This page revised 2012 November 16. Please vote for me for the Co-op Radio board! by Korky Day, 2012 Nov. 16. 2012 Nov. 18, Sunday, register 1:30 pm, meet 2 pm; SFU-HC, 515 W. Hastings St., Vancouver. I would like to serve on your board in order to promote democracy. For a few years there has been dissatisfaction among many members. People have been banned, some unfairly. Others have left in disgust. Whole programmes have been lost unnecessarily. Many are afraid to speak up. Few among the disaffected have the energy to stand for election, as they dislike co-op politics and meetings. I am willing to try. Whether you are dissatisfied yet or not, please let me be one voice on the board of 9. A board majority always has the choice of either conciliation or retaliation against its critics. I want the former, but instead of supporting me to be elected, the board has gone to the opposite extreme. They have banned me from the premises on trumped up charges, just for being critical of them. They say that I'm harassing for writing like this. There are threats to call the police on me and lay charges of libel. Who knows if I'll be allowed into the AGM or onto the ballot? They haven't told me. Anyway, I'll try. It will be up to YOU if I am given a fair chance at the AGM. Don't miss it. Stand up for democracy. However, we are still using an undemocratic plurality ballot, so you'll have to vote consciously to counter-balance that. Even if you support the present board, you should vote for an opposition candidate, too (such as me), in order to get a balanced board. Having me on the board will allow differences to be worked out respectfully in the board instead of being left to fester. Then board decisions will be more thought-out and more options considered. The co-op will save money. Even if you stay quiet and "just do your show", you may find the co-op faltering and frittering away money. I have answered Yes to each of the 13 questions in the candidate questionnaire below. Today, 2 days before the election, I still haven't heard of any other candidates. There are probably 3 or 4 vacancies. If you know a candidate (or are one), please ask them to answer the questionnaire, too, or contact me. End of article. Candidate questions & answers Election for the board of directors of Vancouver Co-operative Radio. 2012 Nov. 18, Sunday, register 1:30 pm, meet 2 pm; SFU, 515 W. Hastings St., Vancouver. 2012 Nov. 16. The only candidate known yet is Korky Day, whose answers follow. Other candidates, please answer. If elected, will you: 1. Welcome members to e-mail and telephone you personally? Korky Day answers: Yes. We can phone, e-mail, or meet, even if I am not elected (see end). 2. Submit member concerns to the board, even if you disagree with them? Korky Day: Yes. The board needs to stay in touch with what the members know and want. Many members now think that the board and meetings are lost causes. 3. Encourage more member participation in board and committee meetings? Korky Day: Yes. There are limits, of course, but the board has been unwilling recently to cede even a couple of minutes. Also, many of the meetings are not announced to the members. 4. Support a spending moratorium on public advertising and promotion until we analyze and discuss public-opinion data and re-think our strategy? Korky Day: Yes. Such data can be gathered by volunteers. I myself did a poll in which 55% of 76 potential listeners criticized our new billboards. Only 32% liked them without reservation, few of whom were enthusiastic. Try polling strangers yourself, and you'll see. 5. Try to prevent broadcasts of femicide-promoting hip-hop? Korky Day: Yes. I was at a meeting on that recently. Our official response is a disgrace. 6. Abide by valid decisions of the co-op membership unless absolutely necessary to do otherwise (in which case, with full explanation)? Korky Day: Yes. Unlike some, I will not consider myself above you because you elect me. 7. Try to re-create what we had until the last few years on the premises and at meetings: a climate of peaceful, open, friendly discussion, even if very critical? Korky Day: Yes. I was barred from our premises 2012 Oct. 16 and am still barred because I was campaigning for this election on the premises. Then, when I was peacefully and cheerfully outside on the sidewalk on Columbia Street on Oct. 23, the board's agent threatened to call the police on me if I didn't leave the vicinity. For our first 3 decades, such things didn't happen. I have not been accused of any violence or unsafeness. 