open letter to KPFK re no human response back possible..again

OPEN LETTER TO "PROGRAM COMMENTS" KPFK 's EMAIL SITE:

when anyone write to "comments@kpfk.org" as listed on KPFK website, there is a frequent response that there is a "mail failure" and it is not possible to Get Through to express a suggestion, an opinion, ask a question, or make any inquiry. This is the 3-4th time that the same dysfunction occurrs. Why is it incumbent on the sender of any email to then have to telephone, write another location or follow thru to try so hard to be heard - back ????


the continual problems that arise in a radio station that continually tries to elicit more money from it's usual loyal stakeholders or even new liseners is defeated when there is NO RESPONSE POSSIBLE EVER from anyone at this radio station. All efforts to contact the staff or even many of the programers that are even listed on their website is deflected and there is a deadening effect. This discourages anyone from wanting to pay for such uncaring, distanced, and dysfunctional [in the real world of communications, not just on-air-out-broadcasting ] business.


And never forget that KPFK is and must be a business or else fail, collapse, disappear or keep on sputtering about 'no money!'

the email resent to "Program Comments" and other staff, none which ever respond, but the desire to IMPROVE and help this radio station's workaworld's functioning is here :


ALL THE WORK I DO THAT IS NOT ON YOUR SALARIED JOB TIME IS MY CONTRIBUTION FOR WHICH NO ONE AT KPFK GIVES ME ANY CREDIT OR THANKS...

WHY IS THIS ?

I HAVE 3X BEFORE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM AND ADVISED YOU ABOUT PROBLEMS WITH MAIL FAILURES AT THIS ADDRESS THAT YOU LIST ON YOUR WEB PAGE.

WHY DOES NO ONE EVER NOTICE THAT THEY DONT GET MAIL AT THIS ADDRESS SINCE I PRESUME ALL MAIL IS RETURNED, NOT SELECTIVELY ONLY MINE...

YOUR PROGRAM ER HOPEFULLY DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE, OR DO YOU ALL ????

THE ILL WILL GENERATED BY THESE CONTINUAL FAILURES AND LACK OF RESPONSE TO EMAILS SENT TO THE STATION CREATE THE IMPRESSION THAT 'NO ONE IS HOME AND NO ONE CARES' THEN THE SENDER WILL ALSO SAY ' WHY SHOULD I SEND THEM ANY MONEY IF THEY DONT CARE OR ARE THIS DISORGANIZED ? "

AND THE BAD REPUTATION OF THE STATION BEING NOT UP TO PAR IS EXTENDED AS PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THESE FAILURES TO MAINTAIN BASIC SERVICES


THAT THERE IS NO RESPONSES EVER EVER EVER TO COMMENTS IS ALWAYS EXPLAINED BY 'NOT ENOUGH STAFF' WHICH MAY BE TRUE BUT IS INADEQUATE TO INSURE A GOOD PUBLIC IMAGE AND PUBLIC PLEDGE SUPPORT BACK


BESIDES THE FEAR MONGERING THAT KPFK ALSO INDULGES IN WELL DURING PLEDGE DRIVES, WE DONT NEED OTHER MEDIA, WE HAVE OUR VERY OWN TOO.


THERE COULD BE SOME TRUSTED LOYAL VOLUNTEERS WHO COULD FILTER OR SORT COMMENTS AND DIRECT THEM APPROPRIATELY, NOT JUST THE PROGRAM COMMENTS SECTION THAT MAY [AS HAS HAPPENED RECENTLY ALSO] BE SENT TO THE WRONG STAFF WHO CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT TOPIC DISCUSSED.


THERE COULD BE A P.T. PERSON WHO IS PROFESSIONAL ENOUGH AND WANTS TO GET PLEDGE $$ CREDIT FOR THEIR WORK AND DO SOMETHING TO HELP THE STATION HAVE A BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH IT'S LISTENERS, NOT JUST THE ONE WAY OUT FROM THOSE HOLY PRIESTS ON THE INSIDE...


THAT THERE IS NONE IS A SHAME, AND POOR RELATIONS WITH ALL KPFK STAKEHOLDERS.


ALSO THERE IS NO COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD THAT REPORTS TO CPB AND IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT THE FUNDING SOURCE HAS BEEN SO NOTIFIED TO ENFORCE IT'S RULES THAT THE COMMUNITY INPUT BE ACTUALLY REC'D AND UTILIZED, NOT A PRETEND 1 X YR MEETING OF INFIGHTIING.


