THE CONTINUING FEUD
Ella Taylor’s article “Family Feud” [March 22–28], published by the L.A. Weekly under the guise of journalism, reeks of supremacist apologia, and my pre-publication letter to the editors of the Weekly articulating her unprofessional actions in “reporting” the piece can be found at www.la.indymedia.org.
Here’s the facts. After we threw the doors open, KPFK raised more money in our last fund drive than ever before in its history. The preliminary structures we’ve proposed (see www.kpfk.org) around programming councils, collective formation and internship/volunteer programs hold forth the promise of unprecedented community involvement. And while the prospect of community radio seems to terrify Ms. Taylor, it’s too bad she spent her research period refusing my entreaties to come to KPFK, to see these possibilities for herself.
As for her bizarre characterization of me as being in “over my head,” I’ve run far more complex operations than KPFK in my career, and have more than 25 years of experience in creating/managing/developing many forms of media, including radio. I’ve not, however, despite Ms. Taylor’s assertions to the contrary, ever worked in PR.
I walked into a station ruled by fear and intimidation, controlled by an exclusionary management team, with a staff under siege and drive-time hours controlled by a few white programmers. I’m leaving KPFK, 68 days later, with a far more diverse staff in control of its own destiny and featuring drive-time voices that begin to actually represent the diversity of Los Angeles — not to mention a community of deeply engaged volunteers who have been welcomed back into the building. I urge your readers to come on down to the station and see for themselves. And sure, there’s a great deal more work to be done. But KPFK, and Pacifica in general, has been liberated into the possibility of its own future, and I’m deeply proud of the results of my brief tenure.
—Steven Starr
Former interim general manager KPFK