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NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF THE INTERIM PACIFICA NATIONAL BOARD - WED., NOV. 12, 2003, 6:30PM ET

PURPOSE OF THE MEETING: Discuss and take action on proposals from Rob Robinson and Carol Spooner

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NATIONAL PROGRAMMING RESOLUTION
SUBMITTED BY ROB ROBINSON

Whereas, the Pacifica Foundation includes a national radio broadcast network of five Foundation-owned, community-based radio stations and more than one hundred affiliate stations; and,

Whereas, the Pacifica mission as found in its Articles of Incorporation (August, 1949) is implemented primarily, but not wholly, through broadcast operations. In accordance with this mission and as a "voice for the voiceless" Pacifica seeks to reach a national audience as diverse as it is broad. Therefore, Pacifica's mission fulfillment is contingent upon goals and strategies designed to reach an expanding audience of listeners across the spectrum of demographic groupings and geographic locations; and,

Whereas, in its role as a national broadcast network, Pacifica must offer a mix of national and local programming. National programming currently includes news, public affairs and analysis such as Democracy Now! and PeaceWatch; news programming such as Free Speech Radio News ("FSRN"); and periodic broadcasts of events of national importance ? such as recent protest actions against the invasion of Iraq

in LA, San Francisco, Houston, New York and Washington, D.C. Recently, Pacifica's most successful national programs

have been rooted in local stations and programmers who have been able to synthesize a compelling contemporary vision of the Pacifica mission in ways that resonate with listeners of all descriptions, and stand in radical contrast to all other broadcast fare; and,

Whereas, two of these programs ? Democracy Now! and FSRN -- are no longer produced by Pacifica employees, because of the Foundation's ambivalent support for national programming. The third, PeaceWatch, is at risk, for want of creative strategies to generate new resources for national programming. Staffing and funding for national programming produced by Pacifica employees of local stations or of the Pacifica National Office, since the legal settlement, is in danger of becoming nonexistent; and,

Whereas, the definition of national programming; its role and function in a national broadcast network; and an understanding of the symbiotic relationship between nationally and locally produced Pacifica programming is no longer clearly understood by many in the Pacifica family, the path to mission fulfillment is problematic.

For example, the ability of national programs to attract audiences that are both broader and more diverse, because they can focus resources on a wider range of issues and bring a higher level of technical and production quality than local programs produced by volunteer programmers and producers, is often construed as a threat to local programs and programmers. In point of fact, Pacifica station managers feature the flagship program, Democracy Now! during the morning rush hour, because the show's strength and broad appeal encourages listeners to stay tuned throughout the day; and,

Whereas, there is a similar lack of awareness of the role that professional national program staff and programming resources can play in:

- Giving local station staff, programmers, local station boards and affiliates with access to a higher level of programming, production and technical resources. - Receiving input from local station staff and programmers in developing

and innovating new ideas. - Providing support for the ongoing development of local station staff and local station programming to higher standards of production and technical quality; and,

Whereas, Pacifica grant funding may depend upon the production of programming for national broadcast. Indeed, Pacifica's recent strides in mission fulfillment derive from the success of shows like Democracy Now!, PeaceWatch and FSRN to reach exponentially larger audiences as a result of their success in attracting new affiliates to Pacifica; and,

Whereas, Pacifica's ability to continue to grow the network will depend upon its ability to fund and implement technologies that will improve its ability to flexibly provide local stations and affiliates with a "menu" of regularly produced programming, as opposed to "must carry" approaches that mandate shows to be broadcast nationally. This will have the additional incentive for local stations and affiliates to create unique and superior quality programs capable of attracting national listenership and notoriety; and,

Whereas, it is the fiduciary responsibility of the Board to identify, develop and allocate staffing and resources for local stations as well as for Pacifica national programming; and,

Whereas, it is the responsibility of the Board to exercise duties and responsibilities found in Article 6, Section 1 and Article 8, Section 2 of the revised Bylaws by establishing criteria for programming standards and program policies and to establish a standing committee of the Foundation Board on Programming; and,

Whereas, the Board's role in programming is not to dictate format or content, but to establish policies, guidelines and resource levels that create the best possible climate for the production of local and national programming that hews to the Pacifica mission and serves a diverse and broad audience;

Now, therefore it is the resolution of the Pacifica Foundation Board of Directors that the Pacifica budget will include an ongoing responsibility center for National Programming whose long-term funding and staffing will be an ongoing priority of the institution. Additionally, the Board will immediately establish a committee to work with local station boards, national and local management, the Pacifica Radio Archives, program staff and affiliates to do the following:

- Work with the Executive Director of the Pacifica Foundation and others, as above, to set budgetary, professional, technical and program parameters for a National Program Office; and,
- create a network-wide consensus for the need to measure, support and improve Pacifica programming strategically; and,
- to prepare a written mission statement for the Board's program committee; and,
- identify resource requirements and staffing patterns for both local station program staff as well as a National Programming office; and,
- ensure that the National Program office has a long-range fundraising and development plan, sufficient to ensure staffing and professional resources for both local station program staff and a National Programming office; and to guarantee that the National Programming office will be able to allocate impact and challenge grants to the local station program staff, in order to help bring consistent improvement to the local stations programming capacity and to enable them to develop particular news and public affairs, as well as arts and cultural components consistent with the local station's identity, mission and traditions; and,
- Explore the development of a collaborative (includes local stations, FSRN, affiliates and others) nationally distributed and Pacifica-produced news and public affairs program, such as PeaceWatch, as well as an iconoclastic program such as KPFA's Hard Knock Radio, designed to bring the Pacifica mission and conscious political messages to younger, more culturally diverse audiences nationwide.

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FROM CAROL SPOONER

Pacifica has been named as a residual beneficiary of a Trust. After the death of the current holder, whatever is left will be distributed to the residual beneficiaries, including Pacifica.

The executor wants to transfer the estate assets to the trust without an expensive formal accounting. To do so, she needs a waiver of accounting from the trust residual beneficiaries, including Pacifica.

Waiving the estate accounting is pretty normal when a husband dies leaving his estate to a trust for the benefit of his wife during her lifetime. But the board needs to pass a resolution waiving the accounting.