Not quite pit-worthy. I can’t work myself up to using harsh language on this one. However.
The local NPR station (KERA in Dallas, TX) is having one of their thrice-quarterly fund drives. This may be an exaggeration, I think they might only be twice-quarterly. Anyway, I can’t listen to the station now, it seems like 3 out of 4 times I turn it on, they’re asking for money. This is incredibly annoying, and puts me off of listening to radio in general for at least a week after the drive is finished.
I used to donate, at least once a year, to both the local NPR and PBS stations, no matter where I was living, until I realized that they’ll never stop their fund drives. As far as business models go, I’ve never understood the logic in holding your audience hostage like this. Obviously, annoying the cash out of your fan base works. They obviously rake in at least enough revenue to operate another 2-3 months, or they’d have stopped long ago. But still it just drives me nuts.
I’m not suggesting that I know of a better method for pubic broadcasting to generate revenue, but obviously there are techniques that work for other organizations. And can you imagine the reaction if other non-profits used this technique?
“Hello, welcome to Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, we’ll be able to help your child, but first let’s listen to the director drone on about the hospital’s many benefits, then we’ll ask for a donation from you - in exchange for a wonderful high quality coffe mug of course - before we’ll start looking at your kid. We’ll be doing this at least 5 times an hour, so get comfortable.”
I like NPR. I really like NPR. (Except for Garrison Keillor; he makes my teeth hurt.) But I really hate their business model. More newsing, less shmoozing, says I.
$190 million was cut from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting budget this year. True, $90 million was restored in June, but they’re still massively short on fundage. Thus, they beg (and lose listeners because of similar complaints to the OP.)
Still, I don’t know. I love NPR, but I’m not sure government money should be spent on public radio. I waffle on this one.
I hate our local NPR affiliate’s pledge drives as much as anyone – especially the frantic whining/begging of local host Larry Mantle. But I certainly wouldn’t stop donating to them because of it. Frankly, I’d like to make sure they keep going until a better model is found. And when I donate, I don’t feel guilty at all about turning it off when they start asking for money.
Subway Prophet, I understand what you’re getting at. But I don’t really see how withholding donations from a service you apparently continue to use is helping to solve the problem, either.
While I certainly share your frustration w/ the never ending fund raising, by NPR and PBS, I think we need to consider the impact of loosing these services. I’m also concerned about the increasing commercialization of the two entities and the possible influence it could have on the content of the programming, especially the investigative journalism.
Commercial broadcasting, both TV and radio, are under siege by a very few mega corporations and our congress seems inclined to allow them to take over. Can you imagine Fox being the model of the future for providing all our broadcast news and commentary? A similar situation exists in the print media.
For these reasons alone, I think it’s essential that we continue to support public broadcasting.
I hope you’ll reconsider your position.
I don’t not donate because of the incessant fund drives. I don’t donate because of the drivel they play*, which only seems to get worse during the fund drives, as if to say “you are not in our demographic! We do not want you as a donator!”
*I don’t have a problem with the quality of NPR’s programming per se. I’m referring to PBS fund drives, (and the classical music they play on the non-NPR part of the NPR-related classical station (heavy on the romantic and opera, light on Baroque and earlier.))
Believe me, if I could give them a large infusion to meet their goals and make them stop yammering, I would. Gladly.
Ludovic brings up another point that’s been bugging me - it seems that all the quality programming (measured using my yardstick, of course) is being pulled from the local station. For example, I vastly prefer PRI’s The Tavis Smiley Show (which until recently had a late night slot here) over NPR’s Farai Chideya’s News & Notes (which recently replaced Smiley’s slot). I don’t know if one costs the station more than then other, but it seems that we’re seeing more and more NPR shows and fewer PRI or APM shows.
(Correction: I assumed that Garrison Keillor was NPR - nope, he’s APM. Still makes my teeth hurt.)
If you don’t like the programming, write and tell them why. I, just recently, complained about a substitute host. Not only did I receive a personal reply, but she was replaced a couple days later. No I don’t think, for even a second, that she was replaced because of my email, but I suspect that I was just one of many who complained. If you’re displeased, especially as a financial supporter, speak out, they do listen.
I’m giving my sister away Saturday. I have no clue what to get her and her soon-to-be. I don’t want to give something generic, and I don’t want to give a glorified birhtday present. She moved out on her own about two months ago, and he will be moving from his parents house into her appartment, so I believe they do not fall into the “for those who have everything” category. So… what’s a very useful item that you would appreciate recieving as a gift, but no one gave you for your wedding?
