Filed under: Pacifica
(Berkeley, CA – June 22, 2007) KPFA will join thousands of U.S. webcasters in a Day of Silence this Tuesday, June 26. KPFA will silence its regular Internet broadcasts to draw attention to an impending royalty rate increase that, if implemented, would lead to the virtual shutdown of this country’s Internet radio industry.
A recent Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) decision increases royalties that commercial Internet webcasters pay to play music by up to 1200%. The new rates take effect on July 15. Non-commercial stations, such as KPFA, will be required to pay royalties at the commercial rate for any listeners they have over a limit defined by the CRB, about 215 listeners per hour.
“It’s particularly onerous that non-commercial webcasters will have to pay the same rates, past a certain low threshold, as commercial stations”, says KPFA’s interim Program Director Sasha Lilley. “KPFA may be forced to cap the number of people who can listen to us online”.
The CRB decision also requires that webcasters pay a minimum $500 “administrative fee” for every channel they broadcast online, without clearly defining what a channel is, or what the fees are to be used for. These arbitrary and vaguely defined “administrative fees” would cost KPFA thousands of dollars a year.
“At this point no one seems quite sure what the additional fees will be or even how to calculate what we would owe,” says Bonnie Simmons, a veteran KPFA DJ, “The accounting process itself may cost us more than we can possibly afford.”
KPFA urges listeners to contact their Congressional representatives and ask that they take action to save Internet radio. The Internet Radio Equality Act, H.R. 2060, has been introduced by Representatives Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) to address many of the problems with the CRB decision. A companion bill, S. 1353, has been introduced in the Senate. “We are urging Congress to take action to overturn the CRB decision,” says Michael Manoochehri, KPFA Web Director, “Legislation has been put in place, but without immediate action by Congress, the legislation will not be voted on before the July 15th deadline.”
For many years, KPFA has featured artists who are not normally heard on commercial radio. KPFA Music Director, Luis Medina, describes KPFA’s music shows as “programming that is innovative, fresh and cutting edge,” adding, “KPFA’s music programmers have the freedom to go beyond the standards set by other radio stations handicapped by commercial obligations and restrictive play lists.”
To learn more about how the royalty hikes will affect KPFA, as well as how to contact Congressional Representatives, visit http://kpfa.org/savewebradio, or contact web@kpfa.org.
Filed under: Media
Good times this past weekend in Lowell, MA, where Dan Toomey and the good folks at WUML-FM hosted our ragtag band of grassroots radiophiles for the GRC-12.
I just got back from the Conference and am pretty worn out. Between meeting many new folks, catching up with old friends, discussing directions for Pacifica programming, learning from what others are doing, and seeing the fascinating immigrant outreach work that WUML is doing, I stayed pretty busy. Early mornings and late nights.
As I mentioned, WUML was the sponsoring station for the conference, but the movers and shakers of the thing were the programmers for “Thinking Out Loud,” a daily two-hour public affairs program at the station. The first hour each day is in English; the second hour each day is a different language, produced by recent immigrants to the United States and communicating to other speakers of that language. And Lowell is home to many new immigrant groups.
Programmers from many home countries and backgrounds said a few words at the GRC opening plenary, explaining what they do and how they do it. They explained that Thinking Out Loud features segments in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Khmer, spoken in Cambodia and in Lowell’s large Cambodian community. According to Dan Toomey, about 20% of the city’s population is Cambodian; despite this, WUML is the only station providing radio access and programming for the Cambodian community. In addition to the Cambodian hour on “Thinking Out Loud,” the station airs other Cambodian programs, as well.
The diverse backgrounds within the Lowell community were certainly reflected in the food selection for the weekend. Probably the best food ever at a GRC, quite possibly the best at any conference I’ve been to. Lunches included Cambodian (pad thai, chicken satay, and papaya salad), Mediterranean (spanikopita, baklava), and Columbian (*very* good tamales, wrapped in banana leaves). The good eats all culminated in a terrific Saturday evening event billed as “A Taste of Culture.” The event featured traditional music and dance from Brazil, India, Ecuador, and other countries, as well as food samples from five continents. I don’t want to linger too much on the topic of food, but it was mighty fine.
