To: Richard M. Byrnes, Jr., Chair, WGBH Board of Trustees Co-founder and General Partner, Charles River Ventures
WGBH: OUST DAVID KOCH FROM BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Simply stated, Mr. Koch has multiple conflicts of interests with WGBH and WGBH's education, advocacy and public service missions.
"David Koch’s resignation as a WNET Trustee, coupled with telling quotes from WNET president Neal Shapiro and other sources, makes it clear that Koch had too much influence at the decreasingly-public TV station in New York.", according to an article published by Greenpeace on May 24, 2013 on Change.org.
The article goes on to say that "Mr. Koch was floating a seven-figure donation over WNET’s leadership as the station aired a movie that portrayed him as a particularly greedy Manhattan resident."
Finally, the article notes that "Sure enough, WNET didn’t wind up receiving David Koch’s hefty donation."
This is DECIDEDLY NOT the kind of "CORPORATE LEADERSHIP" that we need on WGBH, Boston's beloved flagship station.
"David Koch’s resignation as a WNET Trustee, coupled with telling quotes from WNET president Neal Shapiro and other sources, makes it clear that Koch had too much influence at the decreasingly-public TV station in New York.", according to an article published by Greenpeace on May 24, 2013 on Change.org.
The article goes on to say that "Mr. Koch was floating a seven-figure donation over WNET’s leadership as the station aired a movie that portrayed him as a particularly greedy Manhattan resident."
Finally, the article notes that "Sure enough, WNET didn’t wind up receiving David Koch’s hefty donation."
This is DECIDEDLY NOT the kind of "CORPORATE LEADERSHIP" that we need on WGBH, Boston's beloved flagship station.
Why is this important?
1.) CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Simply stated, Mr. Koch has a conflict of interests with WGBH. While Mr. Koch goes about his business - and believe me, everything Mr. Koch does is in the best interests of Mr. Koch and his predominantly carbon-negative fossil fuel companies which, taken individually or together, represent the worst of American industry and American climate change deniers.
2.) ULTIMATE POLLUTER AND CLIMATE-CHANGE DENIER: Mr. Koch and his predominantly carbon-negative fossil fuel companies which, taken individually or together, represent the worst of American industry and American climate change deniers.
3a.) WHAT'S THE DOUGH-BOY AFRAID OF, ANYWAY...? - HIDING BEHIND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE "PRIVACY" - MORBID PRIVACY - AND A PUBLIC RELATIONS MASQUERADE - KOCH'S "GOOD TWIN": Mr. Koch's public relations schema has at least two parts: one is to be seen as a benevolent philanthropist, giving his largesse (Mr. Koch is a billionaire many times over) to: the arts, medical and biological research in addition to widely viewed, among others, public television programs like NOVA.
Mr. Koch makes sure that the price of his giving is putting his name on everything that might be construed as a public good, from funding part of NOVA, to funding medical and biological research at MIT with his name on the door - Mr. Koch is an MIT alumnus.
3b.) WHAT'S THE DOUGH-BOY AFRAID OF, ANYWAY...? - HIDING BEHIND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE "PRIVACY" - MORBID PRIVACY - AND A PUBLIC RELATIONS MASQUERADE - KOCH'S "EVIL TWIN": At the same time as the "good" Mr. Koch is highly visible promoting himself as the universe's gift to the arts, medical and biological research and other worthy causes, the "bad" Mr. Koch is conspiring, in not-so-conspicuous privacy and secured privacy with those, in addition to himself, who have - and will continue - to buy and pay for the government that is good for them, the 01%'ers.
That is, Mr. Koch and his crony capitalists, banksters (remember everything that the banksters have given us since 2008 - none of it good?) believe that they should be free to go about their business, free to pollute our waterways, the very air that we breathe, the drinking water, in addition to the air that we breathe, that is the very stuff of live for humankind.
