KPFT Notes

Last week, students from the University of Houston’s Upward Bound program visited KPFT to learn about radio. Upward Bound is a program aimed at welcoming high school students to campus to experience college life before graduating high school. Here are a few shots from that visit. Thanks to Willie Kelly at Upward Bound for his work and to Eric Truong and the KPFT youth program, which coordinated the visit.

In the music library.

Madison from the youth program (right) coaches students through a first PSA.

At the board.

Final editing.

As of August 1, Open Journal, KPFT’s experiment in community-inspired radio, will undergo a number of important changes. These changes are being undertaken in the interests of making a more accessible, more dynamic program.Open Journal is the only radio program of its kind in Houston and, very likely, anywhere else. It permits the public an opportunity to host live programming on the air at no cost. The programming that appears on Open Journal is eclectic; we’ve featured music, call-ins and more. At times, it’s been controversial. But Open Journal is one of the reasons why KPFT is such a powerful radio station in the state of Texas.

Over the last two years, Open Journal’s schedule has developed a backlog of eight weeks or more. We average about 12 of our 20 available Open Journal days per month with ‘regular’ shows that appear monthly. While helpful in some respects, this has limited community access, which was Open Journal’s intention all along.

To deal with this issue, several changes will take place.

The number of ‘regular’ Open Journal programs will be cut drastically. More topical programming will take the place of our ‘regular’ Open Journals. Some of the Open Journals you now hear monthly may appear instead as half-hour monthly, bimonthly or quarterly programs. The programs you will likely continue to hear each month include some of our most popular Open Journal programs: Return to Nature, the Christmas Coup Comedy Players, the Hep C Show, Religious Voices for Peace and Justice and a newer program, Her Sex, Her Health with Dr. Alexandra Simotas.

On the official front, the Program Director’s Report will be merged with the General Manager’s Report to become the KPFT Report to the Community, freeing up one day of Open Journal, while the Local Station Board Report leaves Open Journal in favor of monthly evening preemptions; this change will allow more board members an opportunity to speak with listeners.

More changes are in store. Your feedback on Open Journals you want to hear regularly or don’t like as much is most certainly appreciated. Please email me your feedback at pd@kpft.org. Thank you!

PROPOSED PACIFICA BY-LAWS AMENDMENT ALLOWING FOR A SECOND AT-LARGE MEMBER OF THE PACIFICA NATIONAL BOARD

/Proposed by 6 Directors of the Pacifica National Board:/

* Teresa Allen, KPFT listener director
* Lydia Brazon, KPFK listener director
* Lisa Davis, WBAI listener director
* Bob Lederer, WBAI staff director
* Rob Robinson, WPFW listener director
* Don White, KPFK listener director

/Article 5, Section 1C shall be amended to read as follows:/

There shall be a minimum of twenty-two (22) and a maximum of twenty-four (24) Directors of the Foundation. The Board of Directors shall fix by resolution, from time to time, the exact number of Directors within the minimum and maximum numbers permitted herein. The Board shall have equal representation from each of the Foundation’s five radio stations. The Delegates from the five Foundation radio stations shall each elect four (4) Directors: three (3) of whom shall be Listener-Sponsor Delegates and one (1) of whom shall be a Staff Delegate – for a total of twenty (20) “Station Representative” Directors, as set forth in Section 3 of this Article of the Bylaws. In addition, the Board shall elect two (2) “Affiliate Representative” Directors from nominees submitted as set forth in Section 4 of this Article of the Bylaws. If the Board, by resolution, fixes the number of Directors at 23 or 24, then one or two additional Director(s) respectively shall be nominated and elected as “At-large” Director(s) as set forth in Section 5 of this article of the Bylaws.

/Article 5, Section 5 shall be amended to read as follows: /

SECTION 5. NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF AT-LARGE DIRECTORS

*A. NOMINATION*

In the event that the board resolves that there shall be twenty-three (23) or twenty-four (24) Foundation Directors, then there shall be one (1) or two (2) “At-Large” Directors, respectively, elected each year. Candidates for election as an “At-Large” Director shall be nominated by majority vote of the Delegates from a minimum of three (3) radio stations, with the Delegates from each station area voting separately by station area. Nominations shall be submitted in writing to the Foundation Secretary together with the nominee’s resume and a statement of his/her interest in serving as a Director of the Foundation by a date set by Board resolution. The Foundation Secretary shall forward to all Directors all materials submitted supporting each nominee not later than fourteen (14) days after the date set by the Board.

