UNIONPACIFICA

TAKEBACK 2: Freeland vs. Bradley et al.

Pacifica's trial of the 20th century, notwithstanding its vital legal efforts in defense of free speech in broadcasting, was surely the combined listeners', LSB and dissident PNB's members' combined lawsuit which was variously termed the "takeback" effort against the "hijacking" PNB members who had become a self-appointing autocracy little concerned with the fulfillment of Pacifica's mission. Unfortunately, the legal settlement which resulted from this takeback effort , while it did force the Foundation to accept a set of recognizable and legally enforceable bylaws, did not assure that these bylaws, providing for democratic governance of the Foundation, would be honored, nor did these bylaws provide for the internal resolution of conflicts between the actions of Pacifica's subsequent management and the clear intent of the bylaws. While the virtual banning of an elected member of the WPFW LSB for most of his three year term in New York on political grounds was the first shot fired across the bow by entrenched staff and the LSB members in league with them , the situation at the KPFT LSB in Houston has actually surpassed this in the treatment accorded elected LSB member Ken Freeland, who is now literally banned from the grounds of KPFT radio station by its general manager Duane Bradley, whom Freeland's campaign platform called for the replacement of. Prior to this, there was an unsuccessful attempt to illegally remove him from the LSB, a succcessful attempt to illegally suspend him from the LSB, an unsucccessful attempt to float a petition to have him removed by listeners, a succesful attempt to illegally remove him from the PNB. Most of this in the wake of his open opposition to KPFT management which savaged the progresssive news programming at KPFT and replaced it with fluff programming in May 2005.

If you are unfamiliar with history of the corruption of the recent LSB elections at KPFT and KPFA, you are encouraged to read the accounts immediately below before reading about the current state of the litigation.

If you are unfamiliar with the original absurd claim by National Elections Supervisor Radke that Freeland had committed an "assault" against local elections supervisor Tucker Bradley, and the eyewitness accounts debunking this, you are encouraged to read the historical account of that defamation which also follows below.

Abuses of authority and other subversions of the principle of democratic governance, including irregularities in various STV elections in Pacifica governance, have occurred on a number of occasions. Efforts to obtain internal redress for these abuses have been unavailing (note below all the documentation provided to the PNB meeting in January that fell on deaf ears). Pacifica has come full circle since the "takeback," and some of those who formerly joined us in the trenches are now fighting from the other side of the barricades to prevent authentic, unfettered democratic governance of this peace and justice radio Network Thus, the current litigation, Freeland vs. Bradley et al, represents the first effort to legally restore the rights to democratic governance supposedly won during the legal settlement at the turn of the millennium , to test whether these rights are really secured by law, or whether entrenched management and programmers, in collusion with some in elected governance that care little for democratic rights or due process, will be able to aggrandize the result to institute a New Pacifica Order, which will tyrannize over minority voices no less than the "Hijackers"did at the end of the last century. It represents a continuation of the "takeback" struggle against the neo-reactionaries who have gained control throughout much of Pacifica, and the sorry nature of much of our radio programming is the most obvious manifestation. In the is regard, Freeland vs. Bradley et al. is the Pacifica trial of this century thus far. Information on how you can help support this costly but necessary legal effort will be provided at the end of the trial update.

If you would like to find out the latest in the Freeland vs. Bradley lawsuit, click here to go to FREELAND vs. BRADLEY UPDATE.

Response To Pacifica Elections Violations and Response To National elections supervisor and KPFA Local elections supervisor Reports (click here)

Information contained in documentation provided the PNB regarding the corruption of KPFT LSB 2006 elections (click here)

17 oct 2006 NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH! 17 oct 2006 NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH! 17 oct 2006

Here is a statement by candidate Wesley Bethune, who was present during the exchange between candidate Freeland and local elections supervisor Bradley.

Here is a statement by candidate Don Cook who was present during the exchange between candidate Freeland and local elections supervisor Bradley.

If you have any lingering doubts that the KPFT LSB elections have had their integrity violated by the very supervisors whose job it is to insure that integrity, those doubts will be dispelled by the time you finish reading the above-linked documentation!

What is UnionPacifica? It is a fledgling movement dedicated to the proposition that the "takeback" movement of the late 90's, which culminated in the vaunted legal settlement resulting in today's supposedly democratically governed Pacifica, failed in its effort to restore the Pacifica network to its educational/journalistic mission, and has resulted in the corruption of the network on all levels by entrenched bureacrats, managers and programmers, together with a few outside "special interests" who have a vested interest in preventing the genuine fulfilment of Pacifica's mission. This website is intended to serve as a vehicle for the documentation of that corruption, and as a forum for discussing solutions to these problems. As it is being constructed by volunteer effort, it may take some time before the necessary technical resources are included to make all this possible. In the meantime, welcome!!

The initial focus of this website will be KPFT, but this is only because the current contributors to this website live in the Houston area. It is hoped that in time the concerns of mission loyalists from all Pacifica's signal areas will be well represented here.

This website was initially launched to coincide with the action by KPFT activists at the Amy Goodman event in Houston on 13 August 2006. It is as good a departure point as any, as the flyer distributed there by activists provides a brief summary of the urgent programming issues affecting KPFT. The text of that flyer is copied below, and is also reproduced at the PacificaUnion's blog site, where your constructive feedback is welcome! You are also encouraged to read LSB member Ted Weisgal's minority report to the Pacifica National Board on the subject of Management Review. (KPFT's LSB has not evaluated management in two years, though and annual review is mandated by Pacifica's bylaws. We will do a comprehensive report on this particular issue soon.)

