Take Back KPFA P.O. Box 13557, Berkeley, CA 94712 (510) 464-4629
October 11, 1996
Mr. Richard W. Carlson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
901 E Street NW
Washington DC 2004-2006
Dear Mr. Carlson:
On July 11 of this year, we filed a formal complaint with the office of the Inspector General of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting concerning prima facie violations of the "open meeting" statutes of federal broadcasting law and CPB Guidelines by the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Pacifica Foundation, a major recipient of CPB funding. That complaint with its supporting appendices is enclosed with this letter.
The decision to file that complaint was not lightly taken. It was only done after repeated attempts to open lines of communication with the foundation went unanswered and Pacifica continued its new policy of holding all but an hour of each of its four-day tri- quarterly meetings in executive session.
In an effort to avoid the charge that it is violating the "open meeting" laws, Pacifica has described these closed sessions as "retreats." The third successive "retreat" took place in New York on the weekend of September 26-29, where Pacifica held its fall meeting. This seemed to make it clear that to date the IG's office has been ineffectual in bringing Pacifica into compliance with the federal regulations it is required to enforce. (A facsimile of the agenda of the New York meeting that we were able to obtain, plus a readable retyped copy, both of which we have enclosed, clearly indicates that this was not a "retreat" in the commonly accepted meaning of the word, but was, in fact, a regular meeting of the Pacifica board.)
Following the transmission of the complaint, Jeffrey Blankfort, a member of Take Back KPFA's Coordinating Committee, who had faxed the complaint initially to the IG's offices, received a call on July 22 from Lester Latney, the Inspector General of the IG. Mr. Latney asked to go over the complaint, point by point, which was done, and a transcript was made by both Mr. Latney and Mr. Blankfort, of that conversation.
Since that time we have received no further word from the IG's office nor have we received a formal, written acknowledgement of our complaint.
Shortly after that conversation, we learned that Mr. Latney had suffered a stroke and was on medical leave. Consequently, we were astonished to learn from his deputy, Michael Donovan, in response to an inquiry on September 30 into the status of the CPB investigation, that since Mr. Latney had begun to look into the case before his illness, nothing would be done until he returned to work.
This development was preceded by the sudden firing by Mr. Latney of Mr. Brian McConville, the CPB investigator who had initiated the inquiry into Pacifica's alleged violations last November, following a report of the situation in the public broadcasting publication, Current.
We are sure you will understand why we find the present situation extraordinary and inexplicable. It, unfortunately, gives the appearance that the directors of the Pacifica Foundation believe they do not have to observe federal regulations, and that their position has the tacit approval of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
We are calling this situation to your attention under the assumption that neither you nor the CPB Board are fully aware of these developments. We hope that after a review of the situation you will take whatever steps may be necessary to compel Pacifica to re-open its doors to the public in compliance with federal law and CPB funding guidelines.
We look forward to hearing from you regarding what actions you have taken in this regard. Thank you very much.
Sincerely, yours,
TAKE BACK KPFA COORDINATING COMMITTEE:
Bob Bergstresser Jeffrey Blankfort Sasha Futran Maria Gilardin Curt Gray Annie Hallatt John Klein Les Radke Marianne Torres
Enclosed:
cc:
The following reply was recently received by members of Take Back KPFA's Coordinating Committee:
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
901 E Street NW
Washington DC 2004-2037
Richard W. Carlson
President and Chief Executive Officer
October 31, 1996
Take Back KPFA
P.O. Box 13557
Berkeley, CA 94712
We are aware of the complaint you filed with the Office of
Inspector General and we appreciate your frustration that the
matter is still unresolved.
As you may know, the Office of the Inspector General is an
autonomous entity reporting directly to the Board of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting. While we have no authority
over the IG's operations, I do know that the Board is well aware
of your concerns. Appointment of an Acting Inspector General is
imminent, and resolution of this matter will be among the new
Acting IG's highest priorities.
Sincerely,
R.W. Carlson
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