4.) KOCH ON THE WGBH BOARD IS LIKE HAVING THE FOX IN CHARGE OF THE HENHOUSE: Mr. Koch's presence on WGBH's Board of Trustees is a matter of letting the fox into the hen house and an obscenity. Mr. Koch gets mega-publicity, and is featured vocally and prominently - with his name on just about everything) when it suits his interests to promote his agenda to a public that, by design, knows very little about the organizations to which Mr. Koch belongs, the politicians, other plutocrats and members of governments at all levels - municipal, county, state and Federal - in support of the political agendas that he supports as the seemingly "good" David H. Koch. The "good" David H. Koch reaps the benefits of being perceived as a white-knight phlianthropist.
In the meantime, the "bad" David H. Koch - aka Dark Matter and Dark Energy - is meeting in the dak, out of the light of day and the sunlight that, otherwise, would shine a light on the people that he meets with, in utmost privacy, the agendas and discussions that they have, the agendas that they promote.
5.) ELITE, "FATHER-KNOWS-BEST," CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP AND ISSUES OF ELITE MEDIA CONTROL INDOCTRINATION AND PROPAGANDA: WGBH has seen fit to ignore the considered opinions of over 300,000 petitioners in support of ousting Mr. David H. Koch from WGBHS Board of Trustees.
The WGBH Board of Trustees, themselves financial, education and other elites in the Boston community think that they can just blow off the views of their "constituents" and viewers.
Let's show them just how wrong they are - these hedge-fund billionaires and millionaires, these hedge fund managers, owners of capital management companies, presidents of universities, wealthy people who just KNOW what's good for all the rest of us and are gonna darned tootin' keep doing what they darned tootin' want to do, the public be damned.
Let's, right here, right now, boycott WGBH, unfortunate as that feels like, to many of us, because these financial, hedge fund, capital and stock market managers, the wealthy and presidents of institutions of higher educatiion, "Just don't get it."
They think that they are the high and mighty, that Mr. Koch is one of them, so we're talking about a matter of corporate governance here, as well.
And they think they can do what they damned well please, with their PRIVATE public radio and television stations.
Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's high time that we disabused them of that notion.
I think it's time we got back to putting the "Public" back in public radio and television.
Boycotting Mr. Koch and all of his products, businesses, affiliates, joint venture partners, suppliers as well as not contributing to WGBH, not watching their programs (there are alternatives, WBUR for radio and others), not patronizing their advertisers (since when did public radio and television have "advertisers," fer cryin' out loud) and, in general, not doing business with anyone, anything, any corporation (which, as J. Willard ("the Mittster) Romney pointed out, in his view, are really people, my friends [he said...] will begin to get their attention.
Will this happen overnight and/or quickly?
No, because these elites are stubborn and are convinced that they know what's good for you and I and they're not about to change , just because the like of you and I demand that they do.
No, I don't expect change overnight.
There's going to be much, much more to come in the days, weeks and months ahead.
No, change will not come overnight because these folks are stubborn and they "know" they're right and they know what's good for you and I.
But...
It's a little bit like the farmer with his wagon and mule. One day,...
2.) ULTIMATE POLLUTER AND CLIMATE-CHANGE DENIER: Mr. Koch and his predominantly carbon-negative fossil fuel companies which, taken individually or together, represent the worst of American industry and American climate change deniers.
3a.) WHAT'S THE DOUGH-BOY AFRAID OF, ANYWAY...? - HIDING BEHIND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE "PRIVACY" - MORBID PRIVACY - AND A PUBLIC RELATIONS MASQUERADE - KOCH'S "GOOD TWIN": Mr. Koch's public relations schema has at least two parts: one is to be seen as a benevolent philanthropist, giving his largesse (Mr. Koch is a billionaire many times over) to: the arts, medical and biological research in addition to widely viewed, among others, public television programs like NOVA.
Mr. Koch makes sure that the price of his giving is putting his name on everything that might be construed as a public good, from funding part of NOVA, to funding medical and biological research at MIT with his name on the door - Mr. Koch is an MIT alumnus.