*B. ELECTION*

At the next Board meeting following the submission of nomination materials to the Board, but no sooner than seven (7) days after said submission, the Directors present and voting (excluding any then current Affiliate Representative or At-Large Directors from the vote) shall elect one (1) or two (2) At-Large Director(s), depending on the number previously authorized by the Board, from the nominees submitted by the Delegates. If the election is for one At-Large Director, it shall use the Instant Runoff voting method. If the election is for two At-Large Directors, it shall use the Single Transferable Voting method. The At-Large Director shall serve for a one-year term, which shall commence immediately upon his/her election.

***********************

CURRENT TEXT OF BYLAWS:

/Article 5, Section 1C: /

There shall be a minimum of twenty-two (22) and a maximum for twenty-three (23) Directors of the Foundation. The Board of Directors shall fix by resolution, from time to time, the exact number of Directors within the minimum and maximum numbers permitted herein. The Board shall have equal representation from each of the Foundation’s five radio stations. The Delegates from the five Foundation radio stations shall each elect four (4) Directors : three (3) of whom shall be Listener-Sponsor Delegates and one (1) of whom shall be a Staff Delegate — for a total of twenty (20) “Station Representative” Directors, as set forth in Section 3 of this Article of the Bylaws. In addition, the Board shall elect two (2) “Affiliate Representative” Directors from nominees submitted as set forth in Section 4 of this Article of the Bylaws. If the Board, by resolution, fixes the number of Directors at 23, then one additional Director shall be nominated and elected as an “At-large” Director as set forth in Section 5 of this Article of the Bylaws.

/Article 5, Section 5: /

SECTION 5. NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF AT-LARGE DIRECTOR

*A. NOMINATION *

In the event that the Board resolves that there shall be twenty three (23) Foundation Directors (the maximum number of Directors permitted under these bylaws) then there shall be one “At-Large” Director elected each year. Candidates for election as an “At-Large” Director shall be nominated by majority vote of the Delegates from a minimum of three radio stations, with the Delegates from each station voting separately by station area. Nominations shall close on February 15th each year and shall be submitted in writing by that date to the Foundation Secretary together the nominee’s resume and a statement of his/her interest in serving as a Director of the Foundation. The Foundation Secretary shall forward to all Directors all materials submitted supporting each nominee not later than March 1st.

*B. ELECTION*

As the second order of business at the Board meeting in March each year in which an At-large director is to be elected, the Directors present and voting (excluding any then current Affiliate Representative or At-Large Directors from the vote) shall elect one (1) At-Large Director from the nominees submitted by the Delegates, using the Instant Runoff Voting method. The At-Large Director shall serve for a one year term which shall commence immediately upon his/her election.

The following jobs openings have been posted at www.ncra.ca.

PROJECTS CO-ORDINATOR
CKXU 88.3 FM
Location: Lethbridge, AB
Closing Date: 29 June, 2006

You can view the complete posting at:
http://www.ncra.ca/business/JobPostings/dspJobPostingsDetail.cfm?ID=43133
Posted: 22 June, 2006

SPOKEN WORD COORDINATOR
CHRY Radio
Location: Toronto, ON
Closing Date: 7 July, 2006

You can view the complete posting at:
http://www.ncra.ca/business/JobPostings/dspJobPostingsDetail.cfm?ID=42845
Posted: 14 June, 2006

PROGRAM DIRECTOR
CFMH 92.5 FM inc.
Location: Saint John, NB
Closing Date: 14 July, 2006

You can view the complete posting at:
http://www.ncra.ca/business/JobPostings/dspJobPostingsDetail.cfm?ID=42868
Posted: 16 June, 2006

STATION MANAGER
88.5 CIVL Radio
Location: Abbotsford, BC
Closing Date: 28 July, 2006

You can view the complete posting at:
http://www.ncra.ca/business/JobPostings/dspJobPostingsDetail.cfm?ID=43099

Statement of Prometheus Radio Project on the Resumption of the Media Ownership Proceeding

In June of 2004, Prometheus Radio Project won its lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission, when the FCC attempted to deregulate corporate media ownership in the United States.

"Prometheus Radio Project is a grassroots organization that helps small neighborhood groups to start radio stations. Many of these people became so frustrated with the ham-fisted powermongering of the media owners that they decided that they needed to build their own media institutions.  On the lunch line in grade school, we all learned that everyone should get "firsts" before anyone gets "seconds." And yet these corporations want to gobble up hundreds of channels, while neighborhood groups who want to start radio stations are told there is nothing left for them. We are told we should be satisfied to put up flyers on the street corner, or, at best, take snapshots for a MySpace page.

