To: (Barbara Dane
From: John Sheridan
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 13:03:55 -0800
Subject: [freekpfk] Re: $$ for KPFA & NOT for Pacifica! The Listeners' Fund

Dear Barbara and everyone,

Another option, as well as the wonderful lawsuits, is to pledge to KPFA DIRECTLY! And I mean that not one penny will go to Pacifica. This can be done by contributing to the Listeners' Fund. The Fund was set up by the Coalition for a democratic Pacifica and the North Bay for KPFA listener groups in 1999. All the money donated, nearly $7,000 to date, is available to go to costs associated with running KPFA, and only KPFA. Not a dime goes to Pacifica or Pacifica-related costs. The Fund has contributed to the PNN strikers news programming, costs for feeds from the Democratic National Convention, the KPFA LAB elections - and other requests are now pending to help KPFA.

I urge you and all listeners to consider contributing to the Listeners' Fund if you want to bypass Pacifica's thieving hands and give to the station itself. For more information on the Listeners' Fund go to www.cfdp.org and follow the link to the Fund on the home page. Expenditures are not discretionary, but made at the request of the Station Manager. Any non routine decisions are made by an Advisory Board made up of Maudelle Shirek, Berkeley Vice-Mayor, Max Blanchet, Haitian-American activist, Peter Philips, Project Censored, and Larry Robinson, Sebastopol City Councilperson.

Checks may be made to
The Listeners' Fund/ CSRA and sent to
CSRA (Community Supported Radio Association)
PMB #115, 2887 College Avenue #1
Berkeley, CA 94705.

We urge that people not give money to this Fund instead of supporting the legal fund or the PacificaCampaign fund, but to contribute in addition to those other efforts as each Fund has different purposes and will meet different needs of the struggle.

-- John Sheridan

At 05:08 PM 2/9/2001 -0800, Barbara Dane wrote

Dear Stella,

As a member of both WILPF and Coalition for a democratic Pacifica, I would like to offer my thoughts on what Darian De Luz terms a "haphazard discussion on the complex question of support for Pacifica and KPFA." I agree with her that discussion has been haphazard, and not only in the ranks of WILPF.

Listener/sponsor participation on every level is what will save the Pacifica Foundation and this network. I would like to suggest that the best way to support KPFA at this time is to SUPPORT THE ORGANIZED OPPOSITION.

I would like to propose that the March fundraising for KPFA that San Francisco WILPF is undertaking be directed instead at supporting the lawsuits aimed at removing the present Pacifica National Board. These lawsuits are urgently and sorely in need of funds, and if we lose them I believe we will have lost the battle. People who need further information on the history of the struggle and the purposes of the three lawsuits can go to this website: www.savepacifica.net

Contributions toward supporting the lawsuits are tax-deductible and can be made to: Free Pacifica Legal Action/Vanguard Fund c/o Vanguard Public Fund 383 Rhode Island Ave., Suite 301 San Francisco, CA. 94103

As for the boycott on contributions to Pacfica being called for by Juan Gonzalez and the Pacifica Campaign, I have written a letter to these folks urging that they clearly exempt KPFA from the boycott. I believe similarly to Darien De Lu that we MUST continue to support KPFA, especially because we, the listeners, now have a degree of influence, if not control, by virtue of our newly elected (for the first time ever) Local Advisory Board and we have freed the staff from the gag rule and other odious restraints through our demonstrations and protests. This makes it a very different station than the ones presently under the thumb of the Pacifica National Board, much closer to being "ours" in a practical sense.

But we must insist that our support stay here in the Bay Area with KPFA at this time. I would NOT like to see any money go directly to the PNB. The current fund drive marathon offers an opportunity to contribute while opposing the changes in the By Laws now being proposed by the usurpers. If people make individual pledges, please ask that this box be checked!

I have deep doubts in general about the boycott because starving the network for funds offers them fuel for the argument that goes "the present listeners don't support them anymore, so why not sell the stations?" Also, there are suspicions that in at least one case "heavy contributors (investors)" stand willing to bail out any shortfall and thus extend and consolidate their own influence and control of the station's direction.

As you and all of us who have been part of the peace and justice movements of the past 50 years know, this resource called KPFA and Pacifica has been invaluable and must be saved. Let's all do what we can, but let us aim our support as carefully as possible. Sincerely, Barbara Dane

Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 01:04:16 -
To: Darien From: "Stella M. Paton"
Subject: Re: $$ for KPFA & Pacifica

Darien: You may have already heard that the SF branch is planning an event in March to raise some money for KPFA.

At 12:27 PM 02/08/2001 -0800, you wrote:

Dear Supporters of Progressive Radio,

I'm disturbed by what seems haphazzard discussion of the complex question of how, whether, or which local Pacifica stations to support. I believe we can unite in outrage at the kidnapping of the Pacifica resources by a board that does not support the organizational mission. At the same time, I believe we may disagree on the best tactics for resisting the Pacifica take-over.

Each of the local Pacifica stations is different. KPFA, in Berkeley, is clearly the one with the strongest listener activism and support. Personally, I believe financial support, which must - unfortunately - go through the greedy hands of the Pacifica Foundation, is crucial. KPFA is the only Pacifica station *not* operating under a gag rule. KPFA is the only station where continuing and lively discussion explores how we can reclaim the power at Pacifica. Without funding for KPFA, we in northern California (and the world, via the internet webcasts) will no longer have such a station.

I urge local listeners of Pacifica stations across the country to work energetically to reclaim their stations. There are various ways to do this, most of which are discussed at the Free Pacifica website. However, I think a *national* discussion on whether to financially support the *local* stations is bound to be based on inadequate information. We don't lack for issues we can *usefully* discuss!

Yours, Darien of Oakland/Berkeley