KPFA Press Conference — KPFA-FM Building on the Auction Block

KPFA-FM Building on the Auction Block

Press Conference: Wednesday, February 12 at noon

KPFA studio, 1929 MLK Jr. Way, Berkeley

KPFA Unpaid Property Tax Bill Hits $486,000;

Alameda Tax Collector Schedules Public Auction

Berkeley - KPFA-FM management has not paid property taxes to Alameda County for the last six years for the station's studio in Berkeley. As a result, the County Tax Collector’s office has announced its intention to seize the property for public auction.

Board members, staff and listeners are asking: Is this the result of incompetence or internal sabotage? The plan to turn KPFA into NPR-type programming was defeated in 1999, yet the rogue KPFA management has engineered a financial meltdown through deliberate fiscal mismanagement to force its hand once again. This has resulted in an imminent auction of the Berkeley building.

The engineered financial meltdown also explains why:
• There was a violent seizure of the WBAI studio in New York during a successful fund drive.
• There have been repeated failures to submit timely audits, causing a loss of CPB grants.


Tracy Rosenberg, former Treasurer of the Pacifica National Board warns that, “The situation is grave and serious. I hear the paternal ‘let management take care of it’, but that was tried and for seven years management did not take care of it. So the whole community needs to get KPFA out of this pickle.”


This same rogue management is attempting to substitute a new set of bylaws to take away the listener control won in 1999. KPFA Foundation incorporation papers secretly filed in 2013 by former Pacifica CEO’s Dan Siegel and Margy Wilkinson enable a bankruptcy judge to order the sale of the WBAI license and other station assets and operate KPFA under new anti-democratic bylaws. All 5 of Pacifica’s Local Station Boards overwhelmingly voted NO on the substitute bylaws.

In addition to financial mismanagement, Pacifica’s anti-war mission is under threat. KPFA was known for broadcasting often lone anti-war voices in the midst of “embedded” journalism and for stepping outside of the two-party political framework with in-depth analysis rarely found in mainstream media. Instead of following this unique and crucial tradition, KPFA has been regurgitating mainstream media arguments and management has canceled popular programs without due process: Guns and Butter, Twit Wit Radio, Discreet Music, WorkWeek.

But listeners are determined to keep KPFA true to its vision: In just a few weeks, over 500 people signed a petition to bring WorkWeek Radio back on the air, the ONLY labor show on KPFA.

Jack Heyman, retired member ILWU Local 10 told KPFA's General Manager, "The ILWU has been a supporter of KPFA from the beginning. Work Week is the ONLY KPFA program which has consistently covered the developing crisis at the Port of Oakland, a critical fight for the ILWU. Please reconsider this drastic cut at such a critical time."

As in Iowa, is what we see negligence or sabotage?

KPFA building up for auction?
Vote NO on the proposed substitute bylaws!
Protect corporate-free radio!

KPFA members will soon receive a ballot asking that you approve a set of undemocratic and dangerous bylaws. The rogue KPFA management pushing these bylaws has plans to overturn founder Lew Hill's vision by turning KPFA into NPR -- and they've also engineered a financial meltdown through deliberate fiscal mismanagement. This strategy has resulted in an imminent auction of the Berkeley building due to six years of unpaid property taxes.

It also explains why:
• there was a violent seizure of the WBAI studio in NY during a successful fund drive
• there have been repeated failures to submit timely audits, causing a loss of CPB grants

This same incompetent Rogue management is attempting to win our consent to abolish Pacifica Radio's existing bylaws by substituting a set of bylaws. Secret KPFA Foundation papers were filed in 2013 by former Pacifica CEO's Dan Siegel and Margy Wilkinson to enable a bankruptcy judge to order WBAI and other station assets sold for tens of millions of dollars, allowing KPFA to use the proceeds to pay down the debt and operate KPFA under substitute bylaws.

The substitute bylaws:
• Enable an unnamed self-selected board to accept corporate or major donor contributions, instead of listener support,
• eliminate community elected Local Station Boards and oversight,
• .eliminate staff representatives on the Pacifica National Board, and
• disenfranchise the 200+ affiliate stations.

This is exactly what we successfully defeated in 1999. Are we moving backwards?
All 5 of Pacifica's Local Station Boards overwhelming voted NO on the substitute bylaws.

In addition to financial mismanagement, Pacifica's anti-war mission is under threat by continually airing the fake opposition politics practiced by mainstream media and both major parties.

KPFA management has canceled popular programs without due process: CounterSpin, Twit Wit Radio, Guns and Butter, Work Week and Discrete Music, but recently played gavel to gavel coverage of what every corporate media outlet was covering. The listeners are being ignored, and the substitute bylaws would institutionalize us as being completely irrelevant.

VOTE NO on the substitute bylaws, and prevent the NPR model of corporate control, so KPFA can once again become the leading voice in opposition to endless wars!