The San Luis Obispo Declaration
Originally published in Jannuary 1984

Dear All,
The first time Pat Scott appeared on the scene in Berkeley was as one of the people who drafted the famous San Luis Obispo statement. Although staff agreed with many of the demands expressed in the statement there was general uprising within KPFA - in which I took part- to counter the secretive and high handed manner in which the statement was produced and presented to the press without any consultation with staff.

In the aftermath of the statement then GM David Salniker and I visited Pat Scott and Gus Newport in his office. Gus was then major of Berkeley and Pat was his aide. We requested of them to discuss their concerns with staff.

In a memo of January 24, 1984 they promised to do that: "We have since met with representatives from KPFA and have agreed to directly communicate with the station."

David Salniker maintained contact with Pat and soon thereafter she was seated on the KPFA advisory board. The rest is history.

Here is the text of the San Luis Obispo statement which is quite extraordinary in the light of recent developments:

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STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
DRAFTED AT SAN LUIS OBISPO
JANUARY 7 & 8, 1984

PREAMBLE

The Pacifica Network is in serious trouble. In a time of world- wide crisis, instead of responding with depth and passion, Pacifica is purging itself of its most radical elements. Careerism is replacing commitment. Power in Pacifica has become concentrated in the hands of a few. This power block, unaccountable to anyone, is brining Cold War ideology to the airwaves. This is being accompanied by a politically selective process of firings and hirings. A process which has been obscured by a smoke-screen of personal attack.

This situation could only come into being because of basic weaknesses in Pacifica's present structure and the lack of a sense of vision and purpose.

BASIC PRINCIPLES
1. PACIFICA BOARDS.

Station boards should be democratically constituted and representatives of the constituencies the stations seek to serve. They should be completely independent of the station manager and accountable directly to those constituencies.

Station administrations should be based on a collective decision-making process. Staff (paid and unpaid) should be represented on the station board.

Recruitment and training should reflect the ethnic and cultural make-up of the constituencies the station seeks to serve. This training should be invested in people with a genuine commitment to the principles of Pacifica Foundation.

Stations must implement the 1981 program director's resolution which specified that programming should be planned and evaluated on the basis of Pacifica's purposes as enunciated in the Articles of Incorporation.

Pacifica's air must expand to completely reflect the diverse nature of progressive political movements and thought throughout the world and across the entire spectrum.

Pacifica must commit itself to reaching a major portion of the United States population with programming based on Pacifica's principles.

Final programming decisions and judgements must be made by the listeners and the communities Pacifica seeks to serve.