In the spirit of reaching out to immigrant communities through our grassroots radio stations, the closing keynote speaker brought everything together very well. Maria Elena Latona, Executive Director for Centro Presente, briefly documented the recent immigrants movement in the United States. She noted that all the recent attention in the media has in some ways caused more damage to immigrants because mainstream media continue to reinforce all the usual stereotypes in their coverage and attention. She says that the immigrants movement must be connected to media willing to reframe how immigration is discussed, asking questions that better speak to the experiences of immigrants themselves. Latona suggested three new frames that need to be explained in the media that have *not* been done (rarely even on our grassroots stations):
1. Why are they here? Why are immigrants in this country? Why did they leave their previous homes?
2. How is immigration part of the global capitalist economic system? How do immigrants affect the economy of the U.S.? What’s really responsible for the lack of economic security in this country?
3. In the face of transnationalism, in which finance, technology, and people cross borders in unprecedented numbers, what does it mean for the U.S. to wall off and militarize its border?
Hopefully I’ll have some time to write more about the conference later… In the meantime, the site chosen for GRC-13 is Portland, Oregon. Hope to see you there in July 2008!
Be a part of our next series! Send a tour of your center! Help build a global community media blog and a 12 part DVD series!
For the next Deep Dish series, we are asking community media groups around the world to send us self portraits. We are also compiling an annotated list and photos of groups who work for change in their communities using some form of media. In addition to radio, tv and the internet, we will include things like theater, murals, poetry and music.
We want “self portraits” of community media groups around the world. The group could be your center/station, or perhaps a group of people who regularly create programming for your channels. We hope you can take these questions and answer them on video (mini dv is best for us!) or audio or with still photos and text.
Please pass this survey around and send the answers to deepdish@igc.org , or post on youtube or bliptv and send us the link. Or send Jpegs to dhalleck@ucsd.edu Or you could mail the tape to Deep Dish TV 339 Lafayette Street, NY NY 10012.
The images and sounds we receive will be shared on the blog and some will be included in the series. Those projects included in the series will receive 10 free sets of the complete series.
To find out more about Deep Dish go to www.deepdishtv.org
The link for this project is:
www.deepdishwavesofchange.blogspot.com
Deep Dish TV
Waves of Change:
the many voices of the global village
Community Media Project Survey
1. Tell us about your community and your media project.
2. Describe what you do and how that has evolved.
3. Give a history of how this project was initiated and developed.
4. Show or describe your infrastructure: place you work, equipment, tools, people.
5. Describe the sorts of content you create.
6. What community needs does the content fulfill?
7. How does the wider community interact with this project?
8. How do you measure success in terms of the project and its advancement of community goals and objectives?
9. What is the structure of your project?
10. How are decisions made?
11. Is there a training component?
12. What sources of funding do you have?
13. Is there a commercial component to your work?
14. How is this project sustained?
15. What outreach is in place? (Give examples)
16. How has the internet changed your practice (or not)?
17. Are you formally connected with other community organizations and/or institutions (i.e. schools, churches, political parties, political movements)?
18. Are you connected with any national or international NGOs?
19. How is your organization responsive to specific community needs? Give examples.
20. How has the communication project enabled community development?
21. What are the long-term goals of this project?
22. What kind of outside assistance, both monetary and/or technical, do you depend on?
23. In what ways do you preserve (or transform) local culture?
24. How does your project differ from others in your geographical area?
25. Is access/participation in this project done on an equal basis, or is it only available to members or people with specific skills or interest in specific issues and points of view?
26. Is your project goal based on campaigns, or on a more general consciousness-raising basis?
27. Do you see yourself as part of a wider community media movement? In what way?
www.deepdishwavesofchange.blogspot.com
A couple weeks ago, I posted an article about the killing of Afghan woman radio boss Zakia Zaki. If you’re interested in documenting this woman’s life, work, and untimely death, please contact Doug George at heydouggeorge (at) gmail.com.
From Doug:
Hello all–
I’d like to put out a call for volunteers for a special project.
You may have heard about the recent brutal murder of Zakia Zaki, head of the Sada-e-Sulh (Peace) radio station in northern Afghanistan.
The life and work of Zakia Zaki is a story that needs to be told, and while her loss is tragic, her dedication and vision as a journalist, feminist and humanist will live on to inspire other community media pioneers.
Is there anyone who would be interested in producing a special 29-minute show about Zakia Zaki for Sprouts, Pacifica’s weekly show featuring content from across the network? We’d like to feature this as part of our “Heroes in Community Radio” series.
