CPB Complaint Cover Letter to Congressmember Dellums

July 19, 1996

Rep. Ronald Dellums
2108 Rayburn Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Rep. Dellums:

We have enclosed a copy of a complaint that we and 31 additional signatories have filed with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting regarding the failure of Pacifica Radio to adhere to certain rules and regulations required by the federal broadcasting act of all recipients of public funding.

In particular, we are concerned about the decision of the Pacifica Board to hold virtually all of its business meetings in executive session in violation of the law's provision for "open meetings," and with its open interference with the activities of local advisory boards which is also prohibited by federal regulations. Since Pacifica annually receives approximately $1.5 million of the money allocated by Congress, it is obliged to observe the laws.

Pacifica has done this at a time when the country has been moving further to the right and it has come under attack from those who would undermine any notion of public funding of alternative media. That Pacifica would break the law and put its funding at risk under such circumstances we find inexplicable.

One would expect, however, that even were it not required by law, the nature , mission and history of Pacifica Radio would move its directors to provide the widest access to information and participation possible to its staff members and to the listener/sponsors on whom it relies for its main support. Unfortunately, that has not been the case, as you will see, not only from the complaint itself, but from the additional material that we have enclosed.

Pacifica, as you well know, has long prided itself on being "First Amendment Radio,"e been ignored.

It should come as no surprise that Pacifica's secrecy has invoked questions from its critics about what it is trying to conceal. The hiring, last year, by Pacifica Executive Director Pat Scott, of a notorious anti-labor, corporate consultant, the American Consulting Group, to write a new, overly-restrictive contract for the three Pacifica stations that are unionized, and her attempts to rationalize her action, have further widened the gulf between Pacifica and its critics.

As a long-time friend of Pacifica as well as the representative of the district, we are sure you will be as concerned as we are with these developments. We ask that you use your considerable influence to make the Pacifica directors understand the nature of their actions and what they must do to correct them.

All of us who support listener/sponsored public radio thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely yours,

Coordinating Committee for Take Back KPFA
Take Back KPFA
P.O. Box 13557, Berkeley, CA 94712
(510) 464-4629

encl: CPB Complaint with Appendix, Misc. Clippings, Flyers.

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Web page created July 26, 1996

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