Radio Sweethearts

It’s NPR Pledge drive time.

I’m pretty sure everyone hates pledge drive week. Listeners hate it because their news is interrupted.  Local announcers hate it because they have to ask for money, and let’s face it - NPR employees aren’t always the best salespeople.

More after the jump.

My local NPR station, WKNO, is trying several different tactics, to mixed results:

- Pledge Drive Waterboarding: Carl Cassell is being held hostage, and NPR will make the torture stop…as soon as they reach their contribution goal.  I kept hoping all day that some sympathetic soul would just suck up and donate the $160 thousand that WKNO needed in order to stop the madness.

- The Guilt Trip: For just a dollar a day, you can finance NPR (or a starving child in a third world country). You wouldn’t steal a newspaper or cable, would you? Now don’t you feel guilty for your delicious free radio news? Don’t you feel lucky?

-  Acknowledging that Pledge Drives are Awkward: NPR announcers know that pledge week sucks. They hate it. They know you hate it. They want you to donate so they can stop hating themselves.

The point of all this? It’s pledge drive week, and until your local NPR station reaches its goal, your news will be disrupted, or possibly replaced with pleading and guilt tripping.

Please take a minute and throw a little cash in the direction of public media.  They’re providing delicious news coverage without the big media aftertaste.

Pick your favorite station or donate on the homepage of your favorite show.

Free Carl!