KKFI events and activities continued during 2001 with some shows getting favorable coverage in the press.

2001 KKFI Program Schedule

At the beginning of May, Steve Peters who had been a supporter of Robert Barrientos including his hiring, became very disillusioned with the general manager and wrote an open letter expressing his frustration.

The Pitch (Kansas City’s alternative newspaper) broke the news of what was going on with the new manager at KKFi on May 31, 2001, in an 8-page feature story. It outlined one of the challenges to KKFI to continue as a real community radio station.

Two people who had had long-standing shows on KKFI wrote letters to the editor on June 21 in response to the Pitch article in May. Fortuitously. These letters were read by Denis Moynahan, who happened to be working with an activist group in Lawrence, Kansas. Denis is an associate of Amy Goodman who produces the “Democracy Now” news show on KKFI. Denis would be instrumental in arranging for the visit of Amy in 2002 to help raise funds to fight the station takeover and he offered to help with the KKFI struggle.

After the Pitch Article, letters to the editor pro and con flew back & forth.

Kansas City Star article about the general manager after a year on the job, not being aware of a budget shortfall needed to move the office.

In the Fall, protests started to occur outside the studio and more letters started to appear.

An article from eKC, another Kansas City alternative publication discusses the situation at KKFI.

KKFI Newsletter Fall, 2001 glorified a “new vision” and the people who would put it in place.

With all the turmoil continuing at KKFI, and programmers and members being purged, a concerned group of volunteers, former programmers, and listeners was formed as a 501(c)3 non-profit group, Friends of Community Radio (FCR). A detailed history of Friends of Community Radio is in the menus above of KKFISTORY.ORG under the tab “Story”.

With an offer to help Friends of Community Radio unseat the current management of KKFI, Denis Moynahan offered to help set up a fundraising event with Amy Goodman which would occur in February, 2002.

A major mistake was made by KKFI management to move the extremely popular morning alternative news program “Democracy Now” by Amy Goodman, to the 10 PM time-slot. This created additional outrage by loyal listeners.

Showing the impact that Friends of Community Media was starting to have, the group was declared an “enemy”. At the end of the year during the holiday season, KKFI’s reduced active membership voted to get rid of anyone at KKFI involved with Friends of Community Radio.

In 2002, a list of on-air people who were purged or in danger of being purged from the airwaves was created by FCR.