Family Feud
The left eats its own at KPFK

by Ella Taylor
March 22-28, 2002

The recent story on KPFK by Ella Taylor was deeply disappointing. For someone who purports to value high journalistic ideals her story was amazingly full of errors and glaring omissions. Ella Taylor says she went into the story with a "neutral" perspective but that is untenable given the manner of her research and what she chose to emphasize. The snide tone of the article is obvious from her faint praise of interim manager Steve Starr as being affable with the qualifier that he was once an agent so he's had years of practice "dishing out PR". She doesn't mention after quoting former general manager Mark Schubb extensively that he was an actor and was well known in the station for his talents at spinning stories to his advantage. The hatred she and Marc Cooper have for Ron Wilkins is mystifying to me. I used to enjoy his program Continent to Continent and was listening the night he was unceremoniously removed in the middle of his program. I didn't agree with everything he said but I never heard him make an anti-Semitic statement and it was shocking to hear that Marc Cooper called him a racist and an anti-Semite on his program the next day. Not to mention Cooper's chastising of Jim Lafferty and Starr on air, which was incredibly unprofessional. Did Ella Taylor talk to Mr. Wilkins? Has she had enough interactions with him to know he is a black separatist? He served on the national board of Pacifica, which to me indicates that he wishes to have a dialogue with a broader community. What are her conclusions about him based on? We never hear in her article.

As to the Mike Ruppert program she did not listen to it but had a strong opinion (I found this out in Steve Starr's letter as she neglected to mention this in her article). Can you imagine a movie review of A Beautiful Mind where the reviewer did not watch the movie? Ruppert was debated point for point and quite vigorously by Norman Solomon of FAIR. I did listen to it and of course didn't believe the CIA conspiracy rubbish but I appreciated the debate and have faith that the KPFK listeners are smart enough to pick the wheat from the chaff. Barbara Osborn wasted half of her program a week or two later with a further rebuttal by David Corn who didn't add much to what Solomon had already covered. It is amazing what people like Ms. Osborn and Dr. Weissman get worked up over, it is much the same as the "trivial" issues that Ella Taylor accuses the "other side" of getting worked up about. Making mountains out of molehills I guess is a trait of all sides in this conflict. Finally, it is important to note that this was not the first time Mr. Ruppert has been on KPFK, he was on in the wee hours during Mr. Schubb's reign.

Her characterization of the two sides as "'60s activists who have become intellectuals" as opposed to "'60s activists, mostly hard-line Marxists or self-appointed guardians of minority identity" is meaningless because it is so over simplistic and just plain wrong. I mean where did Fidel Rodriguez of the Schubb banned program Seditious Beats fall? He is in his 20's. I'm sure many of the programmers do not consider themselves member of either group even if they may have allegiance to some people who are. Also there were many "'60s activists who have become intellectuals" who were opposed to the previous management of KPFK.

The station has undergone extensive management and personnel changes and Ella Taylor is surprised that there are empty time slots? I would be surprised if there weren't. She also never discusses the dozens of programmers and volunteers that Mr. Schubb got rid of and that left empty time slots during his tenure (FolkScenes to list one of many examples). There were canned programs during these times as well until new programs could be brought in place yet she is impatient now. She was critical that the LAB didn't have specific suggestions about programming yet she says that they are controlling the programming. What she didn't listen to (I've heard this discussed by members of the LAB many times) is that the first priority of the station manager and LAB in particular is to put in place a fair process for evaluating and deciding what programs get put on and stay on the air, not actually choosing the programs per se. She also never mentions that the LAB is going to be elected within a year or so.

Ella Taylor found staff that said they were "beaten down and barely functioning" and others that were happy. She didn't say whether those two (she didn't mention that it was only two that stated this view) who were unhappy were supporters of the previous management. Mr. Starr states that she refused to interview other employees so she did not seem too eager to broaden the points of view she heard. If she had done similar interviews during the reign of Mark Schubb she would have easily found two employees who said the same thing about the state of KPFK back then. Would she have criticized the management then? It all depends on your bias doesn't it? Her insinuations about the recently raised money are slanderous and I would like to see her evidence of any improprieties.