PLEASE PASS THIS LETTER ON TO WHOMEVER IS 'IN CHARGE' AND IF THEY DONT CARE OR CANT DO MORE EITHER
OH WELLL
DOWN WE ALL GO
YOU FIRST THO

SORRY TO KEEP REPEATING COMPLAINTS, SUGGESTIONS, AND PROBLEMS OVER MANY YEARS, REPEATED, REPEATED, AND NO CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS EVER DONE AND NO RESPONSES EVER RECEIVED EITHER. HARD COPY LETTERS, VOICE MAILS, MESSAGES LEFT, IN-PERSON REQUESTS, NOTHING EFFECTS THE IMPROVEMENTS SO OBVIOUSLY NEEDED.

WHAT A POOR BUSINESS PLAN IS IN EFFECT THAT BECOMES 'INEFFECTIVE' AFTER ALL THAT WAYS KPFK EXHORTS PEOPLE TO PAY PAY SEND MONEY AND THEN....LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF OZ....AND SEE........

oh welll


here it is anyhow.

Note our new URL now improved: kpfk00commentators

For those who could not easily find us, we have decided to improve our visibility to be more effective in how we help suggest improvements and occasionally challenge our favorite radio station to CHANGE for the Better :

and be more Efficient, in it's daily functions

be more Transparent in it's operations and intentions,

be more Responsive to it's stakeholders, in communications, in acknowledgements,

and be more fair and honest in all the KPFK Pacifica radio station dealings.

This means input is needed from all who read here, to put in and take out what is HELPFUL and Positive - our purpose always to be of help and assist, even if often the there is little or no appreciation of any [including our] efforts outside their closed locked doors.

But like any bureaucracy or corporation, there is a lot that needs to be addressed, exposed and questioned, especially by those who fund the station with their earnings,
their time and caring, their promoting the station to non-listeners, and their dedication to the welfare of what is still unique, tho sometimes beleaguered as well.

the "00" are the EYES of those who watch as well as listen to how the station operates in the service of those who have paid for their stakes in this facility in any way.

the call letters are deliberately not to intend or state that this blog site is in any way part of the official station or any of it's doings, policies, or staff.
This is a totally SEPARATE and non-official open site in which those who genuinely Care and Dedicate their time and monies for the benefit of "their" station, and it's betterment.

There is absolutely no attempt to ride on the image or fame of the station's name, in any direction they may suggest.

There is no intent to mislead or malign in any way the station, while still using the freedom of speech and freedom of mind to question, suggest, complain occasionally, and offer observation and alternative ways to handle all matters of interest.

We here hope to be able to contribute our share of media light and information that will further help our preferred radio station to become what it also claims it wants to be, as per it's bylaws, it's on-air claims, their promotions and intentions. We also want to be assisting better communications in both ways, in and out, as it is assumed that the station's desire is to "serve the community" by also listening to what parts of the entirety of listeners [a diverse huge community] alsohas to say back.

Please share your thoughts and concerns, your compliments and complaints, your heart-felt concerns and logical thoughts as well, without spamming, without anger or insult, without being mean-spirited or malicious...

we want to stay civil, communicative, clear and helpful at all times.


(c) by writers of http://kpfk00commentators.blogspot.com 2009

KPFK may be only providing the "least" notice about meetings open to it's members ...why ?

another OPEN letter written to all KPFK management and some LSB members:

"on April 30 2009 6:00 pm PST, only these 2 separate notices were found:

on Pacifica.org = it is noted: "KPFK LSB Meeting Saturday, May 16 2009, 4:00pm - 8:00pm posted by tgoodman The KPFK Local Station Board is scheduled to meet on Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 1:00 pm Pacific Time. See here [GOES TO KPFK same old website where no information is listed there] for KPFK governance notices and here for related information. Location: In-person meeting
Contact: Steve Weatherwax " [Note: No location was cited above.]

OK, that's one notice, But... searching diligently further to find details of above:

then I found this on KPFK.org website searched at same time [ Note: ON KPFK website only 1 thing shows, not LSB...but only an LSB Finance meeting notice instead]

It reads: "Thursday, May 14 2009, 1:00pm - 5:00pm posted by tgoodman
The KPFK LSB Finance Committee will meet on Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 1:00 pm at the station. Contact: Summer Reese "

THESE DO NOT MATCH AND ANNOUNCE SEPARATE EVENTS, but no coordination of information on either / both websites list the other. Makes no sense !

