Posted on 08/13/2007 11:41:51 AM PDT by weegee
A bullet blasted through a Plexiglas window at KPFT radio early this morning, missing a woman's head by about 18 inches, said general manager Duane Bradley.
The bullet was fired while another staff member was talking to three people at the station's front door, about 12 feet from the smashed window, Bradley said. The station is located in the 400 block of Lovett.
No one was injured in the shooting, Bradley said.
Bradley said the sometimes-controversial station airs blues, folk and other types of music as well as "alternative" programming about gay and lesbian issues and a program geared toward Texas prison inmates and their families.
But he said programming logs indicated no hot-button topics in the hours before the bullet struck the station's window at about 1 a.m. today.
The community-supported radio station at 90.1 FM finished a weeklong $135,000 pledge campaign on Sunday.
"There was actually a Zydeco music show that was on when this happened," Bradley said. "Zydeco, if anything, is kind of happy music."
Bradley said Mary Thomas, the programmer who came close to being hit by the bullet, was not engaged in any controversial on-air activity at the time.
"I think it was purposeful," Bradley said. "It's highly likely that, at some point, someone may have heard something that offended them and they decided to do something about it."
The bullet fired at the station today smashed through a Plexiglas layer of the studio window and an attached layer of regular glass, then hit a door across the room. Police still were looking for the bullet early this morning.
Bradley said KPFT has been operating since March of 1970. Considered by many a liberal or even left-wing station at the time, the station's transmitter, located then in rural Houston, was dynamited twice in 1970 and 1971. The bombings were believed to be racially motivated, Bradley said.
What "race" is KPFT? I know most of them are in contact with something in outer space. I used to listen to KPFT for fun. It's probably considered cruel to laugh at the mentally handicapped.
Considering their location a bullet through the window may not be significant of anything other than some local dispute. Fifty years ago I lived a couple of blocks from there and it was well on it's way downhill.
That block is very yuppie liberal today. The violent crime is over on the other side of Westheimer.
Long ago when they played mostly music they were a good station to listen to. I basically quit listening to them when the last internal take over went down a few years ago. Can’t stand any of their talk programs and the few times I do flip to their channel they are having yet another fund drive. With XM and Sirus out there with variety music, I’m sure they are hurting for supporters.
Nice headline writers at the Chronicle. Proper English apparently optional.
And THAT is the source of their problems. I listen sometimes on Saturdays, the music is good but eventually I get tired of the editorializing and turn it off. I actually heard one of the dj's try and blame the fire, etc on the KKK. Yeah, right. Their "internal power struggles" are sometimes entertaining to read about, just read the minutes of their board meetings. Some of the stuff they spend their time on is a hoot and a real eye-opener. I just tell myself that as long as the left stays busy with stuff like that, it keeps them from stirring up crap somewhere else.
The doors to the station used to be open to the public but with some ex-staffers being barred from the premises, physical assaults, and attempts to run into the studio and takeover the broadcasts, they require those coming to the station to buzz in around the clock, the receptionist has to let you in.
But NONE of this made it to the Houston Comical’s piece.
I doubt it was an act of random violence and I doubt that it was because of some mysterious “gay or prison” show discussion. It was because the Stalinist audience doesn’t like sharing the station’s resources with the music listening audience (which is the demographic that coughs up more of the donations).
You can hang around town and find libs who are alternately scared and bored by the political blather of the hard leftists on that station. And they probably put their 501c3 tax status in frequent jeopardy with political advocacy, whether it is the Green Party campaign literature available to visitors in the lobby or on air appeals for/against a candidate, party, or piece of pendind legislation.
They can no more engage in political advocacy than a church can.
east coast vs west coast thang?
Actually, yeah.
That's an interesting, valid point ... and one that I've never thought of.
Their legal advisers from California reminded them of this in 2004 when they were gearing up to boost Kerry and denegrate Bush in “get out the vote” efforts.
The volunteers grumbled and pointed to conservative talk radio. Except one is a commercial enterprise that pays their taxes and the other chooses to limit their political speech by taking a non-profit tax free status.
Halliburton???
I do have an alibi...;-)
I don’t think it is a hoax but I do believe that they are publicly downplaying their radical base who despise the entertainment programming on the station.
Heh. Nope, just a little uncontroversial company. All of the neighbor's offices get bullet holes too, so we don't feel exactly picked-on. It's just part of what Houston is all about.
Staffers look for clues in drive-by at KPFT ("third" violent attack in 3 years) (Houston Chronicle Aug. 13, 2007, 7:49PM)
Actually I think the Zydeco and blue grass is an attempt to rope in blue collar whites to indoctrinate. As for their politics, it is various shades of bolshevik. The shooting reminds me of one of their strident talk show hosts exhorting the masses to “bring the war home”. Now they got INCOMING. I guess she got her wish and the war is coming home for them.
Wow, nice find. I had no idea since I’ve never heard Zydeco anywhere other than in NOLA. I hear it in Lousiana all the damn time but I’ve never heard it in Texas. Hmmm.
I guess it is true. I really don’t know everything after all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.