Voices of Dissent are Bickering at KPFA
Well, if you were looking for material to parody lefty activists, look no further than the recent strife over at KPFA's offices in Berkeley. Want your lawsuits, your conspiracy theories, your anonymous mudslinging and accusations of being a goverment and/or corporate coup by agent provocateurs hell bent on destroying the station? How about if we told you there's alleged sexual harassment, thrown chairs and threats to go mano-a-mano? Oh yes, it's a sordid mess indeed.
Where to start? Well, the latest news is an unconfirmed report that the Local Station Board, in a closed session, voted to keep General Manager Roy Campanella II (hired last November). This is after 78 employees and volunteers at the station had signed a pledge of no confidence in him, and eight female employees have filed a sexual harrassment complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. A union representative said the women would drop the complaint if Campanella stepped down.
But that's really just the tip of the iceberg here. After the jump, more bickering Berzerkeleyites than you can non-confrontationally shake a peace pipe at.
Uncredited photo of Campanella via the SF Bay View.
Judith Scherr's piece from June 28th in the Daily Planet is good background on the situation. It pits the forces of 'democracy' against those of 'professionalism' in the organization -- between community activists and traditional broadcast media types. This conflict is considered responsible for the infamous meltdown between KPFA, it's employees, and the Pacifica Board in 1999 that led to the staff being locked out. Dennis Bernstein, the host of Flashpoints, was hauled out of the studios in handcuffs, sparking large demonstrations and eventually reform of the Pacifica Board and Bylaws.
But Bernstein isn't universally loved at the station. In fact, one of his co-hosts, Noelle Hanrahan, was banned from the station after what she alleges was discrimination and harrassment by Bernstein. Recently, she brought suit against KPFA. The suit also alleges a history of such abuse by Bernstein -- a complaint bolstered when Solange Echeverria resigned in May as his co-host, citing similar harassment and, in a twist, that her complaints were ignored by Campanella. For his part, Campanella says he can't investigate Bernstein's pattern of conduct because Bernstein's employee records were destroyed.
Previously, Weyland Southon had come forward accusing Campanella of retaliating against him:
The situation is this: KPFA GM Roy Campanella assaulted me on the job; KPFA GM Roy Campanella has sexually harrassed several women at the station; there is increasing evidence that KPFA GM Roy Campanella and members of KPFA's Local Station Board are spreading rumors that I am accepting payola from local artists and that I'm laundering money. A recent "anonymous" note sent around the station states that I have "a rep for abusing young women" and that I'm racist and an Anti-Semite.
The Hard Knock Radio staff also accuse the station's management of cronyism and favoritism, and part of the internal struggle is along race and class lines, as well -- Hanrahan was a graduate of their apprenticeship program, and apparently many fellow apprenticeship alums, especially women of color, have struggled at the station or left; and that the station's baby-boomer listeners, who constitute the bulk of the supporters, are resistant to younger voices who are trying to reach out to a new, less affluent community.
Those tensions exploded at a meeting to give former KPFA host Bill Mandel a new show. Mandel had been forced out by Pacifica in 1995 after questioning the political direction of the Foundation. After the Programming Board voted to give him the show, an engineer started throwing chairs and hitting people, all under the watch of Campanella, and while the station insists he was repreminded, he's still with the station. Mandel had the support of older progressives like Riva Enteen.
And all of this while the station is apparently in the red, and the Pacifica Foundation is accused of financial tomfoolery. Of course, organizations like KPFA Workers and People's Radio are already on hand to call each other the problem that needs to be fixed. One look at the comments to the latest KPFA Worker press release or the announcement of Hanrahan's lawsuit and you'll see that this isn't going to be pretty, or make a whole lot of sense.