Can it be that KPFK, that once-proud bastion of progressivism and political correctness, has itself succumbed to that newest and latest of isms -- ageism -- in its ongoing efforts to revamp the station's programming lineup?

This past Saturday, KPFK's new management team pulled the plug on one of the station's longest-running shows, _12 O'Clock Rock_, DJ Andrea 'Enthal's weekly showcase of underground and punk rock.

According to 'Enthal, she had been warned by program director Kathy Lo some months ago that plans were in the works to ice the show because station management considered the 44-year-old 'Enthal "too old."

Do the folks at KPFK understand the difference between "old" and "legendary"?  For 18 years, 'Enthal has been spinning a raw mix of cutting-edge underground in her Saturday midnight time slot.  The show's semiregular live sets introduced listeners to seminal alt-rock and
experimental artists like Fear, Minutemen and Dream Syndicate, which released a much-revered CD of their in-studio performance.  Today 'Enthal can still be found scouring the racks at local indie record stores for new releases by musical upstarts both snotty and sublime.  Okay, we're a little biased.  Last week, in our "Best of L.A." issue, we named 'Enthal's
show one of the 10 best after midnight.

Program Director Lo admits to being younger than 'Enthal (though she wouldn't give her exact age, sources put her in the "late 20's, early 30's" bracket) but emphatically denies that the DJ's age was a factor in her firing.  The problem, she says, was a conflict over programming policy
and that the type of music 'Enthal was playing can be heard elsewhere on the dial.  Other than that, she says, she "doesn't feel it's productive to talk about it in the press."

'Enthal, meanwhile, is planning to file a grievance with the station.