A good place to start to learn about Zakia’s work is this video documentary produced with the help of the non-governmental organisation AINA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf4j9pQ7L6M
From what I understand this is a translated (English subtitles) version of a documentary called “If I stand up”, co-produced by UNESCO, on International Women’s Day in March 2005 as one of four eminent women journalists in Afghan society.
more info:
http://tinyurl.com/3auhly
I have gone ahead and written UNESCO and AINA asking about rights to use audio from the film. I don’t yet have contact information for the Afghani filmmaker Shekeba Adil.
The RSF release Jim posted below covers her recent murder. Other information:
Tribute to gifts and courage of slain woman station radio director
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=22484
Gunmen kill female journalist in Northern Afghanistan
www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/07/asia/07afghan-web.php
Doug George
Interim Assistant, Affiliates Program
Pacifica Radio Network
Filed under: Media
(Washington, DC)– Today, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education approved its version of the Fiscal Year 2008 appropriations bill which provides funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
“We appreciate the subcommittee’s support for public service media in this country,” said Patricia Harrison, CPB president and CEO.
The legislation approved by the subcommittee this afternoon provides funding for CPB at roughly the same level as the House Appropriations Subcommittee bill on June 7th: $420 million for CPB’s advance appropriation for FY 2010 and in FY 2008; $29.7 million for digital conversion and $26.75 million for the public radio interconnection system. Ready to Learn (RTL) is funded at $25.255 million ($1 million more than the House bill).
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees are expected to consider these bills after the July 4th recess.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Pacifica Foundation – Berkeley, California
The Pacifica Foundation (Pacifica), the oldest network of non-commercial, community-based radio stations in the United States, is seeking to hire a new Executive Director. Founded in 1946, Pacifica provides alternative, community-based, free speech, listener- sponsored radio without any corporate underwriting. Pacifica owns and operates five FM radio stations including WBAI in New York City, WPFW in Washington, DC, KPFT in Houston, Texas, KPFK in Southern California, and KPFA in Northern California. Pacifica distributes news, public affairs, music and other programs to non-commercial radio stations, schools, colleges, universities, and individuals throughout the United States and abroad. Pacifica also has over 125 community radio station affiliates.
With an annual budget of over 18 million dollars, 173 paid staff, and over 1,000 unpaid staff and volunteers, Pacifica encourages and provides outlets for the creative skills and energies of its staff and the communities it serves while seeking to enhance the cultural welfare of the areas in which it operates. The Foundation is governed by an elected Board of Directors comprised of individuals who support Pacifica’s mission of peace, social justice and progressive social change.
The Executive Director is responsible for all day-to-day management activities of the Foundation including the hiring, firing and supervising of national office and managerial staff; implementing Board policy and by-laws; overseeing fundraising and development activities; supervising production and distribution of national programming; working with the Chief Financial Officer to maintain fiscal and physical integrity; complying with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and FCC rules and regulations and State and Federal laws and requirements. It is the job of the Executive Director to ensure that the Foundation is managed in a fiscally and socially responsible fashion that complies with its mission. The Executive Director will also be responsible for navigating the institution through major technological changes and responding to political and financial challenges.
The Executive Director reports to the collective body of the 22 member Pacifica Foundation Board of Directors. The Executive Director is selected, supervised, and discharged by the Board and is subject to the Board’s annual evaluation.
SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE:
* Executive management skills (e.g., financial/program planning, managerial expertise, human relations/resources);
* Broadcasting industry skills and experience including programming, distribution, marketing and fundraising;
* Ability to work cooperatively with the Board of Directors, staff and station management;
* Excellent communication skills (written and oral);
* The ability to provide visionary leadership in a diverse, multi-cultural, and intellectually charged environment;
* A personal commitment to peace, economic and social justice; and
* Experience working in a volunteer-driven, grassroots, social change institution, preferably in the field of radio broadcast media.
EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION:
The ideal candidate will possess a college degree and/or at least 10 years of relevant radio broadcast experience, including experience as a 501(c) (3) non-profit manager, or similar position, two years preferably as a General Manager of a non-commercial radio broadcasting station or similar position.
SALARY RANGE: Starting salary $80,000, negotiable depending on experience
TO APPLY:
Send cover letter and resume to:
Phil Osegueda
The Pacifica Foundation
1925 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
via e-mail: gratephil gmail.com
Phone: 510-849-2590, x 210
The Pacifica Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against people on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, color, ancestry, national origin, marital status, medical condition, age or disability.
