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My name’s Al Delaney. The previous election
was an historic event. The listeners of a public radio station actually
got to elect some of their own to help govern the station. Since
that election much has been done. Committees have been formed, and
their work is beginning to impact KPFT in positive ways. From our
Local Station Board (LSB) national board members have been chosen,
and they are now representing our concerns to the foundation. And
the LSB itself seems to have learned the lessons of the previously
appointed board and is working in a more efficient and cooperative
manner. I am honored to have been elected to the board in that first
go-round. Now I am running for re-election.
I became aware of KPFT from my involvement in the
independent music scene, but I was drawn to the station because
of its mission of promoting peace through education and understanding.
During my affiliation with KPFT, I have seen much good work being
done. I have also become even more aware of KPFT’s and Pacifica’s
true potential and the gap that still exists between what is and
what could be.
I see many challenges in KPFT’s future, many
areas where we can work toward meeting our potential. In all of
those cases--more diverse programming, more professional on-air
presence, improved facilities and increased funding--the true goal
is to realize Pacifica’s mission. The path to that goal is
Outreach--outreach to identify and involve new communities in accepting
and spreading our mission. For me this is, and always was, a working
truism, and it colors all my work for KPFT.
Besides my board duties, I am currently chair of
the Technology Committee, a member of the Development Committee
and I am working on specific projects in conjunction with other
committees. I also do ongoing outreach into many of the communities
within our broadcast zone, and I have been developing new fundraising
opportunities. While I hope you, the listener members, will re-elect
me to the board, I assure you my involvement with KPFT will continue
whether I’m elected or not. Thank you.
Al Delaney
adelaney@OutboundMusic.com
Candidate Questionnaire
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Why do you want to be on the Local Station
Board?
Being involved with KPFT is one way I can help spread the philosophy
of peace through education and understanding which, in a nutshell,
is Pacifica's and KPFT's mission. At KPFT that education is
in the form of cultural programming (both talk and music) and
accurate news. Because of my past experiences and what little
talents I've been able to amass over the years, I feel committee
and board work are where I'm able to contribute most affectively.
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How do you envision the Local Station
Board working with the Pacifica Foundation, KPFT and the community?
The LSB receives its guidance and charge from the foundation
and coordinates with the foundation on issues affecting all
the Pacifica stations. Locally the LSB must be aware of and
respond to the needs of the community—that is one of our most
important jobs. Our duties to the station are to offer support,
guidance and oversight—to assure the Pacifica mission is being
upheld, to assure the financial viability of the station and
to assure the station is fulfilling its potential.
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How could the station better serve its
listeners?
The station could better serve its listeners by seeking out
the opinions of its current listener base and by going into
the community to expand that listener base. Also, while we air
many good programs, there is still a need to improve the professionalism
of some programs and to include in the mix more culturally diverse
programming. Finally, the station has some very good training
workshops, but I think this is also an area ripe for expansion.
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Describe some actions you would take to
increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities
and to increase the diversity of the listening audience?
I come to this from the music side and I am a current board
member, so what I have been doing is using my knowledge about
and connections within the local music community to reach into
a number of cultural sub-communities within the listening area
and reintroduce them to KPFT. I believe if we offer both music
and talk/news programming that draws from these communities,
the audience will both diversify and grow.
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What sources of funding, other than listener
donations, do you feel KPFT should solicit?
Well, I'm currently a member of the Development Committee and
we're charged with finding new (and often unconventional) funding
sources. The station is starting to reap the benefit of a couple
of projects from that committee; the car donation project (first
suggested by committee chair TC Smythe) has begun generating
revenues, as has the Labor outreach project. We're also working
on increasing the number grants we receive and the amount of
money from each grant. Other projects include soliciting bequeathments,
expanding concert series and creating a shopping page on our
website where members can purchase KPFT “swag”.
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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 am a current KPFT board member and I also serve on two other
boards; one of which is another non-profit. My professional
career is divided between science and music. I've been involved
in science research most of my adult life, and I currently run
the Molecular Beam Epitaxy lab at the Texas Center for Superconductivity
and Advanced Materials (TcSAM) located on the University of
Houston campus. I also own a small business, www.OutboundMusic.com,
which serves the independent music scene. I'm married with two
teenage boys. My reading leans toward technical “stuff” plus
philosophy and history. I'm an avid backpacker and used to ride
a bike too much. Things I bring to the table include a passion
for peace, an awareness of the wonderful cultural diversity
in this town, a knowledge base in technology and an analytical
mind.
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Do you anticipate missing any Local Station
Board meetings due to family or job related problems or inadequate
transportation?
No.
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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?
I'm currently chair of the Technology Committee and a member
of the Development Committee. While not a member of the Outreach
Committee, I am working with some members on an outreach project.
I also plan on joining the Programming Committee. I've already
mentioned some of the work being done on the Development Committee.
I should also talk a bit about the Technology Committee. Our
mission on that committee is to identify the station's current
and future technology needs and beyond that to come up with
a plan to meet those needs. This means we not only find out
where and how to acquire hardware, but we also must raise the
funds needed to pay for it. Our current top priorities are computer
systems, another recording station and a grab bag of Internet
related needs.
Statement
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