GrassrootsKPFK: Chuck Anderson

My name is Chuck Anderson. I am president of the O.C. Chapter American Civil Liberties Union, Chair of the O.C. Peace and Freedom Party, Vice President, Elders Council, Alianza Indigena, organizer and cofounder of the KPFK Support Group with near nine years antiwar and human rights weekly street corner protesting. I am past president of O.C. Veterans for Peace, past president of The Tustin Municipal Employee Association and former Board member of O. C. Unitarian Church. I am a volunteer for Change Links, KPFK, The World Can't Wait, member of National Lawyer's Guild, NAACP, CAIR, ARA, AL AWDA, Viva Palestinia, KPFK Outreach Committee, a volunteer for ANSWER Los Angeles and The International Action Center. I am a Pan Africanist, Bolivarian and support open borders, open arms and open hearts for all immigrants.

I fully support Spanish programming. An energetic effort must be made to return full representation of the African American community on KPFK.

Remembering the past presidential campaign when the KPFK airwaves were constantly promoting the Democratic Party candidate but were near mute on third party candidates.

Problems are that our station has deviated to medical quackery, crystal ball divining, snake oil promoting and an abundance of spiritual religious programming with an absence of educational and political programming. Abrupt program canceling and harsh rescheduling are unacceptable. Some LSB members (so called Progressive Democrats) are attempting to syndicate Pacifica programming like National Public Radio with generic topics and personality promoting. Why has the Lew Hill dream been deferred? Why has The Mission Statement been trashed? Please read and reread the Pacifica Mission Statement. We have no or little coverage of community events, community and local news reporting has been can canceled.

I am for socialism. Ownership of the tremendous productive wealth built by the hundreds of millions of workers can't remain in the hands of a privileged few. The environment and oceans are poisoned We must build our good ideas into practice. I am for the student, labor, women's lesbian/gay/bi/trans, queer, antiwar and anti-racists, pro-immigrant movements.

My father was a paratrooper who died in battle in the final days of World War II. He was involved in liberating German death camps. Now, military bases and all colonial occupations should cease. Palestine must be free.

In high school, following the lynching of Emmitt Till 1955, I was influenced and befriended by the great poets Langston Hughes and Ray Durem. I immigrated to Mexico and lived there for 20 years where I was an English instructor and sub-director of the United Nations School in Puebla. I was the foreign correspondent for the LA/Detroit Herald Dispatch, under the management of Malcolm X and Pat Alexander. I have published poems, photographs and news articles in Robert Williams, The Crusader, Bohemia, La Habana, Workers World, Peoples Weekly World, El Don, West Seventeenth ST., The Fullerton Observer, Street Scene, Change-Links and Others.

Email Chuck by clicking here.

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Q & A

Why do you want to be on the Local Station Board (LSB)?

I want to participate in the governance of KPFK. I see the station direction ignoring the Pacifica Mission Statement and filling broadcast programs with an agenda much like NPR Radio. There is a great lack of community programs, the local news has been trashed. The Berkeley news is inadequate. There is a minimal announcing local and community events. There is a “good old boys” club of staff and programmers who resist improvement and change. The quality of programming is unacceptable. We need a house cleaning of programs and programmers. We need revolutionary change at KPFK and programming for the listeners.

How do you envision the LSB working with the Pacifica Foundation, staff and listener members?

I envision much improved relations and with a new and fresh Board and Foundation with new and improved acting and fresh ideas.

How can your station better serve the community? Please define community.

We need an honest election. The election rules should be respected by the staff and candidates. We need honest and accurate vote counting. We need to end the “Gag” rule recently implemented. It is not free speech. The listeners should be allowed to call in and comment on every program without censorship.

Describe some actions you would take to increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities and to increase the diversity of the listening audience.

We need more representation from the African American community. There is no representation of the vast homeless peoples of Los Angeles. The station should represent the many political factions of the community and not just constantly broadcast promotions for the Democratic Party. This station belongs to the listeners not the Democratic Party. They have taken over our broadcasting and political direction. There are other political parties which are disenfranchised on KPFK. We must stop the Democratic Party take over!

What sources of funding, other than listener donations, do you feel your station should solicit? Do you have any ideas with respect to improving the current funding mechanisms?

We should not continue to promote “snake oil” and miracle potions to raise funds or make outlandish medical claims to solicit funds. We should ask for membership funds. We should turn away from vulgar miracle cure hawkers and go to the people who are wishing for some true value information to come from the radio. Are they trying to wreck our station?

Please state briefly the skills, experience, educational background, work history, organizational affiliations, areas of community service, areas of interest and expertise that you would bring to the Pacifica network as a member of the Local Station Board.

If you read my candidate statement and brief biography, you will see that I am well experienced and qualified to serve on the Listener Station Board. I am involved with many justice organizations.

On which Local Station Board committees are you interested in actively serving? If you are a current Local Station Board member, on which committees do you currently serve?

I am an active member of The KPFK Outreach Committee. We hold public events, solicit memberships and plan public forums and picnics.

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