[Kzyxtalk] Open Letter to KZYX GM Jeffrey Parker

[John Sakowicz]

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

From: "John Sakowicz" <sako4 at comcast.net> 
To: "Jeffrey Parker" <gm at kzyx.org> 
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2017 12:32:13 PM 
Subject: follow up to Scott Peterson's email 

Dear Mr. Jeffrey Parker, 

Following up on Mr. Peterson's excellent email below, there were reasons I made an informal complaint to the FCC two years ago. Two years ago, as a member of the Mendocino County Public Broadcasting (MCPB) Board of Directors -- indeed, as Board Treasurer -- I was entitled to see all of MCPB's financials, including Form 990s. I was denied access to those financials. 

You hung up on me earlier in the week, Mr. Parker, when I introduced myself and tried to communicate a little history of that complaint and my reasons for filing it. 

You hung up. That was wrong. I'm still a MCPB member, and I have a highly respected and very popular public affairs show on another public radio station, KMEC. I've also been elected to the KMEC Board of Directors, where I bring in new underwriters and members. 

Unlike MCPB, KMEC's finances are more robust than ever. Why? Because of our high standards for transparency. Also because of our high standards for inclusiveness and fairness. And because of the high quality of KMEC's programming. We interview A-list guests on my show. For example, on Monday, February 27, at 1 pm, Pacific Time, I'll be interviewing former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Harvard President, Larry Summers. 

Also, I hope to be interviewing former FCC Commissioners Nick Johnson and John Quigley later this year on net neutrality as it pertains to HR 5181. (Commissioners Johnson and Quigley has been guests on my show in the past.) 

I could the same shows for MCPB, which is why I asked about a path back to MCPB. 

There are several options for bringing my show back. I could air a live show for listener call-ins on MCPB, as I did in the past for six years. Or, in the alternative, MCPB could air rebroadcasts of my KMEC shows. 

When I called you earlier this week, Mr. Parker, I was simply asking about a path back to MCPB for my show. I didn't expect a rant about my FCC informal complaint. In our brief phone call, you accused me of "trying to destroy" MCPB by filing the FCC informal complaint, and you hung up on me. 

Keep in mind, Mr. Parker, my grievances were real. Keep in mind, too, that I never even got a grievance hearing at KZYX two years ago, as was my right. Former GM John Coate laid down a set of impossible conditions as a condition to a grievance hearing. One of those conditions was to withdraw my informal FCC complaint. Another condition was to write to local newspapers and say that I had "lied" in my complaint and that "everything was fine" at MCPB. 

Coate's conditions were intended as an insult to my integrity. Keep in mind, Mr. Parker, for five years I served as a trained public trustee and bonded fiduciary of Mendocino County's $500 million pension system. I currently serve in that capacity on the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District, where I help oversee a $27 million lawsuit against the City of Ukiah for accounting and audit improprieties. 

Keep in mind, too, that a grievance hearing is a right that is explicitly stated in MCPB's Programmers Handbook. 

Also, please understand, Mr. Parker, that I was trying to save MCPB, not destroy it, by bringing MCPB back into compliance with both IRS standards, and accounting and audit standards. My informal complaint to the FCC was a measure of last resort. Why? Because I was being stonewalled and marginalized every step of the way by John Coate. 

I repeat my request of earlier this week: What is the path back for my show at MCPB? 

In conclusion, the problems at MCPB are ongoing. 

There are reasons MCPB hasn't been able to keep real radio professionals, like Lorraine Dechter, Raoul Van Hall, and Christina Aanestad. 

There is a reason why over 100 members signed the petition, "MCPB Members for Change". 

There is a reason why the discussion site for MCPB's many dissident members and former members, kzyxtalk at list.mcn.org ,was started on the Mendocino Community Network. 

There is a reason why former KUSP GM, Terry Green, was hired to be MCPB's next GM, but bailed out even before he arrived at MCPB. 

There is a reason why John Coate resigned within 24 hours after being served by two former MCPB Board members and one former member of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors with discovery papers for MCPB financials. 

Our problems are real...and persistent. 

On this email, I am copying the below recipients to Mr. Peterson's email. I am also copying the MCPB Board, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the FCC. 