Wrong tab. If the above reply could be deleted, that would be great.
I used to listen to NPR a lot. As in, all day every day. At first it was interesting, then it got really irritating. The station literally spews snobbery. Is there something wrong with reporting ‘normal’ art news? Does everything have to be stuff high-ballers from 1920 were talking about?
And honestly, move the mic away from your mouth girl. I don’t want to hear the saliva and pizza smacking around in your mouth as you tell me about the horrific political situation in some european country the size of my mom’s farm.
There was an article in the local weekly alternative paper here in Austin about the local NPR station. They said that KUT had better revenue streams than many commercial stations, and turns a profit. Of course that didn’t stop them from adding an emergency fund raiser for ‘equipment’.
This used to bug me, but numbers I’ve seen in the past decade or so indicate that the stations get less than half their money from corporate sponsors. I have no idea how much NPR gets from corporate donations, but I’d imagine (for no good reason) it’s similarly low.
I find the pledge drives rather annoying also, but I find the minimal commercials the rest of the year make up for it. I would still rather dodge the fundraising (here in MN is seems to be about 4 times a year) then listen to 15+ minutes per hour of commercials for McDonalds and “Desperate Housewives”.
Minnesota public radio has tried several way to reduce on-air fund raising, but they always seem to come back to the old style begging for a week. I can only assume that that means it is actually the most successful way for them to raise the money they need. One time, several years ago, they set a goal, and promised to stop the fund raising as soon as they hit that goal. You would think that that would get people rushing for the phone, since they were planning on donating anyway. Apparently it didn’t. Next funddrive, we were back to the same old thing. Too bad.
I work at a PBS station, and believe me, we don’t like pledge much either. But we do like it better than most of the alternatives.
The way I explain it to people is that while public broadcasting sells the programs to you by asking you to pay for them if you like them, commercial broadcasting is using programming to gather a valuable audience which they can then sell to their advertizers. Do you prefer to be a consumer or a product?
I don’t know the averages for NPR, but PBS stations tend to pledge for 3 to 4 percent of their broadcast time. Commercial TV tends to run ads for 26 percent of every hour.
Also, on the subject of pledge programming being worse than regularly scheduled stuff, trust me, we’ve tried getting pledges on things like Masterpiece Theater and Nova. In most cases, Dr. Wayne Dyer and old Roy Orbison concerts are vastly more successful in bringing in the dollars. I wish we knew how to change that, but I don’t think anyone’s figured out how.
By the way, I work in the mailroom and do some desktop publishing here, and I don’t have anything to do with scheduling pledge drives. The above are my own opinions based on spending time with those that do program the drives, but there’s probably lots of things in play there that I have no knowledge of. Don’t mistake my opinion for the official word from PBS or my member station.
Speaking of which, I will not contribute to a station that engages in spreading ignorance, especially in the guise of something extra-special I ostensibly want to see :mad: :mad: .
As to a (partial) solution to annoying pledge drives, KQED in San Francisco regularly does a “quiet drive”: at the end of each program they make some simple announcement along the lines of “We’re having our [annual/quarterly/whatever] pledge drive right now. Please donate to keep us in business.” The first time they had it, it was received with cheers and was wildly successful. Now, people have gotten used to it, so the enthusiasm (and therefore participation) is less. I think they often run a regular fund drive the week after the quiet drive if they don’t make their goal.
(Feel free to correct me on this info. It’s been many years since I lived in San Francisco, and it may have changed.)
More of the NPR affiliates need to talk to the folks at WAMC in Albany, NY. The fund drive is actually MORE fun than their usual programming, and I’m guessing in no small part because of this, it’s over within a week, usually 5-6 days. I believe they do this 3 times a year.
No, it’s not as large a station as some of the others, but that also means the number of listeners and donors is similarly smaller. And yet they still do it that quickly. I miss them.
(Yeah, I know some people hate the head guy at WAMC - I’m not leaving out his name to protect his privacy or anything… I just can’t spell it - but you have to admit that he’s a heck of a lot more effective at this stuff than most people.)
Not to highjack, but I’ve never heard this. Tell me more about this ignorance spreading? Just curious (as a side note, I turn his shit off when it’s on, but that’s because I find him annoying).
My local station started a new thing this time around. They started taking donations ahead of time on-line, and reduced the number of pledge days based on the money taken in in the weeks leading up to the live drive.