KPFA, the nation's first community radio and still one of the mainstays of independent progressive media, is having its Board elections over the next two months.

One of the few media outlets with a subscriber-elected board (KQED did away with that experiment a few years ago), KPFA moved to an internally democratic model a decade ago after a self-selected board threatened to sell of the network's stations and locked out workers at Berkeley's KPFA. 

While Media Alliance will not endorse particular candidates, we want to lay out the options for you (and in the spirit of disclosure, confess that ED Tracy Rosenberg is an incumbent KPFA board member and is strongly supporting Independents for Community Radio) - so here is the playing field.

People's Radio - the long-time listener democracy oriented group - running 4 candidates. www.peoplesradio.net

Voices for Justice - affiliated with labor organizer Steve Zeltzer - running two candidates

 Independents for Community Radio - a new affinity group of activists and organizers - running 11 candidates - www.indyradio2009.org

Concerned Listeners - the current board majority running on the slogan "professional radio with a radical edge"  - running 10 candidates - www.concernedlisteners.org

Media Alliance's historic role in the Save Pacifica movement was to advocate for what we define as community radio: locally-focused and collectively run, with a commitment to presenting voices heard too little.

KPFA subscribers will have to make up their own minds, but here is an article written by ED Tracy Rosenberg about how she made up her mind how to vote:

More articles:

Incumbernt board member Sasha Futran on transparency and recent accusations of "raiding".

Community Radio at the Crossroads