Filed under: Opportunities
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
KBOO COMMUNITY RADIO Independent • Noncommercial • Listener-Sponsored
90.7 FM Portland • 91.9 FM Hood River • 100.7 FM Willamette Valley
JOB TITLE:
Membership and Development Assistant
FUNCTION:
To assist the Membership and Development Director serving KBOO’s membership,
maintaining the membership database, training and supervising volunteers to
do the same, supporting KBOO membership drives and other office tasks.
POSITIONS SUPERVISED:
Volunteers
Salary & Benefits
This is a half-time position, and the starting annual salary is $14,625. The
position includes full medical, dental, life and disability insurance.
Employee is eligible for employer retirement contributions after one year.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
· Computer skills and familiarity with a Windows operating environment.
· Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
· Ability to work with a wide variety of people in a multicultural,
cooperative, progressive organization.
· High level of accuracy and attention to detail and excellent
organizational skills.
· Able to train volunteers.
· Ability to work with standard office equipment (fax machine and copier).
· Ability to work independently.
ADDITIONAL SKILLS THAT ARE DESIRABLE FOR THE POSITION
· Knowledge of DonorPerfect database especially helpful; Excel, MyMailList
and HTML editing skills desirable.
· Experience in public or community radio.
· Administrative and Fundraising experience
· Experience working with volunteers
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
· Work closely with the Membership and Development Director.
· Provide Membership services, including: member inquiries, address changes,
renewals and cancellations, benefits, mailings, membership cards, EFTs
(electronic funds transfers), produce reports, download online pledges,
prepare mailing labels and files, and coordinate follow-up mailings and
phone calls.
· Provide Membership Drive support, including: obtaining and processing
thank you gifts, obtaining meal donations, training and supervising staff
and volunteers, data entry, and follow-up.
· Maintain membership database.
· Provide Administrative assistance: check messages, answer phones, schedule
meetings.
· Train, supervise and schedule volunteers for mailings and data entry.
· Work to implement KBOO’s Programming Charter and Affirmative Action Plan.
· Other duties as assigned.
KBOO PROGRAMMING CHARTER:
These are the guiding principles behind KBOO Community Radio:
KBOO shall be a model of programming, ?lling needs that other media do not,
providing programming to diverse communities and unserved or underserved
groups. KBOO shall provide access and training to those communities.
KBOO’s news and public affairs programming shall place an emphasis on
providing a forum for unpopular, controversial, or neglected perspectives on
important local, national, and international issues, re?ecting KBOO’s values
of peace, justice, democracy, and human rights, multiculturalism,
environmentalism, freedom of expression, and social change.
KBOO’s arts, cultural, and music programming shall cover a wide spectrum of
expression from traditional to experimental, and re?ect the diverse cultures
KBOO serves. KBOO shall strive for spontaneity and programming excellence,
both in content and technique.
For application packet and instructions please visit our website www.kboo.fm
KBOO Application Form Required
Application Deadline:
Must be received no later than Monday, July 9, 2007 – 12 noon Pacific
Standard Time
Questions? E-mail Andrew Geller, Membership and Development Director at
membership@kboo.org or call 503-231-8032 x207
Filed under: News & Culture
In case you haven’t seen this, the Yes Men strike again…
From Infoshop News:
June 14, 2007
Imposters posing as ExxonMobil and National Petroleum Council (NPC) representatives delivered an outrageous keynote speech to 300 oilmen at GO-EXPO, Canada’s largest oil conference, held at Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta, today.
The speech was billed beforehand by the GO-EXPO organizers as the major highlight of this year’s conference, which had 20,000 attendees. In it, the “NPC rep” was expected to deliver the long-awaited conclusions of a study commissioned by US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. The NPC is headed by former ExxonMobil CEO Lee Raymond, who is also the chair of the study.
In the actual speech, the “NPC rep” announced that current U.S. and Canadian energy policies (notably the massive, carbon-intensive exploitation of Alberta’s oil sands, and the development of liquid coal) are increasing the chances of huge global calamities. But he reassured the audience that in the worst case scenario, the oil industry could “keep fuel flowing” by transforming the billions of people who die into oil.
“We need something like whales, but infinitely more abundant,” said “NPC rep” “Shepard Wolff” (actually Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men), before describing the technology used to render human flesh into a new Exxon oil product called Vivoleum. 3-D animations of the process brought it to life.