I agree with Ella Taylor that the lack of rich cultural programming is a big problem at Pacifica but this was particularly true during the tenure of Mark Schubb as she admits. And you know why? The FCC is waiting for "obscene" language so they can pull the station's license, or at least that is what Mr. Schubb said. It is a shame but I doubt that the next new work equivalent in significance to Howl could play on the radio now because of "obscene" language. I think Pacifica should take the risk and put cutting edge cultural programming on the air but certainly Mark Schubb didn't do this and I don't expect Steve Starr to right away either. I'm afraid listening to a poem like Howl with numerous bleeps isn't engaging radio.

Pacifica is usually at its strongest when the society is in turmoil. She mentions the big audience during Watergate but it was also big during the Gulf War and the post September 11th world also is providing a boost because of the mediocrity of the mainstream media. She then trots out that tired urban legend of a KPFK activist willing his time slot to another programmer, perpetuating the misinformation of John Dinges. Matthew Lasar thinks that this story is based on an ironic comment made by Harlan Ellison about inheriting the science fiction radio show Hour 25 from Mike Hodel after the latter passed away. Maybe science fiction programmers are activists to Ella Taylor or she just doesn't understand irony. She also compliments Mr. Schubb for getting rid of the sectarian programming which is blatantly false. How about IMRU the gay and lesbian program, Feminist Magazine, Access Unlimited the disability awareness show or even the Car show? Are these not appealing to specific groups? What makes these appropriate but not afro-centric programs? I can only conclude that Ella Taylor favors programs about some groups but not others. Her use of the word "ghettoized" is illuminating here.

Pacifica certainly has a much smaller audience than NPR but I think she boasts too much about NPR's success. NPR has become more and more dependent on contributions from the government, corporations and private foundations. The money treadmill is intoxicating but potentially dangerous in economic downturns or periods of sharp political focus. I would love to see studies on the audience growth of NPR since it's inception and the demographics. She also doesn't mention that NPR was modeled after Pacifica. More people read Newsweek and Time Magazine than read the Nation. Does that mean the Nation isn't significant or doesn't make important contributions? I agree that Pacifica needs to expand its audience but I think it can do that without toning down its politics and community involvement. In fact increasing community involvement is critical for its expansion.

Ella Taylor paints an incorrect picture about the station's audience and finances during Mr. Schubb's tenure. The number of listeners fluctuated up and down in the last six years. The station has raised more money but from fewer listeners than they had in the past. The increase in net income may not be so great when you factor in the increasing amounts spent on premiums and a good reporter might have raised this issue. We just don't have the numbers. Gee, by Ella Taylor's argument that more money is good one could argue that getting rid of Mark Schubb and Marc Cooper was financially brilliant! I almost choked on her statement that Mr. Schubb kept the station out of the Pacifica fray, a few dozen fired and dismissed staff and volunteers at KPFK, KPFA and WBAI may disagree. The following also has to be one of the biggest understatements in the whole KPFK struggle: "Though even some of his supporters say Schubb's diplomatic skills were not what they might have been ...". Maybe she does understand irony. She quotes Mr. Schubb as taking credit for eliminating the balkanized programming. This is patently false. Let's look at the African American programming. He did eliminate Continent to Continent and Hotep but Family Tree, African Mental Liberation Weekend and Freedom Now were eliminated before he was even hired. And unlike Mr. Cooper's departure these programmers were completely banned from the station. This cleansing process began before Mr. Schubb and shame on Ella Taylor for her lazy reporting. Then we have this bizarre and unverified quote ".(Schubb) says he hired more people of color during his tenure than had ever been hired during the station's history, though he freely admits that it's hard to find talented black, Latino, Asian or other minority journalists when the pay at Pacifica is so lousy." Huh, so only white journalists work for lousy pay? He certainly fired and eliminated more people of color during his tenure. Mr. Schubb is the master of double speak, saying one thing and contradicting it in the same conversation. I don't doubt that Cooper and Schubb have been excessively abused by e-mails and that is regrettable but my "casual trawl of the web" has revealed some exceedingly venomous e-mails by Marc Cooper so he certainly dishes out as well as he receives. Mr. Cooper's comments on Mumia can only be described as nasty, petty and destructive. Maybe if Mr. Schubb had engaged the dissidents in debates instead of ignoring and insulting them, the negativity could have been reduced.

