Bruce Anderson on local public radio

I just picked up this week’s Anderson Valley Advertiser and found this in Bruce’s Off the Record column, written in the wake of the KC Meadows flap.

KZYX has always maintained a Kremlin-like, if not Kremlin-quality, secrecy. The paranoia’s built-in, mostly because station founder Sean Donovan began KZYX as his private business although he organized it as a nonprofit stuff with his handpicked stooges. Donovan was eventually reimbursed for his work starting up the station out of its always scant resources. The station’s autocratic origins have always insulated it ever since from true community control. By contrast, KMUD was breathed into life by the community surrounding it via democratic processes, many public meetings out of which KMUD grew as a reflection of Southern Humboldt County’s mostly liberal population. It, too, has grown timid with the years, as has the entire Pacifica Network, and we’re right where Ben Franklin predicted we would be 230 years ago, which he said would be foreign wars and despotism, exactly what community radio was founded to combat when the national government was not regarded as the occupying army it is regarded as now.

There’s more to the column and I can’t speak to the KZYX politics. But while I’ve not agreed with every turn KMUD has taken over the last few years (yes, I got mixed up in the internal politics until I, with the entire Personnel Committee resigned in protest), I can’t say it has become “timid” in terms of democracy. Bruce obviously has not attended the meetings of programmers and members over the past 8 years. There have been the usual factional disputes, problems with fiefdoms of power, dogmatism, self-aggrandizement, ill-conceived methods for forcing programmers to volunteer additional time, and whether KMUD should involve itself in other community disputes (either passively or actively – some viewed last year’s move to withdraw from Reggae Rising as a withdrawal from taking sides rather than the reverse). The point is, KMUD is about as democratic as an institution can be and still function. It’s democracy is probably part of the reason it is currently having difficulty meeting its fundraising goals, though there are plenty of additional economic factors.

Please comment freely on whether you believe KMUD has become “timid” with regard to democracy. Posts which are about the PP/Mateel dispute and not about KMUD will be deleted.

Animated argument for single payer

Here.

Some good facts to know, but I’m not sure what I think of the “prom committee” analogy for rhetorical purposes.

Ed’s thoughts on Roger

Just thought I’d bring your attention to Ed Denson’s tribute to Roger. They were friends.

Addendum: Cristina also has a nice piece.

Obama can’t bowl, but he wants you to know he got game

I’m reminded of the shots of the Kennedy family playing football on the White House lawn. Silly, but silly often works.

….

Rev. Wright, who’ll probably be getting this memo from the Obama camp after an interview in which he attributed Obama’s condemnations of his words as those of “a politician,” has an interesting personal history. Tom of KGOE has some of the story.

And while you’re at the KGOE blog, you can vote in a poll to determine whether Dr. Laura or Stephanie Miller would make the better dominatrix. I don’t think Miller’s the best dominatrix-type representative for the left. Maureen Dowd could give Dr. Laura a run for the money. Miller’s too giddy.

….

If you’re actually interested in listening to Rev. Wright and Bill Moyer in complete context (God forbid anything be put in context!), you can go here.

….

Tom Sebourn’s latest post is actually about Rush Limbaugh’s call for riots in Denver. Paging Judge Julius Hoffman! You can read more about Mr. Limbaugh’s comments here. Joke or no joke, if a left winger called for riots in any context there would be hell to pay!

….

I was watching Olberman’s show tonight. He had somebody on from Media Matters, didn’t catch the name. Apparently Senator McCain suggested that maybe New Orleans ought to be torn down to avoid similar crisis in the future. He later said he didn’t remember making the comment. As another example McCain is getting a free ride from the media, there are literally three hits on the Google news. Three.

Media Matters has opened a special website entitled simply “McCain’s Free Ride.” Lots of resources there, including the “10 media myths of McCain.”

Addendum: His highlights. “Hope” beat “Away” 15 to 5.