KVNF and Political Activism
Joel Kaplan
April 16, 2012
Two years ago, Sally Kane, the executive director of public radio station KVNF radio in Western Colorado, took a partial leave of absence to coordinate the re-election campaign of Democratic State Sen. Gail Schwartz. She formally requested the leave with the station's board of directors and received permission.
Now Michael Johnson, of Delta, Colorado, has sent a letter of complaint about Ms. Kane and her activities:
"The NPR station here in western Colorado needs to be investigated for misuse of taxpayer money. In the last election, the station manager took a 'leave of absence' to run a political campaign for one of her liberal friends in the state legislature. She pretended she wasn't working at the station any more during her 'leave', but she was still on the payroll! She continued to get her taxpayer-subsidized paycheck while she crafted lies about respected businessman Bob Rankin. Despite the large amount of money her candidate spent on smearing Bob and buying the election, I guess they just couldn't pay her enough to take her hands out of the taxpayers' pockets.
"During the campaign, Sally Kane was still in charge of the station, and thus in charge of the news about her candidate. They even let her use their meeting room for campaign events and I bet didn't charge them a penny. I can't believe that I am forced to subsidize this scam with my tax dollars. I thought for sure this would get noticed by someone in your department, but if you have, it doesn't appear that you have done anything about it. I read that KVNF just got a check for $200,000 from you that they are going to spend on reporting on 'global warming' in our area. Have you not noticed that there is this giant hole that you are shoveling this money out of? STOP NOW! This station doesn't have any clue what 'fair and balanced' means, and consistently refuses to allow a conservative viewpoint to be broadcast. Liberals can get on the air any time to talk about why it is important for legalize drugs or have the government take over hospitals, but no conservatives can even get on for a rebuttal! And this is in a county where we voted two to one against Obama and will be voting four to one against him in November.
"She continues today as a Democrat activist and operative, and is also still skimming her paycheck from the taxpayer-funded dole. Now that it is another election season, are you going to let her pull this scam again? Please put an end to this charade, stop giving them our money, and give it back to us!"
For her part, Ms. Kane has responded to the points made by Mr. Johnson in his letter:
"From May 3, 2010 to November 15, 2010 I took a partial leave of absence to coordinate a re-election campaign for State Senator Gail Schwartz. The details of my leave are attached in a separate document for your review including a run down of the tasks that were re-assigned and the ongoing administrative duties that I maintained. During that time frame, I did not host any on-air programs or make any programming or scheduling decisions. In fact, I was not even permitted to continue as a volunteer DJ for a music show I have been hosting for 10 years. My one time on-air during the time frame was August 9, 2010. We did a one-day fundraiser for a capital campaign to replace a transmitter. The campaign was already underway before my leave and I am an experienced on-air fundraiser who had done much of the crafting of the campaign so the board requested my assistance. At no point on that day or any other during the time frame did I make any mention of Senator Schwartz or any mention of the election year at all. My pay at KVNF was raised through donations from members and not from CPB monies. It was structured to compensate my time for the specific duties lined out in the leave proposal.
"During my partial leave of absence, I was not 'in charge' of the station. Our Program Director Ali Lightfoot moved into my office and took over the duties of day-to-day station management. I had no regular hours in the office. Our KVNF meeting room was not used for campaign events. The room is made available to members at no charge. Interestingly, Senator Schwartz is a member of this radio station and others in her district. She has been interviewed here on occasion by our news department since she first ran for office on 2006, as have numerous other candidates and elected officials.
"As for the opinions about our News Department I would say that all of our stories are archived on our website www.kvnf.org and I stand behind them. During the 6 months I was on leave from KVNF we had a full time Program Director and a News Director. The News Director worked under the Program Director. I did not attend or serve on our Program Committee or make any program related decisions. In 2011 we started a local newscast and trained a few part-time reporters to help us cover regional issues. We have an editorial policy in place and we make a consistent effort to air many points of view. Each month we have a County Commissioners report and all three Commissioners are Republicans, Republicans sit on our board of directors and serve as volunteer DJs. I am also attaching a summary of the election 2010 candidate coverage we aired.
