versus

ok, the conference.
within the first 10 minutes of being at the GRC i was approached by a headphoned, microphone-wielding young woman from KBOO in portland who asked: "what can radio do for the world?" what indeed! - i'll let you ponder that one yourself.

shortly after that, made my way to a conflict resolution session because whether you work with a pirate, low-power, community, college or public radio station...(or just happen to be a living, breathing human being) yr gonna face conflict, either as participant or mediator or catalyst. we spent 75 minutes introducing ourselves, then explaining a particular conflict that had arisen at our stations/organizations. that left 15 mintues for resolution. click on this image to witness the mess of conflicts shared.

in those 15 minutes marty durlin from KGNU shared a few excellent, simple reminders about handling conflict. [be open. be direct. make sure there are rules in place to eject (my word, not hers) particularly crazy or destructive volunteers, staff or board members who for whatever reason may be harmful to the health (or lifespan) of your station. etc.]

it wasn't a conversation that necessarily brought any new or revelatory information to the table, but it was certainly interesting to hear (and commiserate about) some universally-relevant stories regarding power, personality and authority-driven issues that others are facing. marty also brought up an interesting point: contrary to popular belief, community stations don't NEED to be dsyfunctional to flourish. no, in fact, playing well with others can indeed be healthy for a radical media environment. an interesting, self-relective note to end the session on...

[more to follow]