“Vivoleum works in perfect synergy with the continued expansion of fossil fuel production,” noted “Exxon rep” “Florian Osenberg” (Yes Man Mike Bonanno). “With more fossil fuels comes a greater chance of disaster, but that means more feedstock for Vivoleum. Fuel will continue to flow for those of us left.”
The oilmen listened to the lecture with attention, and then lit “commemorative candles” supposedly made of Vivoleum obtained from the flesh of an “Exxon janitor” who died as a result of cleaning up a toxic spill.
Read the rest here.
Text of speech, photos, video can be found here.
The statement from the GO-EXPO public relations rep can be found here.
Filed under: Media
From Ginny Berson at the NFCB:
In all the hubbub about royalties to record companies and musicians for streaming, you may not have noticed that there is a storm brewing about having radio stations pay royalties for broadcasting. Radio stations pay the performance rights orgs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC), and pay royalties for streaming to these groups as well as the record companies/musicians. But radio has never paid royalties to record companies/musicians for broadcasting.
In the beginning (right after Adam and Eve) record companies understood that getting airplay on radio stations was the best way to promote their product. Some might say they still believe that-given the extent of the payola that is uncovered, which may not touch on the amount that is never uncovered.
Right now, various coalitions are forming for and against, and right now, the RIAA/Sound Exchange led coalition is only talking about “corporate radio”. The NAB is calling the proposed royalty a broadcasting “tax”.
NFCB will stay on top of this. Our concern is with making sure that whatever happens, noncommercial radio is not required to pay any more money to anybody.
We are making the same case about streaming royalties-the model for community/public radio is not the same as for commercial radio. Our mission is not to make money. Actually requiring us to pay more in royalties for succeeding in our public service mission is completely contradictory.
More will be revealed….
Ginny Z. Berson
Vice President & Director of Federation Services
National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB)
Filed under: News & Culture
About two years ago, when I was the News Facilitator at WORT, Peter Lipton, one of the station’s board members, mentioned to me that he had a friend who would be great for volunteering in WORT’s news department. He described Jeff Erlanger as a guy who really follows news, knows the ins and outs of city politics, and even ran for city council. I called Jeff up and had him come by the station.
Jeff was warm, energetic, and excited to be involved. In my role as News Facilitator, I could usually tell which new reporters would stick around and do good work. It was a matter of the types of questions a new reporter would ask, whether their curiosity was genuine. And Jeff asked all the right questions.
Being quadriplegic, Jeff couldn’t engineer the board for his interviews. I had hoped to train his assistants to run the board, since my days were very busy with other work. But he had several assistants that rotated, and few of them came to WORT enough times to be taught much about board operating. So I engineered Jeff’s interviews (which were always well-researched and thoughtful). And I’m glad I did, because it gave me a chance to get to know the fellow. After his interviews ended, we’d talk about the issues of the day. We disagreed on some local issues, but had a good time talking, and I came to like Jeff quite a lot. He was clever, consistently friendly, and committed to community building.
I understand that Jeff was volunteering at WORT’s annual block party just a few hours before he choked on the food that would cut short his life. My former coworker Glenn tells me that he was his usual lively, high-spirited self that day. The news that Jeff has died has saddened me a great deal this week.
Though it has little connection directly to my current work at Pacifica, I’m pasting a couple articles about Jeff below.
- – - – -
Jeff Erlanger, advocate for disabled, dies
From The Capital Times (Madison, WI)
by Kristin Czubkowski – 6/11/2007 2:09 pm
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/177377
In 36 years of life, Jeff Erlanger built a resume that could put many city politicians or political organizers to shame.
Former chairman of Madison’s Commission on People With Disabilities, chairman of the board of directors of the Community Living Alliance, member of the city’s Economic Development Commission and the Governor’s Committee for People With Disabilities, board member of Jewish Social Services and the Madison Area Community Land Trust — the list goes on.
Add in a run for the City Council and a childhood appearance on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” that led to a speech at the icon’s memorial in 2003, and Erlanger did more in his life than most people do with twice the amount of time.
This flurry of political and community activism was cut short Sunday when Erlanger died from respiratory complications. He had lived his entire life as a quadriplegic after doctors found a tumor on his spinal cord when he was 7 months old.
Full article at this link.
Another article about Jeff’s passing at this Wisconsin State Journal page.
And a tribute article from the Isthmus, Madison’s alternative weekly paper.
