Island Breath: KKCR embroiled in controversy

SUBJECT: KAUAI MEDIA

SOURCE: ANDY PARX andyparx@yahoo.com

POSTED: 3 JANUARY 2008 - 8:30pm HST

KKCR Firings spur Mawae’s arrest
& on air defense by host Gerow

The Rabid Reporter
by Andy Parx on 3 January 2008 for PNN

The KKCR scandal hit the fan today as activist Hale Mawae was arrested at the station gate and programmer Dave Gerow grabbed the reins of the “Out of the Box” program and defended the station in an on air free-for-all that included two terroristic threats- one by an on air person and one on the phone- to PNN editor and publisher Andy Parx.

Mawae was accompanying Rose to do her regularly scheduled program but was locked out of the station while Gerow played on-air flack catcher for management. Gerow presided over a raucous call-in session that included attacks on and defenses of management actions and policies and the persons involved in the cancellation of the Ka`iulani Huff’s sovereignty program, which spurred Rose and Jimmy Trujillo’s program yanking.

Details of the beginning of Mawae’s altercation with Kaua`i Police were sketchy at this time although Mawae was reportedly armed only with a video camera. .Mawae is at press time being treated for injuries allegedly at the hands of police after paying $170 to be released on charges of simple trespassing, resisting arrest and obstructing government operations. An email to the county spokesperson was not immediately returned by press time.

Safe inside the studio Gerow defended the station saying there’s “not a racist bone in anyone at KKCR”, falsely citing unwritten station policy as FCC regulation and defending the stations action in the Huff incident without ever talking to Huff or the only witness to the event- Hale Mawae.

Gerow- who alternates hosting every other Thursday with Rose and Trujillo- at first attempted to ignore the current controversy. But after a call from a regular who incompetently parroted some national punditry on the Iowa caucuses the next call, from PNN, presented many of the charges laid out in last night’s coverage of the prior incidents. (See PNN 1/2/08).

Toward the end of the program a person who identified himself as “an underwriter” terroristically threatened PNN which was followed by a another threat to do bodily harm by one of Gerow’s second Bill Rash.

PNN is currently deciding whether to file charges or ask for protection. The required “air-check” DVDs that are legally and routinely made of each program should be available tomorrow (1/4).

There is reportedly footage shot independently by a professional videographer on the scene of Mawae’s altercation showing him being restrained in a puddle by five police officers while screaming “I’m not resisting” as Rose and the videographer came upon the scene.

Rose also reported there were two eye witnesses to the apprehension itself, Trujillo and another programmer.

Throughout the hour and a half program Gerow continually defended the station and all the decisions made to pull the programs. He said the firings are only temporary if the programmers behaved when they met with station Manager Gwen Paligi upon her return from vacation tomorrow (Friday 1/7).

Presumably at Paligi instructions staff fill-in Donna Lewis suspended first Huff’s program for two weeks and then Rose and Trujillo’s programs.

Gerow’s self-proclaimed fully-informed and adamant insistence was that Huff “violated FCC rules” and had endangered the station’s FCC license ignorantly- especially for a talk program host- defended the falsehood that any “Call to Action” was an “FCC violation”.

In fact, the phrase banning any “call to action” comes from the advertising prohibitions against non-commercial radio stations, allowing underwriting businesses to air an “ad” saying “we carry soda” but not “come on down and buy a soda”.

There is no law against free speech on the radio in America yet, despite Gerow’s insistence. “Come down and protest against KKCR” is as much protected speech as “come to the polls and elect me” or “call right now and go on the air”,

KKCR does however ban free speech as a matter of policy that is arbitrarily and capriciously enforced. including “airing dirty laundry” according to Gerow although KKCR processes and procedure for following rules is completely non-transparent according to an analysis of the documents provided done by Ed Coll of Lihu`e (below)

Corrections: The names of Ka`iulani Edens Huff’s and former KKCR station manager Larry Lisoto were misspelled in yesterday’s article. PNN regrets the error.

Analysis of the KKCR “Volunteer Handbook”

by Ed Coll’s on 2 Janaury 2008

Aloha disenfranchised voices,

According to the KKCR Volunteer Handbook DJ's have the right to "Information about station policies" and the responsibility "Comply with all station policies". Please note Information "about" station policies does not grant DJ's the right to actually read the station policy manual (primary source document), but rather merely obtain information "about" such guidelines and policies (i.e. the volunteer handbook). The information "about" may not be comprehensive, nor accurate and is a only second hand sources (heresay) alleged to accurately represent the primary source (the policy manual) which administration is under no obligation to produce for examination by the DJ.

I see no section titled "Station Policies" in the volunteer handbook. Does a policy manual exist? If so where? Is the "dirty laundry" language in the handbook under the subsection "Programming" really in the KKCR policy manual? If DJ's do not have the right to read the policy manual how can a DJ be held responsible for compliance with policy? Must DJ's simply accept administration's word that the dirty laundry language in the volunteer handbook is an accurate reflection of station policy? Without access to the policy manual itself administration has the power of "standardless discretion" (i.e. censoring dissenting voices for alleged violation of policy) and the ability to elevate any language in any document (the volunteer handbook for example} to the level of "policy" without having or producing the actual policy manual if indeed one really does exists.

If anyone knows of a KKCR policy manual that the KKCR volunteer handbook is alleged to provide "information about" I would love to see it. As a founding member, original program committee member, and former CAB member I have never seen any policy manual. Does one really exist?

Island Breath: KKCR Video 1/3/08
Island Breath: HSF is Toast 12/18/07