And again, I reassert my right to a grievance hearing, which I would further request to be conducted under oath, on the record, and videotaped. I'll pay for the deposition reporter. 

Respectfully, 

John Sakowicz 


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

From: "Scott Peterson" <scottmartinpeterson at hotmail.com> 
To: "Ken Mills" <publicradio at hotmail.com>, sako4 at comcast.net, "Jonathan Middlebrook" <suspiry at gmail.com>, "Lorraine Dechter" <ldechter01 at gmail.com>, "Meg Courtney" <mcourtney1 at mcn.org>, "Lorraine Dechter" <gm at kzyx.org>, tex at well.com 
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2017 10:12:09 AM 
Subject: Re: Public Radio KZYX in Trouble 



Hi Ken, 




Back in 2013, I noticed that Mendocino County Broadcasting, Inc. -- operator of KZYX & Z FM -- had a peculiar policy on its annual Form 990 for the past few years. Under the part where the form asked the filer to describe the policy for the governing body's review of the Form 990 prior to filing, it said there was no such policy. Furthermore, it said 'NO REVIEW WAS OR WILL BE CONDUCTED.' As I recall, that policy was stated on three previous years of Form 990s at the time. The station GM -- John Coate --- ignored my inquiry, as did the the board president. So I contacted an individual board member named John Sakowicz, who was the board treasurer. 




When Sakowicz asked the GM for financial information, he was ignored. After escalating it to a demand, the other board members sided with the GM and told Sakowicz he was out of line. All the while, MCPB was losing money hand over fist. Ultimately, Sakowicz -- and others -- complained to the FCC. They ignored him too. Sakowicz was voted off the board last year. 




At the same time, I contacted the new station manager, Lorraine Dechter. With one simple question; "What's the reason for that policy?" The only reply came by email from board president Meg Courtney, who told me there was no such policy. A quick review of board meeting minutes over the past eight years shows that the board has never reviewed them. She'd admittedly gotten that information from the previous GM, John Coate -- and then simply took his word for it. 




A few months later, I was contacted by another board member named Jonathan Middlebrook. Who was apparently on a PR mission. I asked him the same question, but he couldn't answer it. What he didn't tell me was that he -- and the entire board -- had just signed an op-ed in the local newspaper excoriating John Sakowicz and praising John Coate for turning the station around. Something that couldn't be further from the truth. 




Before that policy came into being, MCPB's net assets were $220,000+. But by the middle of 2015, that figure had dropped to $78,000. $77,000 of which was an overnight rise in the value of MCPB's collection of LPs and CDs. Something that I just can't buy. That's reported on the latest Form 990 that was filed by Lorraine Dechter -- with the exact same policy. You can see all of those Form 990s here: 




http://nccsweb.urban.org/communityplatform/nccs/organization/profile/id/680050440/popup/1 




Lorraine Dechter was replaced by an interim GM named Stuart Campbell. Who was then replaced this January by Jeffrey Parker. Last month, the KZYX website -- along with bylaws, financial statements, station policies and meeting minutes -- was scrapped for something prettier. Which is okay, because I'd made copies of everything before that. Among them were Annual Financial Reports filed with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to obtain six-figure grants. All of which swore up and down that audits had been done to qualify for them. But as you can see on the Form 990s, they haven't. 




In the programming department, it's not much better. One of KZYX's longest running shows is something called 'The Short Wave Report' -- where the programmer broadcasts Russian State Sponsored Sputnik Radio -- and then pockets donations via PayPal: 




https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2017/02/02/18796133.php 





If ever the White House and Congress needed a poster child for waste, fraud and abuse -- they've got it right here at KZYX. 




In the interests of fairness, I'm copying this email to John Sakowicz, Jeffrey Parker, Lorraine Dechter, Meg Courtney, John Coate and Jonathan Middlebrook. Please feel free to contact all of them for independent confirmation. And you're welcome to use my name as well. Just keep me in the loop. 




Sincerely, 




Scott M. Peterson 

Mendocino 

























-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.mcn.org/pipermail/kzyxtalk/attachments/20170216/3b8f1ff1/attachment.html