"We are members of an umbrella organization called Rocky Mountain Community Radio (RMCR). As a group we pool resources to pay for a state capital reporter who produces daily short features on the work happening in the Colorado Legislature. These pieces are also archived on our website. A link to our board docuwiki which contains all of our minutes, policies, financials and reports is available for anyone to see."
As for Mr. Johnson's complaint about the $200,000 he said the station received from CPB to report on global warming, Ms. Kane said that he is mistaken:
"KVNF was chosen as an incubator station for the Localore project that the Associates of Independents in Radio (AIR) is funding (with help from CPB and the MacArthur Foundation). We have received nothing from AIR. In fact, we are contributing over $23,000 in In Kind support to the project. All of the grant money goes to support the work of the independent producer Julia Kumari Drapkin who was matched with KVNF for this project (we paid a $2,000 administrative fee to AIR just last week). And, as a point of record, the grant award was just over $100,000."
Ms. Kane's response, however, did not satisfy Mr. Johnson. Here is the follow-up from Mr. Johnson as well as the final response from Ms. Kane.
Mr. Johnson:
"I think what Kane has provided just supports what I have told you. She admits she was working on the campaign AND she was still getting paid by KVNF with my tax dollars. I find that leave document to be quite hilarious--she got paid for fifteen days of work at home doing e-mail? Can I sign up for that, too? She says she wasn't in the office to be in charge, but then the leave document says she got paid for thirty days of work. So when she came in to work, her staff just pretended that she wasn't their boss? If they wanted to have the candidates on for a debate, or do a news report about the election, wouldn't she be involved from both sides? Everywhere there is a left-winger friend of hers that she has hired herself, so I doubt it would make a difference anyway, but who is going to oppose her or say something against her candidate when she is the one in charge of their paycheck?
"I'm not sure I believe that is all she got paid during the campaign. You should check their bank records to see how many checks she got and for how much. Does it match what she says in the leave document? I'd also check whether they subsidized the campaign in other ways--did she get reimbursed for mileage and claim it was station business? Who paid her cell phone bill? She was seen at a debate with a laptop--was that provided by the campaign, her own, or was it one from KVNF? Schwartz has lots of money, but I bet she was too cheap to buy Kane a laptop--she knew the government could cover it.
"She included the board minutes to show that they approved her leave. So? It is made up of friends of hers that she put on the board herself. It is not representative of our communities, which are definitely conservative. There are no representatives of the business community, no one from the energy industry, and no one who didn't move here from somewhere else. If there are any Republicans, which I doubt, they are Republicans in Name Only.
"I stand corrected on the amount of the current grant. It's only 100K that they will spend on having people text in how their tomatoes 'are acting funny this summer.' I'll be tuning in for that!
"They can try to hide how much they are dependent upon my tax dollars to keep them afloat, but there are public records that show that they get over $100,000 a year in unrestricted cash. They also got hundreds of thousands in tax dollars to buy equipment for their new building a few years ago, and then again in 2010 for new transmitters. They even got stimulus money! If it were not for my tax dollars, KVNF would dry up and blow away. They can observe the behavior of tomatoes on their own dime!
"Kane denies using the KVNF building for events, but it is common knowledge in Paonia that they did so on multiple occasions. In March or April of 2010, Schwartz came to the votech to hold a 'town hall' meeting about a law she was secretly working on to force the closure of coal-fired power plants. Schwartz pretended to be listening to the obviously outraged local coal miners, but really was just making excuses and trying to hide the fact that she is bought and paid for by Aspen environmentalists. After the meeting, she would not stay to talk to local Constitutional Patriots and Tea Party members, and dodged us by heading into KVNF. She was joined by Kane and several other Democratic Party activists. The door was locked behind them and the meeting or party they had then was not open to the public. In case she says they went there to make an appearance on the radio, that's bull. You can see the studio from the front door and they were not in it. A music show was playing on the radio.