8. Try to reconcile with "Wake Up with Co-op", "Voice of Palestine", and other programmes and programmers who left voluntarily out of disgust or were squeezed out? Korky Day: Yes. I participated in those processes, but the board failed to satisfy the very reasonable positions of many programmers. There are obvious win-win solutions which are still being ignored. Ask me. 9. Be aware and pro-active enough on the board to head off problems in the whole co-op before they escalate to major rifts, not just dump the problems onto our busy staff? Korky Day: Yes. Some even brag about our board following the "weak board" model, which gives more power to the staff. 10. Work to expand greatly our co-op's outreach on the Internet (in addition to our own Web pages)? Korky Day: Yes. We are years behind most other organisations. 11. Work to enable communication, discussion, and conflict resolution among all us members on the Internet? Korky Day: Yes. Unfortunately, some people feel that member empowerment is not a priority. 12. Try to stop our spending on glossy, full-colour Listener's Guides? Korky Day: Yes. They make us look suddenly nouveau riche with swap money, as if we don't need donations anymore. And the new Guide was published without any schedule or any mention of any of our 90+ programmes (except Redeye). 13. Get beyond the accusations and blaming; avoid revenge and feuding; and practice conciliation, magnanimity, and win-win solutions? Korky Day: Yes. I offer an olive branch. I am willing to serve on the board while my own appeal proceeds, though others are trying to ensure my electoral defeat with the trumped up charges. The board is refusing to acknowledge my appeal so far. I would wait until my own case is over before standing for office, but I cannot find anyone else who's willing to be a candidate. I do not have a slate of candidates aiming to over-run the board. I'll be just one director out of 9, trying to get support by making good cases on the issues. Please see the value in letting the true diversity of our co-op be represented on the board, even if you disagree with me. Then the conflicts can be healed in the meetings instead of turning to outside authorities. End of article. Reign of fear must end! Restore open discussion! Elect better directors Nov. 18! Establish democracy, honesty! Korky Day banned by board on trumped up charges, threatened with police! by Korky Day, CRM editor. 2012 Oct. 18, 22, 23, & 25. korkyday (at) yahoo (dot) com . I was banned 2012 October 16 from the premises of Co-op Radio, wrongly accused of violating the Safe Spaces Policy. I am a lifetime member with 37 years experience (off and on) with the co-op. That policy is supposed to protect the staff from criminal or vicious attack. Instead, the board has been using it to muzzle justified criticism of themselves and others. My specific criticisms are summarized in the next article below. Allegedly I made the work space unsafe for the staff, but no one has accused me of anything other than comments that make the board and others squirm because they feel guilty. So they say my style is too "harsh" in order to excuse their muzzling. I was accused of humiliating someone, but that person and I had a normal discussion to which that person reacted well, without any apparent fear or humiliation. At the end of our little talk, I persuaded that person to agree with my point, which is evidence that it was constructive. My point was that our billboards could have had our new frequency in larger numerals. In other words, the board is using their banning power once again to try to silence a critic, in this case, me. I was campaigning on the premises for election to the board, which naturally entailed expressing my dismay about many crucial board decisions. I criticize respectfully and honestly and not too loudly, but they say otherwise, presumably to justify the ban. Others have been similar victims, too, over the last few years. You could be next. If all the current active members who have expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the board would go on strike, that would be at least 29 hours a week of "dead air" that others would have to fill. But instead I'd rather have a united opposition for the AGM on 2012 Nov. 18 in order to elect at least one person to represent them. We'll see. The board probably will try to stop me from being a candidate for the board in the 2012 Nov. 18 election. So maybe you should be a candidate, too. If you don't unite with us, you might find yourself out on your ear, too. Unlike most of the board members, I am open and accountable. I am willing to meet and/or talk with any member. They are not. Most of them are rude, secretive, and insulated. That's why they make so many poor decisions--because they're not listening to all their members and all their options. They need at least one outspoken critic on the board to bring them to