Prometheus is building a station this summer with the Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) — a group that turned to community radio when they experienced censorship first hand. This farmworker labor union, PCUN, used to buy time for a weekly show on a local AM station for $250 an hour.  But when the owner of the strawberry fields learned that PCUN was using its show to organize for workers' rights, he persuaded the radio station to cancel their contract with PCUN. Now, fifteen voiceless years later, PCUN is launching a low power station in Woodburn, Oregon on August 20th.

We sued the FCC over the media ownership rules in 2004 because people we know have experienced first hand the inordinate media influence of powerful economic interests. Our lawsuit proved that Michael Powell's proposed rules were empirically indefensible, and the court ordered the FCC to take a step back and listen to the public before tampering with protections upon which Americans have long relied.  We hope that Chairman Kevin Martin will:

1) Consider all the proposed ownership rule changes as a single interrelated proceeding so their cumulative impact can be considered rationally

2) Allow substantial public input through hearing and comments, and not rush the process.

3) Pledge that for every hour he has spent listening to industry arguments, he will get outside the beltway and listen to ordinary Americans just as much.

Our hundreds of low power stations are mostly volunteer operations where hundreds of local people at each station, pouring their good intentions and their time into doing something good for their communities. As their representatives, it was terrifying for us to challenge the FCC on rules that the former Chairman wanted so badly: with one stroke of a pen, an angry FCC Chairman can make choices that destroy the hopes and dreams of the people that are making low power radio happen in their communities. In fact, there is a proceeding sitting before the FCC right now where even through mere inaction, the FCC can suffocate the future of LPFM. While those potential stations waited five years or more for the commission to give them access to their own airwaves, they watched their potential frequencies get given away to those who already dominate every market. Even though it puts the tiny 100 watt slice of the media pie that we have won in jeopardy, low power FMs feel that the fate of the American media is too important to leave it in the hands of a gaggle of corporations. When the rules are reworked this time, let's do it the right way.

Alternative Press Review is one of those publications that simply defies description. It helped define a genre for which magazines like Utne Reader profit handsomely from, though one could persuasively argue that it has often been inconsistent, whiny and tends to be a vehicle of its editors (whose all-male crew most certainly make liberal use of getting the last word in a debate). Whatever you may think, APR brings an astounding mix of stuff, and its site is well worth checking out.

I wanted to focus my comments on this quarter’s issue, but would highly encourage you to check out its back issues. This month’s edition features some fabulous articles worth commenting on.

“Mbanna Kantako: Human Rights Radio Warrior” is an exhaustive chat with the pirate radio pioneer. “I used to call myself the deprogramming director, cause that’s what we’re doing; we’re trying to deprogram ourselves and our people,” Kantako says. “They’re still demanding of our people that they answer to bells and whistles and liars, and we try to tell them that we don’t got to.” A very powerful read.

Also featured is an interview with John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down : The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. For those who’ve had questions about the nature of education, Gatto, an award-winning New York teacher before he quit in disgust, reveals a sharp analysis. From school bells to standardized tests, Gatto theorizes that compulsory education is aimed at social control.

But perhaps the most provocative article is Jennifer Whitney’s “Make Media Make Real Trouble: What’s Wrong (and Right) With Indymedia,” a deconstruction of the Independent Media Center phenomenon and critique of its failures as a community resource. Originally published in LiP magazine, Whitney does an imperfect job of reviewing Indymedia, but it’s a great start.

Couple the fantastic articles with a comprehensive review of the alternative and radical press, and it’s easy to see why APR is in a class of its own.

Amid sharp partisan differences, federal regulators on Wednesday commenced a sweeping review of rules that limit corporations' ownership of broadcast stations and newspapers.Acting for the first time since a federal court rejected previous rules, the Federal Communications Commission requested comments on local ownership limits for radio and TV, on the ban on daily newspapers owning nearby broadcast stations, and on other issues.

The last time the FCC considered such matters it encountered a firestorm, with 3 million public comments and two votes by the U.S. Senate to reverse its 2003 decision to loosen the rules. In 2004 a federal appeals court rejected the rules and sent them back to the agency.

On Wednesday, agency Democrats said the FCC should promise substantive studies and public hearings, and should reveal its proposed new rules for public comment before voting on them.

Democrats also warned against splitting parts of the rules off for separate votes-–a fate some speculate may lie in store for the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban, which has been singled out for criticism by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican.

“The manner in which the commission is launching this critical proceeding is totally inadequate,” said Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, a Democrat. “The large media companies wanted, and they get, a blank check to permit further media consolidation.”

Martin said the proceeding was designed to be “neutral and evenhanded.”

