[Kzyxtalk] Reasons for Challenging Programmer-Director Policy

[dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com]

I was not elected last year, but that does not influence my thinking at this time.  What I wrote below is a true and accurate reflection of my present concerns.

I have sent copies of both the formal notice and the explanation to the Board of Directors.  I did not send them to the new GM as it was not within her power to make such a decision.  However, I did add a suggestion that management fully implement the existing Programming Policy and the PAC, so I am sending that to her now, along with the new interim PD.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Denny

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On Sat, 4/23/16, Tim Gregory <tgregory at saber.net> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Kzyxtalk] Reasons for Challenging Programmer-Director Policy
 To: dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com, kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org
 Date: Saturday, April 23, 2016, 2:45 PM
 
 it did enter my mind that
 this had something to do with the members not being a big
 fan of you gaining a board seat recently, and
 possibly that you wished to still
 represent
 them whether they want you to or not.
 
 are you in conversation with the ceo/gm?
 ---
 
 
 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
 
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