their senses. I don't expect to get a majority because only about 3 of 9 seats are up for grabs. And because I don't know of any other opposition candidate. Maybe it's you. With an effective opposition, all the co-op members will feel represented, better decisions will be made, and the long-overdue healing can begin for our whole co-op. It seems, however, that some are desperate to defeat me and others who want true democracy. I think that they know that we have considerable votes in a secret ballot. However, they were able to defeat me last year (2011) with 2 unknowns--because too few members actually came out to vote. Don't let that happen again! Please, every supporter of Co-op Radio (even if you oppose me) attend and vote. And beforehand, listen to both sides. E-mail me. Ask for my phone number, if you want. We can talk. Please vote for me for the board of directors at the AGM if you believe in a diversity of opinion on the board, whether you like my ideas or not. You must be a paid-up member, etc. Don't let them suppress the vote, as they did blatantly in 2010, which I witnessed. Co-op Radio's annual general meeting: 2012 November 18, Sunday, 1:30 pm register, 2 pm meet, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 W. Hastings St., Vancouver. Police threat Oct. 23 How far will the board go to defeat me in the board election? On Oct. 23, an agent of the board told me to my face that I couldn't stand on the public sidewalk near the station because I might talk with members of Co-op Radio. They wanted to prevent me from talking with any member, not just staff or contracted workers, which I have agreed not to approach. I generally ask members to vote for me at the November AGM. That person then threatened to call the police if I didn't leave. I left for the time being. It's just like when Dan McLeod threatened to call the police on us when we were occupying our own Georgia Straight office ~1972. The difference is that now the out-crowd is not militant enough to support me openly much yet. Anyway, it shows how desperate they are. Which means that if all of you contact the board and speak to the membership on the side of conciliation and openness, and against their extreme threats and muzzling, it could tip the balance and allow me to be elected. That is, if they will let me on the ballot. You should insist on that. Please e-write or call me if you hesitate to take action or need answers. "Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one's thoughts and opinions has ceased." - Frederick Douglass "He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine End of article. Worst 5 board failings this year by Korky Day, CRM editor, 2012 Oct. 18, revised slightly Oct. 23. korkyday (at) yahoo (dot) com . Some members are quick to blame our paid staff for all our troubles. That's too simplistic, though. Our staff do a lot of work under a lot of stress, including criticism from disgruntled volunteers such as me. The weaker the board and committees, and the more seldom they meet, the more work for the staff. And the board and committees are very weak. They are too little informed, unwilling to meet very often, unwilling to be under member scrutiny, unwilling to accept new members outside the ruling clique, and unwilling to answer queries and address complaints. They don't want to hear the "details". They shift that to the staff so the staff can take the heat when there are poor decisions. I'm willing to be on the board and then to get the board to better direct the staff with a progressive, long-term vision for the station. Please insist that I be allowed to stand for election and then please vote for me. The 5 worst failings 1. For our first-ever outdoor billboards and transit ads, how could all the people privy to the designs before they were printed (not I) have made such an obvious and crippling error as making our new frequency number, 100.5 FM, so miniscule? Some people are totally out of touch with how the ordinary members and the ordinary public think. The board and others are in an unrealistic, rubber-stamping headspace. Insulated. In a public opinion poll I conducted, 32% liked our billboards without reservation. 55% were critical. (See the results in a yet-to-come article here.) Allegedly, everyone consulted before me (and before my poll) had liked the billboards. Like a congregation going along with whatever the priest says! The station's strength is its strong, informed, opinionated personalities. They're great to listen to. But our billboards are the opposite. In the poll, there was a lot of public apathy about the ads. 2. Getting rid of probably our second most popular programme, Wake Up With Co-op (Mon-Wed-Fri mornings). That was stupid and senseless. And very poorly timed: just before the frequency swap. Hasn't worked out too well, though the new people in that slot are really trying. No such change should have been made without accommodating the extremely reasonable desires of WUWC. I participated in the entire sorry spectacle. The board should accept the main blame for that and reverse gears as much as possible. 