Save Grassroots Radio

No, even though it may look that way because founders were involved in a disagreement.

Founder's syndrome occurs when an organization's founders are still in positions of leadership or management, and resist accepting and leading the changes necessary for the organization to mature, such as formal financial accounting, clear (and therefore less flexible and fun) roles and responsibilities, or sharing power and responsibility (reducing their control, but also enabling all of the now-increased work to get done).

The people whose memberships were revoked were not in formal leadership positions so don't qualify for the syndrome. Each of them also helped create and participate in systems necessary for organizational maturity.

Conflict at KRFC may be more closely related to community researcher Diana Leaf Christian's "structural conflict" than founder's syndrome:

problems that occurred because founders didn't explicitly put certain processes in place or make certain important decisions at the beginning, creating one or more omissions in their organizational structure. Several weeks, months, or even years later the group would erupt in major conflict that could have been largely prevented if they had handled these issues early on. Naturally, this sets off a great deal of interpersonal conflict too, making the initial "structural" conflict even worse. http://www.hopedance.org/new/issues/51/article4.html

• A commitment from the board to never again use the "fast track" removal of volunteers by revoking their membership. Without an assurance of a fair hearing the disciplinary policy becomes moot, and any volunteer may be removed at the whim of the board or station manager.
• A fair hearing per the board-approved grievance policy for the volunteers who were dismissed for "working against the best interests of the station."
• A reconciliation relative to the petition that was signed by 89 members of KRFC which was thrown out by the board. The station manager cited the fact that there were no addresses with the signatures. The by-laws state that "a petition signed by 50 active members" Nothing else. The point of the whole matter is that 89 members signed a sheet of paper asking the board to allow the membership to vote on the change of the mission statement. The spirit of the by-laws was to have some safeguards to protect the mission statement from being frivolously changed. The actions of the station manager and board gave the finger to 89 station and community members. We think that mistake should be corrected. If the board and station manager really cared about the by-laws and democratic process they would have worked with those 89 supporters of KRFC by either extending the deadline or finding some way to meet those people half way. Instead their actions have exposed KRFC to lawsuit all because they could not allow their own members of KRFC to vote on whether to approve or disapprove the mission statement change. Once again they squashed all debate. They acted as though they knew what was best for all of us.
• A discussion that clarifies once and for all what the governance structure is at KRFC.

These are the verbatim goals from a March 2006 letter sent to KRFC and a link to their reply.

1. engage in dialogue and accept mediation
2. offer fair hearings for the dismissed volunteers
3. promise that there will be no more dismissals without due process
4. contact petitioners whose signatures were considered invalid to notify them of the reason

Grassroots Radio is an offshoot of public radio, characterized by community access and volunteer involvement in every aspect of station operations. (more in-depth explanation in the paper THE GRASSROOTS RADIO MOVEMENT IN THE U.S.)

As a volunteer there is absolutely no guarantee that it cannot happen to you. KRFC has a policy to be followed in disciplinary situations. Three people were ousted using a loophole which denies them the due process of the policy and provides no recourse whatsoever. The KRFC board was asked for a promise not to use the loophole in the future but have declined. Knowing fair treatment could be denied them makes it difficult for volunteers to feel safe and provide their best creative work.

If you care that the people you hear on KRFC are treated fairly and feel safe enough to express their creativity, you should care about this bad precedent.

No. Many people have publicly weighed in on the issues on one side or another -- not merely two personalities. The unanimous board of directors voted to change the station mission, kick out members without due process, and deny later requests for resolution. Several people have publicly supported the board's positions. Over 80 people signed the petition questioning the mission change. Over 50 signed a letter asking for due process in the future. Others have written letters of inquiry and protest to the board.

We are a group of people who oppose what we believe to be unfair and detrimental actions at the local radio station that we love. Political generalizations and assertions of nefarious motives are distractions from the issues. Save Grassroots Radio has stated goals relating to fairness and accountability.

Not all change is the same. Change based on shared mutual values and agreements is good, otherwise it is bad. KRFC has experienced both.

KRFC expressed concerns about the letters 'KRFC' in Open KRFC and there was a mix-up in a local newspaper. We don't want to cause further confusion for either group.

No.

No.

We attempted to inform other volunteers at KRFC about this station-related matter but were only marginally successful since the mailing lists were heavily censored. A few recipients stated they did not enjoy the email, while others found it valuable.

Nobody would suggest that KRFC becoming a top-40 music station is the right thing to do, but why?

KRFC was founded upon principles of programming and of governance. These were recorded in the founding mission statement, which is the core agreement for all members of the organization. KRFC's bylaws legally require the board to support KRFC's mission. The programmer's contract requires programmers to support it. The mission is a compass showing the direction of good service for KRFC programming and other principles of the organization. Some volunteers joined KRFC specifically because its (original) mission was right for them.

We believe that a healthy atmosphere for everyone at KRFC depends on safe and respectful airing of diverse ideas and mutual accountability to common agreements. The current conflict must be resolved by following those guidelines. Healing cannot occur if conflict is denied or ignored. Sometimes countries use truth commissions.

We honor people for the wonderful contributions they've made to KRFC, including the people in power, volunteers, underwriters, listeners, members, and grantors.

People should not be allowed to use their positions of power and trust to hurt others. Active volunteers have left and other people have avoided KRFC because of the unmitigated behaviors of people in power. Some who've left are influential in groups who have previously benefited KRFC with volunteers (universities for example). The collective benefit of the alienated past and future volunteers may even outweigh the benefit of those kept in power at KRFC.

No. It would violate KRFC's charter, which Save Grassroots Radio supports. Music is essential to a well-rounded grassroots station.

Perspectives which are marginalized or under-represented in the main corporate media should be aired on KRFC. Progressive perspectives fit this definition and should be aired, but there are other marginalized perspectives in our community which should also be aired. During the founding of the station, conservative shows were sought out and none were found at affordable prices. Conservatives at KRFC were solicited for on-air soapboxes by at least two Save Grassroots Radio members. KRFC is fortunate to have the show Words of Freedom which is not from a leftist perspective.

Programming from only one point of view weakens the station because it provides no debate. The best scenario is a station with perspectives from all parts of the spectrum. The listener then has the best tools to decide for themselves on any given issue.

Just like many of the great sustainable AND successful business around Fort Collins, Save Grassroots Radio believes you do not have to sacrifice values for profitability. You can have both.

We support a living form of democracy that would be determined by the board, volunteers and members, after open discussions. The board has fought this kind of discussion and removed of the word "democracy" from the mission statement. We feel it is important to not let total power be locked into the hands of just a few. Accountability and checks and balances protect everyone from the few who may decide that only they know what is best for the volunteers, listeners, and members.

Eighty or more grassroots radio stations already use pragmatically participatory democracy, including KBOO, KGNU, WORT, and WERU. KRFC could too.

Until an unbiased hearing is held, the vague charges of "acting against the best interests of the station" are unfounded. The ousted volunteers, who don't believe they did anything wrong, should be presumed innocent until proven guilty and their memberships restored. The board did not use their own discipline policy which has procedures for hearings, and there is no guarantee that other people with diverse opinions different from the manager or board won't be treated the same way.