"Another time, in September or early October 2010, Kane, Schwartz, and campaign staff were in Paonia leafleting and campaigning door to door. They used the radio station offices as a base camp, coming and going throughout the day. Workers were wearing Schwartz campaign t-shirts, and carrying campaign door hangers and yard signs. They used the back door in an apparent attempt to be less noticeable. These are just two examples, but I'm sure there were many more that we don't know about.
"Kane trying to say she isn't a Democrat anymore is like water saying it isn't wet. Every time she gets up in public to speak, and she does it a lot, she preaches the Democrat gospel. And DMEA isn't partisan? Tony Prendergast and Ed Marston are the people who MADE it political by attacking coal and attempting to empty reasonable people's wallets to pay for their 'renewable' energy schemes. They just hate coal and want to shut down the mines so they can make everything pretty for the Denver wine tourists.
"If Kane being the campaign manager wasn't a problem, why did she attempt to keep it quiet? There was no press release or public declaration that she was stepping aside or that she was taking another job. Station volunteers were told that she was taking a leave, but not exactly what she was doing or that she was still going to be paid. In a letter in the KVNF newsletter after the election, she discussed how nice it was to have had a leave but not what she did on her leave. If it was not a problem, then why did she avoid saying what she did? And why does she want to have a private phone call with you--is there something she wants to keep from being part of the public record?
"She can do what she wants on her radio station--she just needs to pay for it herself!"
Ms. Kane:
"These notes are in response to the complaint issued by Michael Johnson against me and KVNF Community Radio. I have already responded to Mr. Johnson's initial complaint and provided documentation on the nature of my partial leave of absence in 2010, the nature of a multi-media project called 'iseechange' that is happening at our station, and the election year 2010 coverage we aired at KVNF.
"I am now providing an excel worksheet which details exactly what our 2010 CPB CSG revenue was spent on at KVNF. There is also a tab detailing my pay during the leave period in question. Finally, there is a tab detailing all mileage reimbursements that KVNF disbursed during the leave period. I hope this clears the air regarding any alleged misuse of funds at KVNF. The charge that my salary is paid for by Mr. Johnson's tax dollars (in 2010 or anytime over my tenure here) is false. Our priority for CSG funding is squarely placed on the program and operations side of our budget. That has always been the case. As our full audited financials show, I raise my salary from individual membership donations.
"Furthermore, I am very well versed in the intricacies of the eligibility criteria for the CSG program. I have not one shred of doubt that we have operated in compliance within CPB's established guidelines and criteria to the very best of our abilities. We understand and support the intent of the Communications Act. We take our participation in this program very seriously and are grateful for the resources we are able to access because of it.
"I'm very proud of the job I have done managing this station. I am confident in my ability to lead. My work at KVNF is characterized by integrity, commitment, and persistent effort. I moved to this area in 1973 when I was in third grade. KVNF has been part of my life since its humble beginnings as a 10-watt station. It is a great privilege and honor for me to be able to steward it through eight years of growth that has included a $1,000,000 capital campaign for a new facility, a growing membership base, a larger professional staff, an increase in major/annual/legacy giving, expanded local news and public affairs programming, and successful community engagement work.
"Mr. Johnson implies that I have far more power than I do. I don't 'put' anyone on our board. Our board members are elected by the members at our annual meeting by secret ballot. Our board is comprised of dedicated and intelligent people who volunteer their time and expertise for the betterment of the station. Our Bylaws spell out very clearly how we elect our board. A full copy is available via a link on our website to the board's docuwiki. For the purposes of this response I am pasting the relevant section below:
ARTICLE IV. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1.
(a) Members of the Corporation shall elect the Board of Directors by secret ballot. Directors shall be elected to all open seats in a descending order of the vote for the Candidates, from highest to next highest, until all open seats are filled. Voting ballots will be posted on the KVNF website for downloading, may be mailed by request, and will be available at the KVNF business office not later than 30 days prior to the election, and at the Annual Membership Meeting. Should there be only one candidate standing for each of the vacancies, voting ballots will be considered superfluous and will not be used. Qualifications for directors shall include, but are not limited to, a demonstrated interest in the Corporation, a genuine interest in community broadcasting, and membership in the Corporation.