3. At the last AGM (2011), the Voice of Palestine Collective tried to pass 2 motions. They failed. Instead of feeling good that they had vanquished their opposition, the board then should have spent the last year trying to reach a win-win solution. With me on the board, I'm sure we would have. Lots of good alternatives come to mind. Instead, that programme got fed up and left our schedule completely, after 25 years, and after months of being mostly ignored by the board. 4. Other than Co-op Radio's own Web site ( www.coopradio.org ), our Internet presence is pathetic. I volunteered to build it up, but I get the cold shoulder, as usual. We have a FaceBook page ("I listen to Vancouver Co-operative Radio CFRO, 102.7FM" [sic] ), but I'm almost the only one who posts on it. We're many years behind in being able to contact our members by e-mail. For our members easily to be able to discuss issues among themselves, also years behind. 5. The latest baffling disaster is the newest issue of our Listener's Guide. (It lacks a date or month of issue, but is mysteriously labelled "Volume 2, 2012".) For the first time in all our 37 years, it looks like we've wasted a lot of money on glossy paper, full-colour photos, and conservative design. And, for the first time in 37 years, the guide lacks any mention by name of any of our 90+ programmes (except Redeye). No schedule at all--what people want and need the most! Can you believe it?! And it lacks any introduction to our new staff, who I keep meeting accidentally, never having been officially notified of their existence. I still don't know how many there are--at least 3. Summary Try to imagine the future disasters that the board will fall into if we let it. It's hard! I never would have predicted 3 of 5 (of the above) in a million years. The board needs me because it needs a diversity of opinion. And my 37 years of experience at Co-op Radio and my talent and dedication. If the board thinks I'm wrong, they can out-vote me 8 to 1. When I'm right, they'll be grateful--if begrudgingly. Some of the new directors haven't been very effective on the board, especially the ones with no previous experience at Co-op Radio. As of yet, honest, sincere, constructive, independent thinking is not appreciated by most of the board. Nevertheless, I yearn to get beyond the accusations and blaming. We have a common goal and the wits to head there! If elected, I won't be vengeful, but conciliatory. We cannot let our outside opponents "divide and conquer" us. End of article on board failings. Poll about our new billboards by Korky Day. 2012 Sept 26, e-posted Oct 22 & 23. Someone told me yesterday that the response to our billboards had been all good: 100% favourable. As a former professional pollster, I immediately knew that "something was rotten in Danmark." Since we're dealing with (?) hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ad credit we're spending at Co-op Radio, I went outside a few minutes later (Sept. 25) and got some more data. Too bad I couldn't have done that before the billboards were printed. To survey the public at random, I stood on the sidewalk at 313 West Hastings Street in Vancouver and pointed to our billboard there and asked in a friendly voice, "I'm doing a survey. What do you think of that billboard?" The design of the billboard includes the word "INDEPENDENT", pictures a middle-aged man holding some vinyl records in their jackets, and our new logo. Below are the answers, followed by my analysis. Please tell me your criticisms of my process. I kept writing the respondents' comments as long as they wanted to tell them. I gave no indication, by word or expression, of my opinion of the billboards or of my opinions of their opinions of the design, though I responded happily when they praised Co-op Radio. I answered questions. NC = The interviewee looked at the billboard, at my suggestion, but made no comment other than a grunt or shrug. P = programmer at Co-op Radio (3 of them are included by chance in the survey). L = listener to Co-op Radio (but not also a programmer). D+ or D- = commented about the billboard design, positively or negatively (not specifically the Co-op Radio symbol-logo). S+ or S- = commented about the Co-op Radio symbol (logo, including the frequency), positively or negatively. O+ or O- = commented about other aspects of Co-op Radio, positively or negatively. Responses Chronological, random, from the general public, each followed by codes. 