To Producers and Staff at KPFK:
(traduccion al Español disponible, mande un correo a lacomite@aol.com, gracias)
My Name is Rodrigo Argueta, I’ve been a volunteer programmer at KPFK for 6 years and a collaborator since 1989.
Currently, I’m part of the of Association of Spanish Producers at KPFK.
I was part of the Free Pacifica Movement eight years ago in which KPFK was facing some difficult times keeping true to its democratic vision. In 2003 I was also part of the CRC (Colectivo de Radio Comunitaria) which fought for the Spanish Language Programming blocks and succeeded.
I’m a former member of the LSB which dates back to 2004 thru 2007. I acquired ample amounts of experience in procedures, bylaws and the enormous potential of such body to truly provide the means to increase listeners membership by improving the best foundation we have; which is our programming. Beside the diversity in music and information, programs must reflect the struggles of different communities.
As part of our efforts and pressure from the Spanish collective, the 2nd floor volunteer room became a reality. This volunteer room currently houses six computers and two laser printers. It is accessible to all KPFK volunteers, collaborators, unpaid staff and paid staff where everyone is welcome to work.
I’m very proud to state that recently, the Association of Spanish Producers started doing community forums using our own resources and the response has been eye opening. There have been a total of six forums in various communities such as Maywood, South Central, Santa Ana, LA, Oxnard and San Fernando.
Through surveys, we found that there is a lot of encouragement from the listeners to be part of the radio by donating time or funds; but we must reach out to them because many listeners don’t know how to approach us. For instance, in the questionnaire they filled out, one of the questions was “Would you like to donate to KPFK?
The results were interesting because many people became members of KPFK this past fund drive and in retrospect, it was because the forums were informative, personal and connecting.
I also work with political social justice organizations in LA which gives me the knowledge of developing tactics and strategies to achieve objectives in short, medium and long term goals. I believe in true, accurate, current and socially meaningful information. I believe that knowing the true facts develops the collective conscience of the human being and liberates the critical and creative capacity of the people.
For me, the main objective of the radio is to contribute to the transformation process of the human being as a social, political, and economic force, who at times neglects to reflect upon their existence as a far more advanced critical thinking person capable of building a true humane society where wars and poverty don’t have a home. Thank you.

1. Why do you want to be on the Local Station Board?

The LSB is the governance body of the radio; therefore, being there is crucial to the future of-not only KPFK-but Pacifica Foundation as a whole.

2. How do you envision the Local station Board working the Pacifica Foundation, KPFK, and the community?

Pacifica Foundation and its national board is the ultimate responsible for the articulation of a successful network of all five stations, based in what the Local Station Board through its delegates had decided is best taking in full account the input from the grass roots organizations and individuals of all communities served under the spectrum of our radio waves.

3. How could the station better serve its listeners?

The listeners are the real owners of the station because the pay for it, the programming changes must have input from them when new shows are chosen and not only the management as it's today; either voting for them and through bodies from the community that analyze that such shows reflects the diversity of the population. We must also have community forums where people can express their views, but such forums should be done at the heart of the communities and not only at certain institutions and universities.

4. Describe some actions you would take to increase the influence of the station in under-represented communities and to increase the diversity of the listening audience?

So far this year with the help of our colectivos have done 6 community forums in different cities around the Los Angeles area, many of those people became members of the radio at the June 2009 fund drive, I also belong to the grass roots organizations in LA and in Mexico, every time we have an event of any kind, we always pass propaganda around and we make sure that people get to know our radio, we also work with several music groups of all kinds and from different racial expression, these groups are invited either to provide funds or to collaborate in programming. We promote the radio through our own blogs, websites, e-mails, the response is great even from other countries in Latin America.

5. What sources of funding, other than listener donations, do you feel KPFK should solicit?

There are many non-profit organizations which are being served by our radio through interviews and by promoting their own fund drives and events, the LSB Outreach Committee should develop a plan to talk to them one by one and have them promise some funds every year, also there are major events such as the anti-war rallies, the pro-immigrant movement marches where money can be collected by having a box, propaganda, and souvenirs from the radio. Many small business owners who are left or progressive oriented would contribute with any compromise from the radio because they also suffer from the system. Small mediums and large cultural, social and political events hosted by the radio is another way to raise funds.

6. 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.

I'm a construction worker, so I learned that life is only once and you have to live to the fullest extend and not be afraid of the hard work, I have a lot of experience in implementing the labor division, some people are more skillful than others for certain trades and I found that that is also applicable to the station at the time of getting good programming or community events done, I'm part of the civil rights movement here in Los Angeles and part of the National Liberation Movement in Mexico, I have worked with the Zapatistas since they showed up in the revolutionary scenario as well as with other human rights groups, I'm already a producer at KPFK for 6 years and a collaborator for about 10 years. I share the interest of those who fights against exploitation, discrimination and poverty and I'm ethical enough to learn from my mistakes and to learn from other's achievements, so I feel I'm able to work under collectives decisions.

7. 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?

The Programming Oversight Committee and the Outreach Committee.