KPFT Notes

Many apologies for the lack of Newsmongrel and blog updates. The last ten days have been amazingly hectic. Schedule begins tonight. Please check it out. There are likely to be small tweaks over the next few days, however.

http://www.kpft.org/newschedule.htm
http://www.kpft.org/new_schedule.pdf [in case formatting is bad]

I believe Christiane will be prettifying (I don’t think that’s a word!) the schedule for this weekend. I hope to get her new show descriptions this weekend.

These changes are being conducted in lieu of the Program Council. Management is committed to working with the Council, and looks forward to seeing this body functional. Changes are being made now in recognition that such entities are not formed overnight, and that this committee will be tasked with building and refining a multitude of processes and guidelines for proper management of KPFT. Currently, the station remains in a relatively healthy financial position; potential challenges are in the distance, though, and our effort is to make refinements now, and then endeavor to work with the Council as the need for more change arises.

This schedule represents a series of changes that were not as ambitious as we had originally envisioned, but give listeners an opportunity to see some gains with new offerings and new structuring that encourage their support. Management anticipates working in concert with the Program Council to make more significant changes in the coming months.

[On a personal note, I was a member of/secretary for the Program Steering Committee two years ago. We dissolved our committee after doing lots of work that was ignored by a previous PD, so I can tell you I am very excited about getting to work with a similar body and being the responsive person I, as a PSC member, never got. Seeing this kind of entity is a great development for me to witness.]

In all honesty, the amount of work this has taken reminds me how simple the old-school method of issuing a program schedule and letting the chips fall where they may could be. However, that method can also suck. Meetings, calls and emails back and forth with programmers has been time consuming; wrangling with personal schedules and dealing with a shifting program schedule (and the sometimes maddening here-today, gone-ten-minutes-later nature of accepting new spots, then other spots opening) has also been daunting. I am sorry to everyone who might be irritated by how things worked, offers changing from one day to the next, needs shifting, etc. The reality of this situation is that, in order to put together 168 hours of volunteer-run radio, lots of people need to be consulted with, often all at once, and the schedule gets completed in a rapid, jumpy way. Despite that, my commitment to programmers has been to communicate to you how we can make this system effective. Right now, I agree it needs lots of work, because it’s being created as we go along. No personal slight is intended in the process, and I hope to make amends with anyone who feels upset. I am still very committed to creating a better system with you.

The most controversial changes (among board members; programmers were outspoken on this a few weeks back) thus far have been to switch Democracy Now! to 6 p.m. and moving local programming to 7 p.m. and shifting Flashpoints back later in the evening. One of our board members has since promised a “war” over programming, some board members and programmers have pledged to join in. Though I certainly respect people’s opinions on programming, and encourage programmers to work with management and appropriate bodies to see their concerns are addressed (or at least agree to disagree and stay united in station growth), I do want to remind folks that we have equally important issues facing us from the outside.

Harris County tax officials are challenging KPFT’s exempt status and seek to levy $11,000 in taxes on the station. Board member and attorney Mike Martin, Duane Bradley and our business manager will appeal this decision, but our overall service to the city of Houston is being called into question. Issues like how much work we do with area nonprofits, the services our programs provide to residents and more are being discussed as Harris County looks at whether KPFT is truly a nonprofit. Our license renewal is coming up, and I expect there will be challenges to it, no doubt stoked by conservatives emboldened by FCC decisions against ‘indecency.’ Our internal debates are important, to loosely paraphrase one board member, when we start to threaten and attack one another over our differences, we only succeed at tearing down the station and shifting our energy to each other, rather than our service to the community.

The hall computer is now designated as a Programmer Computer. There is also a Programmer Printer set up there. Those of you doing shows who need a machine to complete your last-minute printing and preparation are encouraged to use it. It’s marked to have priority for programmers and you are welcome to use it (and nudge those who may not have as urgent a need) for your work. Thanks to Anelle, Mr. Urbach and others for this great suggestion.

On a related topic, you, as a programmer working on shows, are within your rights to ask people who are not working on station-related business (i.e. surfing the web, printing personal materials, etc.) what they’re doing and, if you need a workstation, to vacate machines they’re clearly using for personal reasons. Of late, I have received a number of complaints from programmers about individuals “camping out” on computers for what appear to be purely non-programming activities. In some cases, complaintants have pointed out, the individuals aren’t doing programming and seem to only be at KPFT to use the Internet or hang out.

Though I don’t want to discourage people’s love for the building, you, as programmers, have my support in being vigilant about use of our resources. Every sheet of paper we use to print materials; the computers and the time/effort it takes to repair and upgrade them; and the bandwidth people use at KPFT represents listener dollars. Listeners trust us to use their money in the wisest, most effective way we can, and use of those resources for anything other than what listeners intended should be brought to me. By pointing this out, I stress the programmer who needs to check email for show stuff or even upload their program to their website is NOT the problem. I know our programmers are doing a wonderful job.

Signage is posted around computer areas to explain issues. If you have concerns about things you’ve seen, please let me know.

I’ll be adding this to the ‘mongrel this week, but the signs are already posted in the building. Please, as a matter of liability, do not use or bring illegal drugs onto KPFT property, ever. Violating the law in this manner on KPFT property is grounds for removal. I’m not saying it has happened, but strongly advise programmers to address this accordingly. KPFT has already had disputes with neighbors, on issues from noise to parking, and it only takes one person being spotted on station property (even the backyard or side of the building, for example) using illegal drugs to get a courtesy call from a “friendly” neighbor to the police.

Asking people to not engage in such behavior on property is not a statement on people’s personal choices, but the risks it creates for KPFT and its volunteers. Please be aware of this problem and help us address this in a positive but firm way. Thanks.

This will appear in the next Newsmongrel, but it’s a clarification to early readers:

After last week’s note on commercialism, I had a lot of great discussions with many of you on the issue. Thanks for the ideas and feedback. I needed to issue a clarification as well as an apology.

First, I’m very sorry if I put a scare into anyone. This is one of our most gray areas as far as KPFT and nonprofit law, and I know most of you have never received any substantive feedback on this topic. No one in particular is in danger. It’s just something we need to start thinking hard about.

Second, I needed to clarify the line begins and ends at money the programmer may take in as a result of an announcement or guest. Other than that, it’s good to avoid gratuitous shilling for products, goods or services (i.e. passionate guests going a little overboard in mentioning their websites; guests asking for listeners to call them personally, as opposed to answering questions on the air; etc.). Bands can still mention websites and shows. You can still read off your calendar of events (though you should also send yours to the Blueshound too: blueshound@houston.rr.com). Guests can still discuss the work they’re doing (but please reign them in a bit if it begins to sound too commercial). My encouragement is that hosts consider how to approach these things creatively so an interview doesn’t become a long ad. But you’re mostly still okay doing your usual great stuff.

Third, the money issue should be cleared up too. If you’re a programmer and promote on the air an event, product or service you’re involved in in which you personally or another entity you may be involved with, which is not a 501(c)3, will accept money, give me a call and let’s discuss. Although I’m still looking into nonprofit law to see where this falls, it’s potentially a conflict of interest that can be raised as a concern. How much is made, where the proceeds end up and such are not as important as the appearance of a conflict, and should be resolved. I’d much rather you brought it to my attention than a listener or disgruntled party doing so. This is merely the start of a conversation we should be having regularly. I am genuinely happy with the feedback, critiques, etc., and want to learn all I can from you.