Your fundraising, begging on the radio, getting in the WAY like a homeless person on a steam grate with his hand out, is frankly, boring, and barely relevant only to the extent that, IF your broadcast voices are to be believed (and one wonders if as many pledges actually come in and come through with contributions as one hears telephone rings during your fundraising interruptions), some cash is produced.
But to a large portion of your audience, those who have already contributed or those who don't contribute, they are a major turnoff, literally losing your listeners during the time the begging takes place. It would seem that the idea of radio is to keep people listening, not to repel them at this most important time, but I would venture to say this is exactly what your fundraising by begging actually does - repels us. Don't we see enough begging by the steam-grate set, the cardboard box set, the windshield cleaner set? What do we think when confronted with these people - and barely people, too - "Get a job. Do something productive, stop lying around waiting for the world to come support you. Earn your keep, 'cause we're tired of throwing money at you and seeing you descend further into your situation." Public Radio does do something productive, but your fund-raising puts you in their class.
Question: Do the people whose books and films and other projects rate an hour of your airtime pay anything for this advertising? Do they even rise to contribute the minimal membership level?
With the high degree of communication you have with your audience, it would seem that there would be better alternatives to raising money than naked begging.
Henry Francisco, Special to