There is nothing else [LSB or committee meetings] listed on the KPFK website, as of 4/30/09 6pm

Please note that the bylaws states that the MINIMUM, and not that the employees should be working to the lowest standards possible ! , but that the least " NOTICE ....at least 7 days prior to the date of each meeting" [ the words "at least" implying clearly that this is the least - not the preferred - time to give notice. ]
and
"whenever feasible, notice shall also be posted to the station's website at least 7 days prior to the date of each meeting."

So what makes it NOT FEASIBLE to provide a longer time frame for notices ?
and who is it that explains what is or is not "feasible" ?

the dictionary states: " fea·si·ble adj.
1. Capable of being accomplished or brought about; possible plan. See Synonyms at possible.
2. Used or dealt with successfully; suitable"

Why is it NOT POSSIBLE to do better or be more timely or considerate to the members ?

What makes the station's management and staff decide how much notice the public can have about all committee & LSB meetings [in which they are allowed to observe or participate] ?

What is considered "adequate notice" by providing information to it's stakeholders-members of all such meetings ? Only the 'least" which is minimum stated ?

Is that how the station is being operated ? by it's "least" minimum standards and with the continual yearly excuse of not-enough-money-so-send-more-and-more !!! ????

Why are there no notices placed on the website a day or two after each prior meeting to allow people who are interested to plan ahead and attend and participate ... to help IMPROVE what is occurring at this .......___xxxx'd _____ station ?

This is a continual delay and neglect of sharing information, regardless of who is responsible or malfunctioning or not-caring.

please respond to this concern and inform anyone who is involved in the responsibility of notifying or 'noticing' the members about meetings.

thank you"

mj {c} 2009

Terry Goodman wrote to explain KPFK's problems with getting community INPUT...he is informative, straight and right on ! a sad story tho....

"On Mon, 23 Feb 2009, this blogger on "A KPFKer Here Now " wrote:

Please advise those responsible that the listings are NOT PUT ON WEBSITE to inform us when the next committee and board meetings are being held... see right now that there is NOTHING listed for March.

Meetings cannot be posted until they are scheduled, and a posting is not a valid meeting notice unless it includes date, time, and location. Last minute postings typically reflect last minute finalization of meeting locations. Although there are multiple advantages that accrue when a regular venue is selected for meetings, the counter-argument of broader community access for traveling LSB meetings has typically had sufficient support each year to derail attempts to establish a regular venue for KPFK LSB meetings. Ideally, in my opinion, the LSB and each LSB committee should adopt an annual calendar for its regular meetings, select a regular location for those meetings, and publish that schedule in advance. Instead, finalization of committee meeting dates frequently occurs month-to-month and finalization of LSB meeting locations frequently occurs less than two weeks before each meeting.

Tho February was checked at beginning of month, again, nothing was there and later it was already past and un attendable.

It is very rare that a KPFK governance-related meeting announcement is not posted on the KPFK Event Calendar at least seven days in advance. Members can receive email notification of these meetings by joining a Yahoo! group here. This is not an "official" list because there are problems with authority and liability whenever anything is official.

also the website lists a link to make PROGRAM COMMENTS, but those who use library comuters cannot access the link nor even find it's address when clicked because the library does not have it's own email programs set up.

Webmasters at KPFA and KPFT (and maybe others) have addressed this by providing email forms on their websites that can be used within a web browser. This has the advantage of not exposing LSB Member or other email addresses to harvesting for spam by web spidering software robots. I would encourage KPFK's webmaster to follow suit, without waiting for an LSB instruction.

Are you all deliberatelye excluding all who want to communicate or attend the governance and committees and board meetings ?

No, the situation simply reflects poor communication and coordination between KPFK's local governance and its local management and inadequate work by KPFK's volunteer governance. The LSB could accomplish better membership communication if it instructed management as to its needs and desires in this area, but various attempts to obtain LSB agreement on such instructions have generally been voted down. KPFK Management could take the initiative in establishing mechanisms and just advise the LSB what it has set up, but management too has typically given various immediate crises a higher priority than membership communications.

It sure seems so...in so many ways

Understood.