“It could be my dissenting colleagues who are rushing to judgment today,” Martin said. “I think they want to grade our performance and give us an “F” but it’s only the first day of class.”

Martin promised “a half-dozen” public hearings and studies on topics including how the public gets its news, competition, and recent marketplace changes.

All three agency Republicans voted to begin the proceeding; both Democrats approved in part and dissented in part.

The meeting was the first with three Republicans since Martin moved up to become chairman early last year. An attempt to begin the media ownership proceeding last year ended in partisan deadlock, over many of the same issues discussed Wednesday.

As usual, the agency set no date for a vote. It established a comment cycle that runs for 120 days, or at least into late October. But the promised studies and hearings could carry beyond that. Some agency officials do not expect a vote until next year.

National TV ownership limits are not at issue, since Congress set them amid the controversy over the 2003 rules.

The agency earlier backed away from voting on forcing cable operators to carry all of each broadcasters’ multiple digital programs, saying it could not form a consensus.

Source: MediaWeek, June 21, 2006

KPFT hosts the University of Houston’s Upward Bound program today in the building. About 25 students will join us to learn about radio. Tune in today for students’ work with us!

Many programmers have requested Audacity trainings and other learning opportunities. So, July is "KPFT Training Month: Programmer Toolbox." Every Monday and Wednesday at noon, Luke Jones (who many of you know as KPFT’s youth reporter and voice behind many a station announcement) hosts training workshops on anything you wish to learn. Luke’s sessions are aimed at being 1-3-person sessions. He will tailor these sessions to exactly what you’re interested in, answer your questions and help you learn in a relaxed environment where no question is silly.

Items Luke will be training programmers on include:

Audacity
Vegas (though soon to be gone)
Wireready: loading shows/PSAs
The soundboard
Mic techniques
Clocking programs

Most of you have heard of Luke and are aware he’s very young. Many may not know he’s logged over 600 volunteer hours at KPFT in a year doing a diverse range of programming, teaching and peer education. He’s one of the best trainers we have, and you will learn a great deal from him.

As an added incentive, the programmer who participates in the most training during the month of July will receive a $25 AmEx gift card and other goodies. Runners up will receive other fun stuff.

Please sign up for training in July with Eric Truong at eric@kpft.org or by calling him on the business line (713-526-4000). Let him know what day you want to come and what you want to learn. Luke will base each class on your requests and develop each session individually. As the one who conducted last summer’s trainings, I can tell you I think Luke’s is far superior in its planning and strategy, and it’s well worth your time.

Monday, June 19: National Call-In Day to Renew the Voting Rights ActTake Action!
Plan to Call House Leaders ( Hastert and Boehner) and Your Representative Toll-Free (1- 866-808-0065) on Monday, June 19th to Urge Passage of H.R. 9, a Bipartisan Bill to Renew and Restore the Voting Rights Act

Monday, June 19: National Call-In Day to Renew the Voting Rights Act

Plan to Call House Leaders and Your Representative (Hastert and Boehner) Toll-Free (1- 866-808-0065) on Monday, June 19th to Urge Passage of H.R. 9, a Bipartisan Bill to Renew and Restore the Voting Rights Act

Last month, congressional leaders introduced a bipartisan bill to renew and restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). The bill, The Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 (H.R. 9 / S. 2703) is critical to ensuring that the VRA continues to work effectively to combat discrimination and that the gains that have been achieved for minority voters are not rolled back. In Congress and around the country, there is a building momentum to renew and restore the VRA.

While the House bill (H.R. 9) enjoys the support of more than 150 Republicans and Democrats and was approved by the House Judiciary Committee with overwhelming support (33-1), there is a small, yet vocal handful of representatives who have tried to delay or thwart renewal of this cornerstone civil rights law.

House leaders, including Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), have been important allies in the effort to renew and restore the Voting Rights Act and have indicated that they intend to bring H.R. 9 to the floor next week. But they need to hear from you about the importance of bringing the Voting Rights Act bill to the floor and ensuring that it passes without amendment.

On Monday, join civil rights activists from around the country in making a toll-free call (1- 866-808-0065) to Reps. Hastert and Boehner. Urge them to use their leadership positions to bring H.R. 9 to the floor “as-is” and to ensure that H.R. 9 passes without amendment. Then use the same toll-free number to call your representative and urge him/her to fully support H.R. 9.

Please forward this alert to others and encourage them to set aside a few minutes on Monday to make their three toll-free calls as well!

Visit www.RenewtheVRA.org for more information about H.R. 9/S. 2703 and the Voting Rights Act.