The Daily Californian
June 17, 1997

Protestors Fight for Local Input in Network

by Shirley Huey
Contributing Writer
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Members of Take Back KPFA picketed the national board meeting of the Pacifica Foundation on Saturday, opposing decreased local representation in the network.

About 40 people, including listeners and former staff members from the radio stations KPFA in Berkeley and KPFK in Los Angeles, gathered at the Oakland Marriott Hotel, where the Pacifica Foundation was meeting.

Currently, 10 of the 15 members of the national board are representatives chosen by the local advisory board of each station. The remaining five positions are filled by representatives at large appointed by the foundation executives.

At the meeting, the network proposed that local boards be allowed only one representative from the signal area. Members of Take Back KPFA, a coalition of KPFA supporters, said they were concerned that the proposed change in national board governance may adversely affect the station's integrity.

Maria Gilardin, a spokesperson from Take Back KPFA, said it was ironic that "stations that call themselves 'First Amendment Radio' are run by a foundation whose board is not democratically elected." She also said that this latest proposal is simply another manifestation of ongoing problems in the management of the stations.

Last year, Take Back KPFA filed a complaint against Pacifica, alleging that the foundation was not abiding by FCC regulations that govern such meetings. That complaint prompted an audit by the inspector general of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Currently, none of the board positions at the local or national level are elected positions. Gilardin said the change in the make- up of the national board will take power away from local advisory boards and place it in the hands of network management.

Burt Glass, communications director for Pacifica Radio, said local advisory boards will continue to play a part in the structure of the Pacifica network.

"The ratio of board representatives chosen by local stations has never been set in the bylaws," Glass said. He added that the newly created "signal area representatives" will continue to reflect local concerns, since they will be nominated by a committee that includes the chair of the local advisory board and the local representative of the national board.

During this weekend's meetings, the board also announced the appointment of Mary Frances Barry, a civil rights activist and history professor at the University of Pennsylvania, as the new chair of the Board of Governors of Pacifica Radio.

Jeff Blankfort of Take Back KPFA said Barry's appointment is "part and parcel of Pacifica's campaign to bring money and publicity to its efforts to become more mainstream-liberal and to move away from a more progressive stance."