuation of the status quo, as the people and thinking that go into choosing a Programmer-Director are already present at the station.  Some have even suggested that, since the Program Director selects the Programmers, there is an internal loop of support that protects the General Manager and Program Director.

The power of selecting one out of nine directors and having a guaranteed presence on the board should not be underestimated.  Much of our nation's politics right now is focused on who will choose the ninth vote on the Supreme Court.  Even in larger bodies such as Congress, the control of 11% of the vote (one out of nine) would swing almost any contested decision.  So taking away from the Members the power to choose one of their nine directors is significant.

In my life I have watched the arc of history bend toward justice.  But I am very troubled by the rising incidents of voter suppression that we have witnessed this year.  ID's that are hard to get, tougher registration rules, reduced polling places, reduced early voting, voting rolls purged - these are just some of the problems.  And each one of them means that the collective knowledge, wisdom, and concerns of those being affected by important decisions are less likely to be heard, to be integrated into the decision-making process.

I have reached the point where I am compelled to do what I can to reverse that trend.  In politics, as with the environment, we must think globally and act locally.  The station and the nonprofit will benefit greatly by restoring Member selection of all directors.  Conversely, the Programmers will not suffer.  They have for years been unfairly prohibited from running for any of the five District seats on the board, and that has kept good and competent people from running the past few elections.  I don't have a problem with individual Programmers being on the board.  But that decision should be made by the Members.

Nor should people be concerned that Programmers will be shut out of programming decisions.  They are assured of input under the current Programming Policy and the Program Advisory Committee (PAC).  The current Board and Management should act immediately to fully implement that policy.

So what I hope to accomplish is to restore legitimacy to the Board of Directors and the governance of MCPB/KZYXZ.  I hope to make the Board a true expression of the will of the Members.  Our bylaws state that the station is Member controlled.  We have been told that means that the Members choose the Directors.  As noted above, it is not enough to choose eight out of nine.  The Board must acknowledge the right of the Members to choose all of the Directors, and make the necessary changes to our Bylaws and Election Policy.

Dennis