3b.) WHAT'S THE DOUGH-BOY AFRAID OF, ANYWAY...? - HIDING BEHIND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE "PRIVACY" - MORBID PRIVACY - AND A PUBLIC RELATIONS MASQUERADE - KOCH'S "EVIL TWIN": At the same time as the "good" Mr. Koch is highly visible promoting himself as the universe's gift to the arts, medical and biological research and other worthy causes, the "bad" Mr. Koch is conspiring, in not-so-conspicuous privacy and secured privacy with those, in addition to himself, who have - and will continue - to buy and pay for the government that is good for them, the 01%'ers.
That is, Mr. Koch and his crony capitalists, banksters (remember everything that the banksters have given us since 2008 - none of it good?) believe that they should be free to go about their business, free to pollute our waterways, the very air that we breathe, the drinking water, in addition to the air that we breathe, that is the very stuff of live for humankind.
4.) KOCH ON THE WGBH BOARD IS LIKE HAVING THE FOX IN CHARGE OF THE HENHOUSE: Mr. Koch's presence on WGBH's Board of Trustees is a matter of letting the fox into the hen house and an obscenity. Mr. Koch gets mega-publicity, and is featured vocally and prominently - with his name on just about everything) when it suits his interests to promote his agenda to a public that, by design, knows very little about the organizations to which Mr. Koch belongs, the politicians, other plutocrats and members of governments at all levels - municipal, county, state and Federal - in support of the political agendas that he supports as the seemingly "good" David H. Koch. The "good" David H. Koch reaps the benefits of being perceived as a white-knight phlianthropist.
In the meantime, the "bad" David H. Koch - aka Dark Matter and Dark Energy - is meeting in the dak, out of the light of day and the sunlight that, otherwise, would shine a light on the people that he meets with, in utmost privacy, the agendas and discussions that they have, the agendas that they promote.
5.) ELITE, "FATHER-KNOWS-BEST," CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP AND ISSUES OF ELITE MEDIA CONTROL INDOCTRINATION AND PROPAGANDA: WGBH has seen fit to ignore the considered opinions of over 300,000 petitioners in support of ousting Mr. David H. Koch from WGBHS Board of Trustees.
The WGBH Board of Trustees, themselves financial, education and other elites in the Boston community think that they can just blow off the views of their "constituents" and viewers.
Let's show them just how wrong they are - these hedge-fund billionaires and millionaires, these hedge fund managers, owners of capital management companies, presidents of universities, wealthy people who just KNOW what's good for all the rest of us and are gonna darned tootin' keep doing what they darned tootin' want to do, the public be damned.
Let's, right here, right now, boycott WGBH, unfortunate as that feels like, to many of us, because these financial, hedge fund, capital and stock market managers, the wealthy and presidents of institutions of higher educatiion, "Just don't get it."
They think that they are the high and mighty, that Mr. Koch is one of them, so we're talking about a matter of corporate governance here, as well.
And they think they can do what they damned well please, with their PRIVATE public radio and television stations.
Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's high time that we disabused them of that notion.
I think it's time we got back to putting the "Public" back in public radio and television.
Boycotting Mr. Koch and all of his products, businesses, affiliates, joint venture partners, suppliers as well as not contributing to WGBH, not watching their programs (there are alternatives, WBUR for radio and others), not patronizing their advertisers (since when did public radio and television have "advertisers," fer cryin' out loud) and, in general, not doing business with anyone, anything, any corporation (which, as J. Willard ("the Mittster) Romney pointed out, in his view, are really people, my friends [he said...] will begin to get their attention.
Will this happen overnight and/or quickly?
No, because these elites are stubborn and are convinced that they know what's good for you and I and they're not about to change , just because the like of you and I demand that they do.
No, I don't expect change overnight.
There's going to be much, much more to come in the days, weeks and months ahead.
No, change will not come overnight because these folks are stubborn and they "know" they're right and they know what's good for you and I.
But...
It's a little bit like the farmer with his wagon and mule. One day,...