On Pacifica's KPFK January 29, 02, Carol Spooner was interviewed by Roy Tuchman, whose show is carried live from midnight to six AM four days a week. Tuchman made the point that a few weeks ago, he would have been "fired" or "taken off the air right away" for having Ms. Spooner as a guest on his program (which he has been airing on KPFK for about 25 years.)
Ms. Spooner was suffering from the flu and was scheduled to give a presentation with Helen Caldicott Tuesday night (012902). Yet, she wanted to get a chance to speak with the KPFK listeners and to air what's happening with the board.
For those of you who don't know her, she's a grandmother whose been listening to KPFA in Berkeley since she was a kid. A typical Pacifica fan, she became concerned with the fact the KPFA's programming was steadily deteriorating under the corrupt Board, which began about a decade ago. She founded the Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board, a national organization with contributors across the country, all five Pacifica stations, and people from Europe and south America -- over 10,000 people. Hardly a small group of disgruntled ex-progammers and wannabes the way people like Marc Cooper have falsely described them.
Ms. Spooner has a law degree and is currently the Secretary of the new Pacifica Board.
The following is based on Ms. Spooner's comments:
The lawsuit against the old Pacifica Board (actually there were four lawsuits) were brought by Pacifica listeners and the California State Attorney General, who has the oversight responsibility for nonprofit, public benefit corporations chartered in California, which Pacifica has been for over 50 years. The lawsuits claimed that the corrupt Pacifica Board was using Pacifica's nonprofit status to raise funds for purposes which were not part of the Pacifica charter.
For example, Texas station KPFT became the "sounds of texas," mostly country and western music. Texas really needs another country and western station. And, the Pacifica station in Washington, DC, became mostly a jazz station. Both stations had experience financial difficulties before these changes, and did much better financially as the equivalent of commercial radio. Both stations virtually eliminated all the news and public affairs, critical political analysis, programming -- shocking when one considers that the latter station is in our nation's capital. Not even a local news program was aired by the DC station.
These two stations were held up as the models for the new direction the old Pacifica Board was taking. The other stations were encouraged to emulate them. Attempts were made to impose this kind of formatting on the other three stations. Consequently, a large number of people of color were removed from positions at KPFK over the past few years. And at KPFA around 1995.
In Summer, 1999, the old Board determined to shut down and reprogram KPFA, Pacifica's mother station. The staff was locked out of the station for 23 days. KPFA was occupied by armed agents from IPFA, an international corporate security and intelligence gathering service according to its web site. For 23 days, IPFA armed security people were the only people allowed in KPFA. KPFA news people were not allowed in to remove their address books, and their files. IPFA staffers did close to 50 thousand dollars damage to the building during this period.
Pro KPFA demonstrators were arrested by security guards using "citizens arrest." A delegation of listeners and "local notables" a priest from the local catholic church; an 80 year old, afroAmerican member of the Berkeley city counsel, et al -- attempted to meet with then station manager Lynn Chadwick. Ms Chadwick's response was to claim she was being attacked by a group of racists.
Ms. Spooner then shifted her comments to Pacifica's finances. The officers and directors of the Pacifica Foundation were sued by the Committee to Remove the Pacifica Board. The officers and directors are covered by an insurance policy which is obligated to provide them with a legal defense at no expense to the Pacifica Foundation. Although this policy was available to them, they wanted additional legal representation. The first legal team was from Oakland and provided for by the insurance policy. Several months later, the old board decided to add the law firm of Epstein, Becker and Green. a director, John Murdock, was a partner in this firm. Interestingly, Epstein, Becker and Green has never been paid.
Although people like Marc Cooper mislead readers by falsely claiming that the expense of lawsuits have damaged Pacifica, the lawyers have never been paid to the tune of about 535, 000 dollars for Epstein, Becker and Green. And the Board had free legal services covered by the insurance policy which they decided wasn't enough to meet their needs.
Espy, Becker and Green specialize in two forms of law: union busting, helping employers maintain a union free environment; and represent and lobby for the health care industry, such as HMOs aiding them to deny people's claims, etc. A good firm to be identified with Pacifica Foundation, right?
Then about last August (2000), the then-executive director of Pacifica, Bessie Wash, fired both legal firms. http://wbaiaction.org/events/01-07-24ebgfired.html
They brought in two new firms, neither of which were covered by the free legal representation insurance policy at Foundation expense. They ran up another million dollars in legal fees. None of which was paid by the old Board.
One of the new firms was Williams and Connelly, who teamed with the high-priced PR firm Westhill Partners, which interestingly represented Monica Lewinsky. Westhill is equally unsavory. Their founder (now deceased) John Scanlon, headed the Tobacco Industry's Campaign to discredit the whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand, whose story was depicted in the recent films "The Insider." Westhill is acknowledged as the number to PR firm in "crisis management" in other words, dealing with clients involved in high profile scandals.
So, you have Cooper, et al, saying the Board spent all the Foundation's money on legal fees when if fact none of these fees have been paid. And not mentioning the money spend on PR firms, etc. The old Board's action in hiring two different legal firms in addition to the firm provided free by the insurance policy was a terrible waste of the Foundation's resources.
Does this make sense to anyone?
The new Board members always assumed the Pacifica Foundation was run into the red by attorney's bills. But the old Board ran through Pacifica's reserves, KPFK's reserves, KPFA's reserves, all the operating money raised by donations from listeners, etc., without paying a cent for legal fees all of which remain outstanding bills. The new Board has no idea what the old Board spend this money on!
An accounting firm, paid for by a generous grant to Pacifica, is spending two full weeks trying to find out where the Pacifica Foundation money went.
Ms. Spooner said, "we don't know were all the money has gone." The new Board expects the accountant's report by the end of this month.
The old Board closed the books to Pacifica radio stations, et al, around ten years ago. These books are required by law to always be open!
the interview continued . . . .
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