[Kzyxtalk] 'a number of years'

[Scott Peterson]

Dear Mr. Arteaga,



I just read the following excerpt from your July 14, 2015 column



in the Ukiah Daily Journal. "I very much wish that (John Sakowicz)



could make peace with KZYX and bring his show back to its



airwaves, but mainly I wish he would simply stick to doing what he



does best, producing compelling radio interviews, and leave



station management to those who've been doing it damn well for a



number of years.":



http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/opinion/20150714/addendumhttp://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/opinion/20150714/addendum



The phrase 'a number of years' struck me. It's an old salesman



trick. Zero is a number, Mr. Arteaga. Which is the precise number



of years that station management has been running KZYX 'damn well'.



If you'd taken the time to look through the so-called audits on the



KZYX website, you'd know that. Ditto for the Form 990s. Swearing



that those audits don't exist. You'd also notice that under John



Coate's management, KZYX lost three-quarters of its net worth.



How could that happen? Simple. The board of directors was kept in



the dark. And given a rosy picture instead of the truth. Mr.



Sakowicz saw right through that. So he blew the whistle on it.



Which was the right thing to do.



But instead of investigating, KZYX's rubber-stamp board went with



Mr. Coate's narrative. That he'd turned KZYX around. When he'd



nothing of the kind.



Mr. Coate was certainly convincing. Wasn't he? Telling you and



everyone on God's green earth how wonderful he was. Did you ever



look at his website, Mr. Arteaga? Better late than never:



http://johncoate.com/porchlight_story.html



See the part where Mr. Coate got rejected by a U.S. Army shrink?



For being a 'mystic nomad'? That's the man who ran KZYX 'damn



well for a number of years.' The same man who earned an average



of $200 a year for fifteen years. Damn straight. That was



written by John Coate himself. Just a few months before KZYX



hired him. At www.johncoate.com<http://www.johncoate.com>.



At the time of your article, Mr. Coate had just decided to hit



the road. Over family priorities and such. The fact is that he



was at the end of his rope here. By running up a huge legal bill



and blaming it on Mr. Sakowicz. Successfully, too. Expenses went



up during his term here. While revenue went down. Way down. So



Mr. Coate was in a jam, Mr. Arteaga. He needed believers. And he



got them. In spades.



I've got a name for people like Mr. Coate. For his believers too.



P.T. Barnum wasn't too far off the mark when he quipped, 'There's



a sucker born every minute.' Which was the U.S. birthrate when he



said it. Meaning that everybody's a sucker at one time or another.



But sooner or later, the show is over.



It certainly is now, Mr. Arteaga.



Sincerely,



Scott M. Peterson



Mendocino



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