KPFK dodges a bullet, stays on the air

People who observe KPFK say the Pacifica station seems to be almost in permanent fundraising mode those days, as the support for leftist politics on FM radio shrinks, and the station lost funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. But last week's emergency fund drive was just what it sounds like — "full survival mode," says a story in OC Weekly by Gabriel San Roman, a former producer of the station's flagship news program, "Uprising Radio." "Either [KPFK] raises $300,000 dollars during a one-week emergency fund drive or it faces the harsh choice of locking the doors to the two-story red brick building in North Hollywood and going off the air to save money," San Roman says. They made the nut, but that just keeps the lights on and the transmitter powered up for now.

Being free from commercials and corporate underwriting allowed KPFK to offer an outlet for left-wing politics through the decades….Today it continues on, albeit under extreme financial duress, as an umbrella of political perspectives ranging from progressive democrats to anti-capitalist anarchists…

Interim General Manager Anyel Zuberi Fields finishes answering phones during the pledge drive before settling in his office. "The station has been running about a four year deficit. During most of that time, there hasn't been any change in the way that we raise funds," he explains. "We were going to hit a point where we couldn't even pay our utilities."

Fields is determined to become stabilizing presence even though his position is as tenuous as the station's future. Since taking the reigns in July after nine years with KPFK, he's opened up new revenue streams away from the fund drives that constitute 98% of station funding. The money is starting to trickle in. Listeners can now become Sustainer Circle members by signing up for automatic monthly donations. Media sponsorship for big events like the Pan African Film Festival has been monetized.

The hope is to break new ground while trying to dig the station out of a hole. Fields wants to repair the newsroom and build trust anew with listeners. But for as much as other avenues are being explored, in times of crisis there's only one way to get a quick cash infusion. "If we didn't have this fund drive, we couldn't make payroll, we couldn't pay utilities and a whole slew of other bills," Fields says. He contemplated shutting the station down indefinitely until it caught up with its finances and if the emergency drive flopped, his hand would be forced to do so.

The station's earlier winter fund drive "damn near went into spring," says the OC Weekly story. Now the spring fund drive is set to begin next month.

Last year, longtime interim program director Alan Minsky (yes, at KPFK that's not an oxymoron — he's had the interim job since 2009) proposed a model for keeping the Pacifica Radio station afloat financially. He wrote at Truthdig: "Tragically, over the past decade Pacifica has been unable to get its act together, expand what it does best and fulfill its role as a socially transformative institution. 'Building a Powerful Pacifica'...outlines a clear and concrete strategy for Pacifica to grow rapidly into the most powerful left/progressive media outlet in the country. This is exactly what the overwhelming majority of Pacifica listeners want to see, and what tens of millions of Americans have been waiting for: an honest left/progressive media outlet that affects the national dialogue." Here's his piece.

Also, earlier in April Pacifica named a new executive director.

Photo: Gabriel San Roman/OC Weekly