Perhaps the most telling sign of the pervasive corruption at KPFT is the unfolding scandal of the 2006 LSB elections process. It is reported that at least one candidate regarded as a friend of KPFT's unaccountable management has been accorded deferential treatment in his campaign efforts by both KPFT management and the Local Elections Supervisor, whereas several candidates known to be critical of this same management have experienced treatment by the Local Elections Supervisor that some might consider harassment. You be the judge! We are developing a special section of this website to document these alleged abuses, including the most recent and blatant of them all: the Local Elections Supervisor's denial of one management-critical candidate's right to participate in the on-air candidate forums: KPFT LSB Electoral Follies 2006

1990's: KPFT General Manager Garland Ganter implements the "Healthy Station Project" by removing all daytime news and public affairs programs from our airwaves..

2000's: Soon after a national struggle by progressive activists to "take back" Pacifica, Duane Bradley is appointed KPFT General Manager. When asked, he gives lip service to local takeback activists' goal of broadcasting Democracy Now! during morning drive time (so that more people can hear it), but never acts on it. Instead, he terminates Program Director Otis Hardy Maclay after Maclay follows his statement that it's a "no brainer" that Democracy Now! should be broadcast at 7:00 am with a memo to programming staff to begin airing it at that time.

March 2005: To avert public outcry and preclude protest at the Amy Goodman fundraiser scheduled soon thereafter, Bradley preemptively schedules Democracy Now! at 7:00 am himself. During Amy's appearance at the River Oaks Theater, her question to her audience about how KPFT listeners liked the new morning drivetime scheduling of Democracy Now! generates such enthusiastic response that it could be heard out in the street. But just three weeks later the show is pulled from its morning drivetime slot!

May 1 (Mayday!) 2005: Duane Bradley and Ernesto Aguilar (appointed as “interim” Program Director by Bradley without any consultation with the Local Station Board) purge the remaining national news and affairs programming from drivetime: Counterspin (now off the air), Women's Independent News Service (WINS) (now off the air), Maria Gilardin's TUC Radio (now on 1:30 pm Friday), Making Contact (now off the air), David Barsamian's Alternative Radio (now on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm), Free Speech Radio News (moved to a mid-afternoon spot, then, under pressure, finally returned to drive time); and last but by no means least, the show that served as evening national news anchor for KPFT while so effectively building KPFT membership among the Middle East communities of Houston, Dennis Bernstein's Flashpoints, was without explanation banished from its prime evening (live) spot of 7:00 pm to the unlistenable (for most working people) hour of 11:00 pm, with its bilingual Friday broadcast cancelled entirely. Recently it was announced that Bradley/Aguilar are planning to remove the show entirely... now, when the situation in the Middle East has heightened the need for the reportage of Flashpoints correspondents who report live from Iraq and Palestine... now this program is to be taken off the air, just as was Jeff Blankfort's highly informative, Middle East-focused, Takes on the World, yet another victim of Bradley/Aguilar's Mayday programming coup

The listeners of KPFT, were never consulted about any of this, nor were their representatives on the LSB (though few have protested). It’s still a no-brainer today: Democracy Now! and Flashpoints need to be broadcast at their live broadcast times of 7:00 am and 7:00 pm respectively, when working people can hear them. KPFT desperately needs new management! The KPFT LSB, half of whose members will be elected this November, needs listener members who take the educational mission of Pacifica seriously. Please use your vote this Fall to support only candidates who will agree to new management for our station. Please check out the voting records of any incumbents who ask for your vote. Whether Duane Bradley likes it or not, KPFT is OUR radio station. With good management and governance, KPFT could once again become the precious community resource that has made such an important difference in our lives, and could in our children‘s. For more info: www.unionpacifica.org

… that Democracy Now! is aired every weekday morning at 7:00 am by Houston Media Source, Cable channel 17? This is very important information for listeners who subscribe to Cable and are home to watch it at that time, but what about the thousands and thousands of listeners (and potential listeners!) who are in their cars on the way to work at that hour?

… that KPFT General Manager Duane Bradley’s favorite argument against broadcasting Democracy Now! at the accessible commuter time of 7:00 am is that it would not be possible for Amy Goodman to “pitch” at that time during pledge drives (as if this should be a primary concern!) , but that his claim is contradicted by the following statement by Democracy Now! outreach coordinator Denis Moynihan? “Amy could pitch - but it would have to be coordinated with the pitching on WPFW, which also runs the show live. This can be figured out though.”

AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS OF THE PACIFICA FOUNDATION
A California Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation

In radio broadcasting operations to engage in any activity that shall contribute to a lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors; to gather and disseminate information on the causes of conflict between any and all of such groups; and through any and all means compatible with the purposes of this Foundation to promote the study of political and economic problems and of the causes of religious, philosophical and racial antagonisms.

In radio broadcasting operations to promote the full distribution of public information; to obtain access to sources of news not commonly brought together in the same medium; and to employ such varied sources in the public presentation of accurate, objective, comprehensive news . . .

The Foundation is committed to peace and social justice, and seeks to involve in its governance and operations individuals committed to these principles.

Unfortunately, while the issues mentioned in these activists' flyers could not be more urgent, they do not begin to exhaust the problems at KPFT, whose management and governance are in a state of moral bankruptcy. A more comprehensive narrative will be provided in support of this contention in due time, andnow that it isclear who among the current KPFT Local Station Board members has the audacity to run for office again despite the Board's atrocious negligence of its primary duties, we will furnish the track record of each such incumbent, and of any challengers whose politics are known. So....stay tuned to this space for further developments. The truth shall make you free!

Welcome to UnionPacifica!