GrassrootsKPFK: Ron Spriestersbach

Ron Spriestersbach is my name, and I’ve been a KPFK listener since its inception. I’m listed on the GrassrootsKPFK slate. I believe that we must shift our emphasis to deal with monstrous economic and migrant injustice, and the stoppage of the assault by global warning.

Ronald Spriestersbach is my name.
You’ll see me in the grassroots,
growing corn and sugar cane.

Social justice is our cause.
You’ll find us in the streets,
correcting all the flaws.

Financial security is our goal.
We fight to get some jobs,
So that from this crisis we’ll emerge whole.

President Bush established a move toward a unitary presidency, and this has been followed by President Obama. I believe that KPFK is also trending in this direction. It is moving toward a condition of less participation by listener members on the Local Station Board committees. More secret meetings by the Governance committee and by the LSB have been established. Punitive trials for dissidents and the use of police guards at LSB meetings have been introduced. These things indicate a move away from democracy, away from the grass roots, and toward more repression.

We must increase our coverage of global warming on KPFK. I, personally, believe that the present trajectory of the environment will take us to extinction along with all other living things, unless we stop the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. If we do, when we stop burning our fossil fuels, we will, according to the first article in the March 2010 issue of the Monthly Review, have to live more simply. We will have to abandon a “greed is good” philosophy. This problem is so important to me that I have enrolled in a Senior Scholars program at UCLA to study global warming.

I am for the continuation and the augmentation of our Spanish language programming. We have the largest Spanish language population of all American cities, but there is a movement in to eliminate Spanish language programs from KPFK. Instead, we must learn to benefit from the large population. Many of the biggest contributors to the station are Spanish speakers, and many of them desire to bring in more members. The attack has been especially focused against Spanish language news, which has recently gained world-wide attention. This trend must be reversed. Some programming in other languages should also be considered. For example, if there is a big crisis in the Korean community, special programming in the Korean language should be considered.

Finally, I feel we must reintroduce local English language news. Especially in times of a huge intensification of local problems, we need up-to-date, high quality local news. The need for news is not satisfied by using programs from KPFA.

Vote for me, Ronald Spriestersbach, (323)-876-1767

Email Ron by clicking here.

Read Ron Spriestersbach's bio here.

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Q & A

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

I desire to work to strengthen KPFK with an emphasis on the grassroots, covering especially local activism, news, and cultural activities.

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

I envision the LSB continuing its work with the Pacifica Foundation, KPFK staff and listener members, as it has in the past, but with a greater emphasis on local affairs, news, cultural affairs, and other local needs of the people of Southern California. The areas of emphasis should be homelessness, poverty, immigrant rights, and in other aspects of civil liberties and civil rights. There should also be a shift of emphasis in attention to global warming throughout Pacifica programming. If our society does not give greater attention to the latter, human life has little chance on this planet, and there is no other planet which can accommodate us.

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

The community for KPFK consists of the people of Southern California. This community can be best served by providing news of and news impacting this community, such as new immigration laws. It is also best served by providing an outlet for the expression of the needs of the community, such as by inviting leaders in the community to have programs, and by covering key events live. KPFK should also strive to have training programs to teach how to prepare and present materials on the air. The greater effort in this area should be directed to the disadvantaged. Forums should be presented on world, national, and local affairs, with an emphasis on the needs of the disadvantaged.

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.

To increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities, I would seek representatives from these groups to become involved as programmers. I would report the news of these communities. I would organize forums in these communities, involving local leaders and local organizations. I would organize training programs to develop new leaders and to put them to work as part of the station.

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?

KPFK should not seek any funds that are tied to corporate or political entities. Foundation grants could be acceptable where the philosophy of the station is not breached.

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.

In high school, I organized a Spanish Club. In DeMolay, a young men’s organization, I went through all the offices. In this group I obtained a lot of leadership experience and had a lot of success as an orator. While at UCLA, I was president of the Unitarian Universalist club. At the first Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, I was, for two years, president of the Fellowship for Social Justice, I served on the finance committee, was president for one year of the annual fund drive, served on the religious education committee, taught church school for three years, and was president of the Board of Trustees for two one year terms. I organized an affiliate of the American Humanist Association at Cal State LA in 2001, and helped to keep it running for seven years. With this group, I organized about 14 programs with speakers on humanism, civil liberties, and civil rights, and politics.

I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in physics in 1951 from UCLA, and I received a master’s degree in physics in 1954. I hold an MS in computer science from USC, and an MBA from Cal State L.A. I also obtained MA degrees in Mathematics and Spanish from Cal State L.A.

Working for my brother-in-law, I helped him load his station wagon with builder’s hardware. For my sister, in the same business, I served as an bookkeeper, preparing the monthly statements, and balancing the books.

I worked for about 10 years as an electronics engineer at Librascope in Glendale. I was also an electronics engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 27 years, where I baby sat many spacecraft for NASA. I worked on the Ranger, Mariner, Viking, and Voyager spacecrafts.

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 currently serving on the Governance committee.

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