It was said that someone from the LSB would see the comments made if one wrote to "program comments" and it was cuddly called 'a corner' ....however, it does NOT go to Steve or whoever is suppose to receive a copy of these comments...

As I recall, the KPFK LSB Programming Oversight Committee, working with station management and/or the station's webmaster, arranged for committee members to regularly review those comments and was establishing protocols for forwarding, reply, and follow-up. This arguably goes beyond the role of the LSB in programming identified in the Pacifica Bylaws, but the general idea received LSB support.

again, how does one reach the LSB? or any members on it?

Sherna Gluck proposed a Listener LSB Comment line in a motion for the 2/05/05 LSB meeting, quoted here. Although the agenda item probably wasn't reached at that meeting, I believe that something along these lines was eventually approved -- but, there's a built-in problem with point-to-point communications like phone calls, because somebody must be authorized to receive or review the calls and somebody must presumably be authorized to respond. The LSB does not easily delegate any such authorities. Moreover, neither the LSB nor individual LSB Members have authority to assign tasks to station staff members, so there's going to be a problem in any attempt to insure that productive follow-up is accomplished unless there is also management involvement.

With respect to email communications, the KPFK LSB has not agreed on a policy. KPFK management has not pro-actively directed the KPFK webmaster to provide a website form to automatically send public comments to LSB members without their permission.

It is not clearly or easily found - by searching logically it was NOT found - so that again, are the LSB and other committees hiding behind lack of access from us sponsors?

Individual LSB members vary as to the level of public access they wish to allow via email, and some have only a single email address that they wish to remain private. It would be fairly simple for the station's mail administrator to provide a public email address for the LSB and for each LSB committee and to publish those addresses on the station's website. Individual members could then opt-out of inclusion on any such public mail forwarding list. For a short period, the LSB mail alias that the station maintains for official notices to LSB members was open to the public, but it was later closed to mail from unauthorized addresses, perhaps in response to individual LSB Member complaints.

Director Leslie Radford pushed for a policy on member communication in her first term as a Delegate, but no policy was finalized and adopted in that term.

Harrison Weil offered a simple resolution as a consent item in September, 2004. That's here, but I don't think anything came of it.

A comprehensive resolution that I drafted on this topic in June, 2005 can be found here. It was not adopted.

Separately, using mechanisms already established for paid and unpaid staff, the station has provided a webmail capability that would allow each LSB member to receive LSB-related email from members by logging into the website, but there have been login problems in testing, LSB members have not been trained in how to use the facility, and the assigned kpfk.org addresses have not been published.

Please respond or inform all those concerned about both these matters, that have been written about before with NO IMPROVEMENTS OR CHANGES to allow us in.

There is still no clear policy. One of the barriers to clear policy is the restriction on public and private communications among board members in the CPB Open Meeting provisions as interpreted by the California Attorney General. There is some indexing of that discussion here.

is this called transparency ? honesty ? representation ? free-speech locked out ?

There is no agreement on what the lack of a clear member communication policy is called, and this is only one of many areas still lacking clear policy. When governance spends much of its time arguing over issues around which there is board controversy, it has little time to find areas of agreement and to provide direction to or oversight of management.

the resulting ill-will, not good will engendered to KPFK, is one that breeds resentment, distrust, lack of funding desires, and an image of hypocrisy.Is this what is wanted and is this what the "visions" of the GM's at PNB said they would do ?

Local Station Boards are very limited in their ability to make or implement operational decisions, and General Managers have not generally provided much leadership in training local Delegates in how to be effective board members. In my opinion, the absence of understanding among members as to how much of the problem belongs to governance versus how much belongs to management in the context of the difficulty obtaining governance agreement or follow-through on anything argues for management devising and implementing solutions unilaterally in this area among others, subject to governance recommendations for policy amendment if problems subsequently arise.

Who is not doing oversight to all these LACK OF COMMUNICATIONS problems ?

Oversight is generally a governance function. There is still not much governance oversight within Pacifica.

or does the staff/station want to admit openly and State it On Air too that it is only a 1-way out station with no responsibility to it's sponsors/shareholders ?

Ideally, Pacifica's governance would provide mechanisms to identify and monitor each station's fulfillment of its responsibilities to members. Theoretically, it isn't management's job to arrange those mechanisms for governance absent governance instruction, due to the inherent conflict of interest. In Pacifica's case, absent adequate experience among governance members, more leadership from management is needed until a workable structure is established that can then be maintained with minimal revision.

