KPFK, LA’s radically progessive radio radio station, hired Eva Georgia, a gay black African immigrant and expected that her recruitment would put them in the politically correct hall of fame. Instead it is another example of hiring for all of the wrong reasons (what the person looks like or represents as opposed to their character, skills and who they really are). Whether sweet irony or classic PC hypocrisy, the result has been a nightmare and is detailed in an LA Weekly article.

Far from being a progressive coup, Eva Georgia has nearly destroyed the station. Staffers have circulating letters and articles on the Internet claiming that the working atmosphere at the station under Georgia had become abusive and excessively hierarchical. A letter signed by 36 KPFK staffers and supporters stated, “There is no workplace democracy left at KPFK.”

Radical website L.A. IndyMedia, who touts its support for “global struggles against exploitation,” published an article slamming Georgia with the headline “A Liar . . . A Cheater . . . Physically Abusive” and saying that KPFK “have hired the worst radio manager in history and tried to pass her off as competent and rational.”

Georgia’s actions have gone well beyond bad management and she is also being sued for sexual harassment and racial discrimination.

Eva Georgia is predictably playing the race card saying she is under attack because she is an “out-gay, black woman” and “You have to ask yourself, what is buried beneath it especially when the accused is an out-gay, black woman.”

If this was just a case of “she said, she said,” then one might wonder if she had a point. But when 36 staffers in one of the most progressive employers in the country sign a letter calling you out that just doesn’t fly. Furthermore, it’s not one, but two women who have accused her of sexual harassment. Furthermore, according to sources quoted in the Weekly article Georgia has a”history of work-related conflicts at a gay-and-lesbian community center in Long Beach and at the radio stations where she worked in South Africa.”

One activist, who asked not to be named was quoted by the LA Weekly saying that Georgia is skilled at using her status as an African immigrant and gay woman of color to strategic benefit. Says the activist, “She’s very good at using that.”

Besides the station’s employees the big losers are the listeners who fund KPFK through donations–money that is currently being used to pay lawyers to defend Georgia’s actions. It’s hard to have a listener drive when the theme is “Folks, we need you to send in your donations and become members or we won’t be able to pay our lawyers and make large settlement offers to employees at the station who are being sexually harassed by our universally disliked GM that no one has the balls to fire.”

KPFK news reporter Page Getz says the staff is fuming that listeners have so far been kept in the dark. “I think if our listeners knew what was going on here, they’d be up in arms,” she says. “Those are people who give money every fund drive. I used to give money, and if they knew what was going on, they’d never give money. They’d be picketing in the parking lot.”

h/t: LA Obersved

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 22nd, 2007 at 5:19 am by Insider and is filed under Politically Correct ... and stupid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.