1. The radio frequency could be bigger. (As we talked, he revealed that he is a Co-op Radio programmer who I stopped to be my first interviewee, by pure chance, honest! I hadn't known him.) P S- 2. (NC.) 3. I like Co-op. L O+ 4. It's all right. (Not enthusiastic.) D- 5. (NC.) 6. (NC.) 7. I don't know. 8. It got the message across. D+ 9. "INDEPENDENT" is good (referring to the word on the billboard). D+ 10. No opinion. Well, actually, I'm not sold on the message by the billboard. He's an old guy and I'm young. (Referring to our pictured programmer.) D- 11. It has a clean design. D+ 12. Good. Simple. Understandable. D+ 13. A little boring. D- 14. Cheesy. Not eye-catching. Get an artist. (I asked her if she's an artist.) Yes. D- 15. Clean colour. D+ 16. I like Co-op. I listen. Great station! The billboard is eye-catching. A good, sparse design. D+ O+ 17. Solid. Good. Stands out. Not obnoxious. D+ 18. No comment. Well, I don't see the appeal of it. I might listen. D- O+ 19. Simple. Nice lines. Not catchy. The logo is too hard to see. D+ D- S- 20. So-so. Could be better. D- 21. No impact on me. D- 22. Good. OK. (Not enthusiastic tone of voice, though.) D+ 23. I just saw green. No idea. D- 24. I just saw moving. Doesn't say anything to me. D- 25. The green means hope. It's well lit. The LP is hard to see. (Referring to the records held by the model.) D+ D- 26. I like it a lot. I like the logo, but it should be bigger. The impact could be better. (She said she is a Co-op Radio programmer, but I didn't recognize her. Very young.) P D+ D- S+ S- 27. Doesn't say anything. Is it a radio station? D- 28. (Same as above.) D- 29. Looks happy. But I didn't get the message. D+ D- 30. Existential lie. What does existential mean? D- 31. Good. I like the billboard. I listen to Co-op. L D+ 32. Bland. D- 33. I like it. I'm not sure. Looks cool. Would draw me in? D+ D- 34. (He asked me what a co-op is, so I told him.) Sounds good. Great idea. No corporate! That's refreshing! O+ 35. I wouldn't pay attention. I know the frequency from when I listened to The Peak. The billboard is not terribly intriguing, but I might listen. D- O+ 36. I like it. D+ 37. I like it. D+ 38. It's all right. (Dull tone of voice.) Not creative. D- 39. It's fine. (Dull tone of voice.) D+ 40. Not impressed. Not eye-catching. Boring. The guy seems nice, though. D+ D- 41. I don't get it. D- 42. Just another radio station. Nothing too memorable on the billboard. D- O- 43. Boring. The man is shown too big. Instead, it should show more people to give us more idea of the station. D- 44. Very bright. Should have lights. 45. The Co-op symbol should be larger. S- 46. Boring. D- 47. I don't know about the billboard. I'll listen to the station, give it a shot. D- O+ 48. It's OK. Pretty clear to me. (Not overly enthusiastic tone of voice.) P D+ 49. The guy seems fun. Has a good personality. (Referring to the model on the billboard.) D+ 50. I like "INDEPENDENT"! I like co-ops! I like community! D+ O+ 51. Awesome. (Enthusiastic tone of voice.) D+ 52. (NC). 53. All right. (Not enthusiastic tone of voice.) I don't know if I've listened or not. D- O- 54. Maybe don't use that green colour when it can get so grey outside. With that colour, it doesn't pop out. The guy's face is fun, though. D+ D- 55. I like it. (Sounded confused. Heavy Spanish accent.) D+ 56. It's OK. (Dull tone of voice.) D- 57. It doesn't say so much. It wouldn't attract me. D- 58. Pretty cool. Friendly. Inviting. D+ 59. Lovely. (That was in a sarcastic tone of voice. The following sounded sincere.) Nice colour. Other than that, I wouldn't look at it. D+ D- 60. Cool. I like it. D+ 61. No. I don't like it. Don't like the picture. D- 62. I don't know. I'm not very interested. D- O- 63. I don't get it. Who's the dude? Some famous musician I should know? D- 64. I don't know. I didn't see it very well. D- 65. Nothing crosses my mind. D- 66. No impression. D- 67. I like it. I'm a listener to Co-op. L D+ 68. Pretty good. D+ 69. I like the radio sign with the wave. (Referring to the transmitter illustration.) I like green. D+ S+ 70. Yes. Looks good. Easy to read. D+ 71. Hard to read. The word "INDEPENDENT" is too low. D- S- 72. Looks cool. I'd listen. D+ O+ 73. I don't know--it tells me nothing. D- 74. It's goofy. D- 75. I'm ambivalent. D- 76. Green. I like green. I have no other impression. D+ 77. It's good. It looks good. I saw the other billboard for Co-op with the 2 girls. It caught my eye. D+ 78. I have no opinion. Another monopoly, I guess. O- 79. Oh, Co-op Radio! At first I thought it said Corporate Radio. I'd rather have a co-op, mostly. "INDEPENDENT" appeals