Ella Taylor makes the claim that Weissman, Weiner and Osborn could all argue circles around the LAB and are much smarter to boot. This is outrageous and unproven. Is she insinuating that people like Michael Zinzun and Dave Adelson are dumb? Ms. Osborn couldn't even out argue Bernard Goldberg on her show when he provided numerous easy targets for her to rebut. Ella Taylor also likes the wit and irreverence of these programmers. I'm sorry but Suzi Weissman's programming is boring and has been since she was doing Portraits of the USSR. Does Ella Taylor really believe that Victor Serge (a popular topic for Dr. Weissman who wrote a book about him) has a broader appeal than what all those banned and fired African American programmers or activists such as Blasé Bonpane talked about? It's galling to hear her raise Weissman as an example of what KPFK was doing right when her listenership only went up because she got a better time slot and was nurtured by Mr. Cooper and his associates. Besides she is still on KPFK's airwaves. As to Jon Weiner I like him so I can forgive his occasional lapses to the "cerebral fare" about disco and Dylan.

More mistakes by Ella Taylor include her compliments to Marc Cooper for interviewing Pat Robertson when it was actually Pat Buchanan. As one activist said Pat Buchanan is one anti Semite who can be on KPFK's airwaves. I agree it is important to interview people with differing viewpoints, especially in the critical way that Cooper and Amy Goodman, I should add, have. I don't know which Democracy Now Ella Taylor is listening to but I always hear Amy Goodman mention the Israeli causalities. Ella Taylor also makes some convoluted arguments that Amy Goodman represents some monolithic leftist view (as if Noam Chomsky, Cornel West and Michael Parenti have interchangeable views) after praising her show. Amy Goodman is an incredible journalist who has reported on difficult conflicts in East Timor and Nigeria. Of course Ella Taylor has had difficult assignments too, such as having to sit through bad movies. Amy has the most fascinating and varied interviews and it's easy to see why her program is one of the most popular on KPFK. I was left wondering what she could do to satisfy Ella Taylor. Maybe she could do a witty and irreverent interview with Dr. Weissman about Victor Serge?

Finally, what about the money, a good reporter always follows the money. Ella Taylor talks about the massive expenditures of both sides in the legal battles but doesn't mention the startling expenditures listed in the auditor's report, all spent by the previous National board, that had nothing to do with the lawsuit like public relations, travel and private investigations. Pacifica had legal insurance but went way beyond what was covered. She doesn't mention the deceptive public announcements every hour that played around New Year that never mentioned that the financial shenanigans were due to the previous and not the new board. In their own web site, Friends of KPFK, they provided documents that the financial crisis was evident in September, months before the new board was appointed. By comparison the side suing Pacifica spent a pittance on its lawyers and don't forget that it was supported by the attorney general of the state of California (another one of those wacky leftists?). She doesn't talk about what happened to the money for the apprenticeship program that the state of California gave the station. Since this program was effectively discontinued by Mr. Schubb a reporter might want to ask him about what happened to those funds. I feel that the apprenticeship program is vital for Pacifica's mission. I lost my faith in Mr. Cooper when he refused to fund raise in February but did fund raise in October when it was quite obvious that the prior Pacifica National board was pouring the money down a rat hole and KPFK's bills were not being paid. His unwillingness to participate in February's fund drive was particularly hypocritical.

In the end maybe I shouldn't have been surprised by Ella Taylor's article and its support by the LA Weekly. Marc Cooper is a contributor to the paper and I'm sure a friend to many on the staff. Ella Taylor calls herself an occasional contributor to Jon Wiener's program so I would say that she has some conflicts of interest. It's obvious why she is a media critic and not an investigative reporter. She is pretty good at the former (I do enjoy most of her reviews) but really bad at the latter. I got the strange feeling that Ella Taylor really doesn't listen to or has listened to KPFK very much at all. For me as a long time listener to KPFK (11 years) I knew things were bad when programmers stopped saying "I don't agree with everything that is said on the air but." and community voices were eliminated with no explanation. The station was too dependent on Marc Cooper for programming which limited the breadth of viewpoints. Anyway Marc Cooper is still producing Radio Nation so his voice remains on KPFK. I for one am very happy about the removal of the previous management. I am optimistic about KPFK's future direction and have renewed my support.

Sincerely,

Andres Collazo, Ph.D.

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