[grc] FW: NEWS RELEASE: KKFI, Kansas City In Violation of By-Laws

Sat Dec 15 01:53:13 PST 2018

There are still a few of us within Pacifica attempting to pull head out of
sand and facilitate the still growing 250 stations infrastructure to slow
down fast approaching full fascism.  https://rescuepacifica.net/

Also way to much top down control at KKFI for a community radio station.

Tom.

> From: taproot at lmi.net
> 
> From whatever I have observed at Pacifica the procedure seems to be:
> 
> 1) find sandbox.
> 
> 2) stick your head deep enough into the sand until you can't hear or see
> whatever problems made you want to stick your head there in the first
> place.
> 
> 3) get comfortable in that position. don't even try to imagine an
> alternative. Don't worry, everyone knows that if you ignore anything long
> enough it eventually just goes away.
> 
>> Does NFCB have any procedures for conflict resolution at member
> stations?
>> 
>> Frieda Werden, Series Producer
>> WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service www.wings.org
>> 
>> 
>> On Tue, Dec 11, 2018 at 11:36 AM Sharon Lockhart via grc <
>> grc at maillist.peak.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
>>> From: KKFIFour <kkfifour at gmail.com <mailto:kkfifour at gmail.com> >
>>> Date: Thu, Nov 22, 2018 at 8:07 PM
>>> Subject: NEWS RELEASE: KKFI Refuses to Follow By Laws
>>> To: <jbhargava at shawneedispatch.com
>>> <mailto:jbhargava at shawneedispatch.com>
>>>>
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>> 
>>> Kansas City, MO
>>> 
>>> November 20, 2018
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> CONTACT:
>>> Amy Bell
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> PHONE: 913 908 7914
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> EMAIL:
>>> <mailto:KKFIFour at gmail.com>
>>> KKFIFour at gmail.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> KKFI Refuses To Follow By-Laws
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Since January 23, 2018, Sharon Lockhart and three others have been
>>> trying
>>> to get KKFI to follow its due process rules. Rather than follow its
> own
>>> rules, KKFI (Mid-Coast Radio Project, Inc.) has resorted to
> allegations
>>> that Sharon Lockhart and the others were âdiscriminating against
> white
>>> men,â a call seemingly borrowed from the alt right. KKFI then
>>> scrambled to
>>> revise its By-laws and again failed to follow proper procedure in that
>>> endeavor.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The KKFI grievance committee refused to hear the grievance of the
> group
>>> of
>>> four people regarding station process and policy. As an alternative,
>>> Ms.
>>> Lockhart and the three other volunteer members offered to submit to an
>>> objective process with an outside mediator. Instead of agreeing to a
>>> reasonable process or engaging in civil discourse, KKFI accused Ms.
>>> Lockhart and the other three of âdiscriminating against white men.â
>>> This
>>> tactic, which also included a campaign of personal destruction against
>>> Ms.
>>> Lockhart, is a strong-arm course of conduct that should not be
> tolerated
>>> in
>>> a so- called community radio station.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Ms. Lockhart is a producer and host of the Every Woman show. She has a
>>> KKFI volunteer track record of 23 years. With no violation of any
>>> standard or rule, she was suspended from her show and all volunteer
>>> committee work. Ms. Lockhart is no ordinary volunteer, she has single
>>> handedly saved KKFI thousands of dollars over the years while serving
> on
>>> the board and various committees.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Ms. Lockhartâs ouster occurred without any due process and with no
> one
>>> hearing her side of a disagreement that occurred or the course of
>>> events.
>>> KKFI will not provide due process or even acknowledge that the other
> two
>>> women that worked on the show also have a grievance because of certain
>>> actors at KKFI.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Also joined in the grievance is a black man who was suspended because
>>> KKFI
>>> management allegedly found him âscary and dangerous.â Indeed, KKFI
>>> management threatened to call police if the man of color entered the
>>> station again and he has been expelled from the station completely.
>>> His
>>> expulsion, without due process, was based upon an overheard
>>> conversation.
>>> Not one ounce of investigation has been put into the expulsion and the
>>> two
>>> parties to the conversation have been in each other company many times
>>> since the racist overreaction of KKFI.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> In the past, it has been a usual practice for the Grievance Committee,
>>> the
>>> KKFI Board, and management to refuse to hear grievances filed by
>>> members.
>>> This is apparently the first time they have been challenged. Most
>>> members
>>> recognize the cost of standing up and speaking out is to lose their
> spot
>>> on
>>> the air. In this way many past board and committee members have had to
>>> keep their heads down to keep their show. The four grievants are now
>>> paying the price and the community should rally behind them to prevent
>>> this
>>> injustice.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> KKFI decided that rather than follow the process outlined in its
>>> By-laws,
>>> it first stonewalled for weeks. Then it denied the grievance outright,
>>> and
>>> then determined that it got to pick and choose what grievance it would
>>> hear
>>> rather than the one that was put forward. A campaign of personal
>>> attacks
>>> were also lodged against Ms. Lockhart. She has been insulted publicly
>>> in a
>>> number of different ways that are commonly used to keep older women in
>>> their place, including, being called âabusiveâ and âvile.â KKFI
>>> made
>>> spurious allegations that Ms. Lockhart wanted to âtake the station
>>> downâ
>>> and that she was a âbully.â
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> After an appeal to the board, KKFI has given Ms. Lockhart an ultimatum
>>> that it will only hear her grievance but not the grievance of the
> other
>>> three people in the group as a whole grievance. KKFI has no reasoning
>>> for
>>> separating the group and failing to provide due process to the other
>>> three
>>> individuals. It has said that it will allow the other three to
>>> participate as âwitnessesâ but they can only address the committee
>>> for 5
>>> minutes and cannot be in the room for the whole presentation.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Prior to this latest twist, KKFI had agreed to go to an outside
>>> mediation
>>> but backed out of that promise because KKFI would not agree to the
>>> outside
>>> mediators the Grievants proposed (including two white men and a white
>>> woman). KKFI insisted on a single mediator it proposed. However, he
>>> lacked
>>> corporate experience and KKFI would not propose another mediator. KKFI
>>> then made horrible allegation that the grievants were âdiscriminating
>>> against white menâ because it rejected the proposed mediator. The
>>> Grievantsâ lawyer demanded a retraction of such a statement and,
>>> recognizing that it had crossed a line, KKFI withdrew the statement.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> KKFI claims to be a community radio station dedicated to giving a
>>> platform
>>> to diverse voices across the Kansas City area. It appears that this
>>> does
>>> not include the voices and opinions of strong women and black men.
>>> KKFI
>>> pretends that it operates fairly but apparently not when it is intent
>>> upon
>>> ridding itself of those who ask questions, and those who insist on
> fair
>>> play, ethical actions, and accountability. The public and other
> members
>>> should expect more of a publicly funded and donor supported non-profit
>>> radio station and tax- free institution.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> To request that KKFI hear the Grievance of the KKFI Four, as written,
>>> in
>>> a fair, transparent, and open setting, Call KKFI at 816 931-3122.
>>> Non-Profits owe accountability to public donors.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ###
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> If you would like more information about this topic, please call Amy
>>> Bell
>>> 913 908 7914
>>> 
>>> or Email: KKFIFour at gmail.com <mailto:KKFIFour at gmail.com> .
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> grc mailing list
>>> grc at maillist.peak.org
>>> http://maillist.peak.org/mailman/listinfo/grc
>>> 
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