Only when a provocative topic is put on by a programmer with listener calls incoming is there any response.

There are NO RESPONSES TO EMAILS, TO VOICE MAILS, TO LEFT MSGS with receptionists.

Some staffers respond to some email and voice mail messages sometimes, but this is probably rare. Voicemail to the KPFK Program Director has at times reached a quantity where it takes several hours a day just to listen to them. Without assistance to the PD, some voice messages may be deleted unheard. The KPFK news department gets a massive amount of email. When last reported upon, all email messages to that department were read, but few responded to. There's only so much time each day.

Many programmers are only at the station during their show's broadcast (if then), and these unpaid staff members will usually pick up their postal mail weekly or monthly, corresponding to their broadcast schedules. Volunteer programmers likely do a better job responding to listener input than paid staff, but there too the ability to respond diminishes as the volume of communication increases.

Lack of time to respond to listener inquiries and suggestions has been a chronic problem at most Pacifica stations due to overwork of staff and lack of clerical or administrative assistance to staff. With recent staffing cutbacks, this problem can only be expected to get worse. For a nonprofit community radio station to have the sort of public responsiveness and customer service that a normal business needs to survive, it must in my opinion employ the services of many volunteers. Pacifica stations in recent decades have not done a good job of recruiting, training, and trusting volunteers to handle the sensitive and frequently unrewarded function of public interface outside the limited role of answering phones in the pledge room during fund drives. KPFK programmers do sometimes bring in their own volunteers to answer the 818-985-5735 line during their broadcasts, even when no call-ins are intended for the broadcast. Sometimes that line will be answered by the programmer, if he or she is not on the air.

Is that a bunker to hide within from 'the public' you treasure and need to pay your salaries??

The paid staff has more work to do in keeping the station running and programming on the air than usually allows for daily communication with listeners. Station staff is often rushing about the building attempting to meet broadcast deadlines and/or doing work that requires their full focus and attention.

I don't think we'll see much improvement until the station brings on a crew of regular, daily volunteers who stay around long enough to learn what they need to know to do productive work, who are sufficiently discrete to be trusted with access to staff members' possibly private communications, and who are sufficiently responsible to communicate with members on the station's behalf. Capable assistants willing to work for free without the ego-gratification of airtime are difficult to recruit, and the broader culture encourages treating such support personnel as inferiors rather than as essential, which makes them very hard to keep unless the paid and senior staff is carefully trained in how to keep new and junior staff happy and respected.

--Terry Goodman,
KPFK Volunteer
former KPFK Staff Member
former KPFK Delegate

February 24, 2009 1:45 PM

Communication IN problems to KPFK well explained. See comment to posting Feb 2009 below.

Terry Goodman, "KPFK Volunteer former KPFK Staff Member former KPFK Delegate" wrote an excellent explanatory essay answering the questions and concerns about why KPFK is so hard to access, except as an on-air 1-way-out radio station.

Please read his helpful comments and share this vital honest information, as many have complained and been alienated from participating more fully with KPFK in many ways due to the lack of access to any staff with their valid concerns.

Programmers who do not respond are assumed to also be only "volunteers" and tho Terry does not speak to the issue that they may be also obtaining benefits from all the artists, speakers, organizations they "announce" and present, often programmers are not better in responding if there is no profit to be derived either.

Perhaps some of the hinderances to KPFK that Terry also notes and describes can be addressed by other KPFK listener-sponsor STAKEHOLDERS of this station...thru the Local Station Board, going their meetings, and some committees [ as a public comment person with time that is always briefly alotted for these attenders].

Or continue to try and try and try again to reach someone who is also "listening" back to what KPFK's customers want. To be heard when you are upset about some dysfunction or prejudices... or want something changed... or you want to be positive and make a suggestion.... and want to help improve your station.

Maybe hard-copy PO mail is the retro way to be noticed and be known as a contributor again.

Maybe there is no way, with the station's usual excuse of "no money" and "not enough staff" and "no time"..same old go-away-stories... and who has not be put off by that regular denial of access when you are those who pay for keeping this station alive ?

Thank you Terry for all your work in providing us all with this valuble insider hard-learned over time information. You state it as it sounds like it actually is, w/o giving the usual corporate [non-profits are too ] veneer of "we're ok so dont bother us any more". Thank you for telling us so much !