(b) Secret ballots shall be counted at the Annual Membership Meeting. To be counted, ballots must be received at the KVNF offices no later than 5pm on the last business day prior to the date of the Annual Membership Meeting or must be physically presented at the meeting.
Section 2.
(a) The maximum number of Directors of the Corporation shall be nine (9), and the minimum number shall be seven (7).
Section 3.
(a) Directors shall normally serve a term of three (3) years
(b) A call for nominations for Directors shall be issued 60 days prior to the Annual Membership Meeting. All candidates for Directors shall submit a Statement of Intent and a biography no later than 45 days prior to the Annual Membership Meeting.
(c) The terms of the Directors shall be staggered so that the terms of only three (3) Directors will expire at the end of any given year.
(d) In selecting the appointed replacement Director (s) the Board of Directors will give due consideration to the runner-up candidate (s) from the election of Directors at the previous Annual Meeting.
Section 4.
Directors shall not be compensated for their services as Directors. They may
be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in performing the business
of the Corporation.
"KVNF has monthly board meetings which are open to the public. Public comments are a standing item on our agenda. Our offices are open to the public during regular business hours. Our phone lines are open for comments from the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our finances are voluntarily audited every year by an independent accounting firm. Our policies, board minutes, committee reports, and governing documents are all available to anyone who cares to see them via our website or by requesting a hard copy from our staff. By design, we are an organization that values transparency and public input. We receive a great deal of feedback from our listeners that is both positive and negative and everything in between. We welcome that. It helps us do a better job, fulfill our mission statement, and stay connected with the people we serve.
"Mr. Johnson's allegations concerning my behavior and my ethical standards range from inaccurate to fantasy. I pay for my own cell phone. I never held political meetings in the radio station or used it as a 'base.' I am not an 'operative' by any stretch of the imagination. Mr. Johnson's complaint is peppered with innuendo and inflammatory language. Unfortunately, neither I, nor CPB, nor KVNF can remedy his grievances against the federal government, the state legislature, the Democratic Party, or the Delta Montrose Electric Association. In my opinion, Mr. Johnson is using this process to seek to intimidate me and damage the reputation of KVNF. His motives belong to him but their vitriolic nature is regrettable to say the very least.
"Mr. Johnson closes his complaint by stating 'She can do what she wants on her radio station--she just needs to pay for it herself!' I would like to close my response by stating that KVNF is not my radio station. KVNF belongs to its members who participate in its governance and provide its support. It exists in order to provide a valuable service to the public. I am honored to be part of it. My job at KVNF is meaningful to me, it helps me support my family, and it serves a need in my community. I feel very fortunate that I have been able to return to my childhood home, find rewarding work, and raise my family here. I can only hope my grand children will have some of the same opportunities I have had to be a productive, gainfully employed, hard working, engaged citizen."
Final thoughts:
The dispute here is emblematic of complaints heard around the country about public broadcasting, particularly by those who believe that public media should not be taxpayer-funded because it is dominated by a liberal bias.
In the case of KVNF, Ms. Kane's partial leave of absence buys into that narrative because she used her free time to work on the campaign of a Democratic state senator.
Nevertheless, in this particular case, I don't believe Ms. Kane did anything wrong. She followed proper procedures and received approval for her leave. There is no indication she used her position to influence news coverage or that she engaged in any unethical activity.
Still, this shows how important it is that all public broadcasting stations adopt and subscribe to a code of ethics that detail what is allowed and what is not allowed when it comes to outside activity.
There are those who believe that only news personnel should abstain from any outside involvement in political or public policy issues. But this case shows that even executives who are not involved in news coverage should avoid such entanglements.
In the case of Ms. Kane, her involvement in a political campaign in 2010 had no influence on KVNF's news coverage because it didn't really have a news department back then. It's only local news coverage involved less than 20 shows that were either forums, debates or coverage of county commission meetings.
But now KVNF has a much more vibrant news operation and is out covering stories of interest to its listeners.
Ms. Kane understands that given the current news operation at KVNF it would be inappropriate for her to do what she did back in 2010 and has no intention to do so again.