to me. Green is like marijuana. D+ S- O+ 80. Some guy holding a sign? A radio station. I'm high. (The "sign" is some LPs.) D- 81. Looks good. Pretty basic. Could be more intricate and thought-provoking. D+ D- 82. Yea? It's 50-50. I don't know what it is. Why is he "INDEPENDENT"? I like his smile. D+ D- Analysis The most important conclusion, in my opinion, is that, of the 76 potential new listeners (not P or L), 24 (31.6%) offered only positive comments about the design of the billboard, 34 (44.7%) offered only negative comments, 9 (11.8%) offered both positive and negative, 9 (11.8%) offered neither + nor -. Of those same 76 potential new listeners, 1 (1.3%) offered only positive comments about the Co-op Radio symbol, 4 (5.3%) only negative comments like that, 0 both positive and negative, 71 (93.4%) neither + nor -. Of those 4 negatives, 3 (75%) said the symbol (including the frequency) is too small. There were more positive comments proportionally about aspects of the station other than the billboards, though I didn't ask for them. Of those same 76 respondents, 8 (10.5%) said something positive, 4 (5.3%) said something negative, 0 said both, 64 (84.2%) said neither. We aren't trying so hard to reach people who already listen, but 3 respondents offered that they do so. Of those 3, 2 (66.7%) spoke well of the billboard design, 1 (33.3%) spoke well of other aspects of the station. 0 did both. 0 commented on our symbol (logo). 0 had any negative comments. The 3 programmers that responded are more critical (from 3 different programmes). 1 (33.3%) had both positive and negative comments about the billboard design. 1 (33.3%) only positive, 0 only negative, 1 (33.3%) neither. About the symbol, 1 (33.3%) had both positive and negative comments about the billboard design. 1 (33.3%) only negative. 0 only positive. 1 (33.3%) neither. Those 3 did not rate anything else about the station. What respondents did NOT say is as important as what they DID say. For instance, the highest percentages are those of the people whom the billboard and the symbol did not impress enough to evoke any opinion either way. That's not good. Most telling, 93.4% did not comment on the symbol--which has the words Co-op Radio and 100.5FM (sic). I contend that our new frequency is crucial. . . . When standing on the sidewalk you notice that, since people there are strangers and expect no subsequent communication, they tend to tell you their true, unvarnished opinion, without regard to hurt feelings. We need to pay attention to such opinions, and welcome them, from whomever they come, and not ignore them out of a misplaced desire to protect people from negative opinions. Criticism can help people and organizations to improve. I, myself, welcome criticism, including of this survey. I'd rather hear it than suspect that people are saying it behind my back. Wouldn't you? It would be better for Co-op Radio to welcome criticism from outside and inside. Yesterday I was threatened with expulsion if I continue to be bluntly critical. [I was barred later, on Oct. 16.] All right, I'll try not to be so blunt. Honestly, I didn't mean to hurt feelings, but to get improvement. But, in return, will you help me save Co-op Radio from rule by intimidation? And from ill-conceived, irresponsible, divisive decisions? If you're going to blame me, "the messenger of bad news", then we should ask people at the station door if they like our billboards, and if they are among the 68% who don't exclusively praise the billboards, we can bar them from the station in order to protect our feelings. (Is sarcasm still allowed?) 8 of the respondents (10.5%) even volunteered these strongly negative words for our billboards: "boring" (4 people), "cheesy", "so-so", "bland", "goofy" (1 person each). The interviewees were all pedestrians, so, of course, people going by faster (cars) might have different impressions. I got many responses in a fairly short time (~2 hours). I could have, instead, badgered each person to answer more and more questions. However, I hated to harass people thus when I was instructed to do so on the job (when I did it for a living). I hated it partly because I think that doing so skews the results. Maybe the better polling companies don't do that, but the clients pressure them to do so. Also, I think that my method yields better (more scientific) results. However, please, I'm not perfect. No survey is 100% scientific. Each different interviewer cannot help but add a bit of bias, even by their appearance and voice. Each location, too, will produce results a bit different. So, please, go out and get some data yourself from strangers and share it with us! It's easy and fun! End of poll article. End of page. |