Attending: Ruthanne Shpiner, Clay Leander, Adrienne Lauby, Tim Lynch, Steve Zeltzer, Adrienne Lauby
(notes)
General Discussion:
Good to have the Video Stream on KPFA website. Appreciation to Steve Zeltzer. Veolia Bus Company
Forum this week was excellent. Simulcast- 600 people on line during Pete Seeger. Great event. It
would be good to use this live streaming channel more.
Tim reports that the Grateful Dead Day looks to be raising $38,000. Hooray! The fund drive in general seems
to be doing okay.
Clay’s seen a marked difference in the visibility of work by UPSO at the station. He’s been glad to
see it somewhat unhooked from the factionalism of the local and national boards, and hopes we will
build on that.
TOPICS:
1. New Manager
2. Statement on Program Changes
3. Use of Production Studio
4. UPSO Council and Program Council Elections.
1. New Manager: In October the Local Station Board sent 4 names of candidates that they would
approve to the Executive Director of Pacifica. No response from the Exec. Dir., Summer Reese. Richard
Pirodsky is managing half time in L.A. now.
We agree to send letter to Summer asking for progress and indicating our desire to have a manager.
We’ll remind her of our resolution asking that management hold a monthly staff meeting. We will Cc:
New Pacifica National Board chair, Margy Wilkinson. Adrienne will draft
2. Statement on Program Changes. We will bring it into a meeting with the new manager.
Clay reports on his work on it at the December Local Station Board Meeting:
He read the statement into the record. There was a good deal of discussion around the program
changes. The unpaid staff statement helped with the context. Miguel Molina also spoke to the need
for Pacifica to expand their programming with diversity in mind. Richard Pirodsky, the interim
manager, presented his point of view. There were other statements, (one from music programmers?)
No silver bullet of an answer, but people are talking about the need to make changes. There was
also discussion of the Pacifica National Board’s Resolution requiring Program Councils at all stations.
Clay: It’s UPSO’s job, due to our by-laws, to elect Program Council representatives, so we are
ready to help with program changes.
3. Use of the Production Studio. Michael Yoshida has said that new producers who wish to use this
studio will have to ‘hang around a couple of years’ until we get to know them and they can be vetted
as accountable. As an alternative, producers can come in through the Apprenticeship program or
other programming groups. Adrienne objects strongly to this policy. It is too high a barrier for
new producers and keeps us from bringing new and exciting people and ideas to KPFA. She is working
with two people who currently have a problem using the studio. If she cannot help them, she’ll
bring it back next month.
4. UPSO Council and Program Council Elections.
Current Election Supervisors Committee: Shahram Aghamir, Adrienne Lauby, David Landau (Alternate)
-- We’ll start the election process this month.
-- We need a couple more members to staff the election supervisor committee. Adrienne is resigning
because she wants to run again. Anthony Fest will help some.
-- Electronic Balloting. The by-laws require mailed ballots. Adrienne will offer a by-law
amendment to allow electronic ballots in the next election. Discussion: It would be most secure if
it were an in-station system. The cost is compelling and there are vague objections for all the
usual reasons.
-- Tim and Adrienne plan to run again. Ann feels like it is too much work. Still time for people to change their minds.
We will send a notice to the unpaid staff announcing the elections, soliciting candidates, election
supervisors, and by-law amendments. It will set out a tentative time line.
Adrienne will draft.
Everyone will asked friends and colleagues to join the election supervisors committee and run for
the Council and Program Council.
Meeting adjourned with mutual appreciations in less than an hour.
