What Eva Georgia cost KPFK

The Pacifica radio station paid former general manager the equivalent of nine months’ salary, or $63,268, to part ways, former KPFK hand Marc Cooper reports in the LA Weekly.

The L.A. Weekly had heard rumors that Georgia, who left her post recently after being exposed for riding in limos and bunking in luxury hotels during previous fund drives, had been given a cool hundred grand to quietly go away....Throw in Social Security taxes, other employer fees and the simultaneous extension of her benefits, and we’re right back near that $100K mark. Give or take a few bucks, the astounding rumors were true.

Astounding because for a radio station that makes its nut by ritualistically pleading poverty and politically correct austerity, a hundred-grand golden parachute is rather grotesque under any conditions. (In this digital age, there are still some KPFK programmers who try to raise money by pleading with the audience that the station needs to buy razor blades to edit tape — even though tape is no longer used.) The severance is even more astounding because her staff forced out former manager Georgia by near-unanimous repudiation, and, more importantly, because of the sizable financial and legal liability she leaves behind.

As we reported here a few weeks ago, two ominous lawsuits are still pending against the station, resulting from claims of sexual harassment and discrimination lodged directly against Georgia. KPFK insiders say the station’s chances of beating them are slim to none. News reporter Molly Paige, for example, was reportedly willing to drop her sex-harassment suit in exchange for Georgia’s departure and a public apology. But when her lawyers learned that Georgia had been packed off with a suitcase full of severance payola, they darn well changed their minds.

Veronique was all over it back in August. And here's a previous take by Cooper, with a great if exaggerated quip that KPFK is where "North Korea meets North Hollywood."

11:15 PM Thursday, October 11 2007 • Link
More by tag: Los Angeles | Radio
Email or share:
© 2003-2008   •  About LA Observed  •  Contact the editor
LA Biz Observed
12:11 PM Thu | Allstate has ranked the average frequency of getting in an auto accident in various cities. At least we beat Philly.
11:11 AM Thu | It's a newspaper's second-biggest expense, after labor, and the price has hit a 12-year high.
Featured bloggers at LA Observed
Denise Hamilton | Librarians are some of my personal heroes, providing a beacon of light in a world that often seems hellbent on...
Jenny Price | But please don’t just think of of the victims.
Phil Wallace | The LA native is the biggest signing in team history and he creates a legit Laker-Clipper rivalry.
Phil Wallace | The Lakers look to re-sign Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf, while the Clippers are making a push for Baron Davis.
Sponsors
Jewish Journal logo
California Wellness Foundation
Playa Vista ad
Premium Blogads

 
Books, Blogs & Events

Get RSS Feeds
of LA Observed
LA Observed publishes several Real Simple Syndication feeds for easy scanning of headlines. If you wish to subscribe to a feed, most popular RSS readers will do it for you. You can also enter the web address from the XML button below or click on a specific feed. For more help with RSS, try here or here.




Add to Google