[Kzyxtalk] concernin loyalty

[sako4 at comcast.net]

Very well-said, Doug. 

Indeed, what is "loyalty"? 

Blind loyalty: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=blind%20loyalty 

And loyalty to whom? 

To listeners? To members? To the community? Or to inept, tyrannical management? 

I'm thinking about taking Ed Keller's advice and finally filing my grievance over my suspension, so I can nail down this heretofore unwritten policy of a "loyalty oath", and sue the station to undo this policy. 

-- John 



----- Original Message -----

From: "Doug McKenty" <dougmck at gmail.com> 
To: "kzyxtalk" <kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org> 
Sent: Sunday, September 4, 2016 12:35:30 PM 
Subject: [Kzyxtalk] Loyalty 

I feel compelled to respond to a post last week from Marco where he revealed an email from the current Program Director at KZYX stating that the organization was not interested in working with him as they were only looking for volunteers who would, in her words, express a "loyalty" to the radio station. 

What does that mean? 

KZYX is meant to be a community organization that, according to its mission statement, produces programming that is open to "all points of view." In other words, those with different, and opposing, perspectives, should be able to use the station as a communication hub where these differences can be hashed out in an open and transparent manner and the radio station should operate as a common resource shared by all members of the community. The bylaws and policies of the station clearly dictate that differences in opinion concerning station governance and programming decisions should be made in a similarly transparent and democratic fashion. 

About 10 years ago, a few entrenched members of the stations hierarchy chose to disregard many of these policies in order to enforce upon the station a "NPR formula" which minimized the influence of members of the community interested in discussing alternative or activist opinions that strayed too far from what I would describe as the "NPR worldview." 

As a result, community support for the station plummeted and the stations net worth dropped from $350k to almost zero. The station has lost an average of $3000 a month during that time, despite the fact that the CPB grant increased by nearly 100%. (Though the amount has been reduced over the last two years.) 

Those who advocated for a return to the democratic spirit expressed in the stations policies often coincided with their desire to discuss alternatives to the NPRcentric perspectives of those who unilaterally took control of the programming were often simply pushed out over time. 

While it seems obvious that many in our community wish to hear more alternative beliefs, and the expression of those beliefs on air would result in more community financial support for the station, those who have taken control of the programming simply accuse those who seek democratic change over hierarchical control of disloyalty to the institution itself. 

>From my perspective, those who have taken control of the programming to impose their beliefs, at the expense of the rest of the community, are the ones who act out of disloyalty to the institution, and those of us attempting to democratize the process in order to save the station financially, are the ones loyal to the spirit of community radio with respect for the shared, common resource it is meant to be. 

The accusation of "disloyalty" seems to be yet another excuse to silence the voices in our community who believe that the radio station should be open to "all points of view." 

Doug 

Sent from my iPhone 
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