3 ms·

Now if they'd just stop their pledge drives..

acdha 11y ago
They need to make the payroll, though, and that's how the system works currently. What I'm hoping will happen is a transition approach where e.g. the radio might still be interrupted but users of apps like NPR One could continue uninterrupted after paying, and they'd work out some revenue sharing deal to pay for local news, etc. I'm not holding my breath on any of that happening quickly since you're talking about renegotiating into a new business model with a bunch of different parties.
- kd5bjo 11y ago
  KQED[1] does this; when you make a donation during their pledge drive, You get access to a secondary web stream without the pledge breaks. [1] NPR San Francisco
  - ascagnel_ 11y ago
    WNYC chooses to shorten the pledge drive the higher over the goal they run. So a two-week pledge drive has gone as short as ten days from people front-loading donations.
jzwinck 11y ago
I like NPR so I donated once. From that day forward they sent me dozens of letters in the mail asking for more money. I suspect they spent my entire donation amount spamming me. I didn't want to agree with you. But you're not wrong.
- kasey_junk 11y ago
  You almost certainly did not donate to NPR, but rather to your local public radio station. Those local stations run the gamut of sophistication. My local public radio station for instance (WBEZ in Chicago) is very, very good about not sending mail you don't want. They have an easy to use internet enabled monthly giving program and a pledge drive free internet stream for donors during the pledge drive. But they are one of the biggest stations in the country and have the production dept. to back that up. Other stations are little more than adjuncts to the local college's telecomms program. The difference between NPR and your local public radio channel is not understood by most people, but it gets to the heart of the point of this article.
- rat87 11y ago
  I gave blood once. Now the Red Cross won't leave me alone.
ceejayoz 11y ago
Our local station is working on that. They do a week or two of gentle announcements that one's coming up, the goal, and where to donate online. They also stress that as soon as the goal is met, the drive ends, even if the goal is met online before the drive starts. Thus far, it seems to be working. The week-long drives have dropped to 1-3 days.
knz 11y ago
KNOW (Minneapolis/St Paul) have been pushing "Sustaining Membership" for a few years now. While it hasn't eliminated the need for the member drives it has reduced the number of days they run them for.

acdha 11y ago

They need to make the payroll, though, and that's how the system works currently. What I'm hoping will happen is a transition approach where e.g. the radio might still be interrupted but users of apps like NPR One could continue uninterrupted after paying, and they'd work out some revenue sharing deal to pay for local news, etc. I'm not holding my breath on any of that happening quickly since you're talking about renegotiating into a new business model with a bunch of different parties.

kd5bjo 11y ago
KQED[1] does this; when you make a donation during their pledge drive, You get access to a secondary web stream without the pledge breaks. [1] NPR San Francisco
- ascagnel_ 11y ago
  WNYC chooses to shorten the pledge drive the higher over the goal they run. So a two-week pledge drive has gone as short as ten days from people front-loading donations.

jzwinck 11y ago

I like NPR so I donated once. From that day forward they sent me dozens of letters in the mail asking for more money. I suspect they spent my entire donation amount spamming me. I didn't want to agree with you. But you're not wrong.

kasey_junk 11y ago
You almost certainly did not donate to NPR, but rather to your local public radio station. Those local stations run the gamut of sophistication. My local public radio station for instance (WBEZ in Chicago) is very, very good about not sending mail you don't want. They have an easy to use internet enabled monthly giving program and a pledge drive free internet stream for donors during the pledge drive. But they are one of the biggest stations in the country and have the production dept. to back that up. Other stations are little more than adjuncts to the local college's telecomms program. The difference between NPR and your local public radio channel is not understood by most people, but it gets to the heart of the point of this article.
rat87 11y ago
I gave blood once. Now the Red Cross won't leave me alone.

ceejayoz 11y ago

Our local station is working on that. They do a week or two of gentle announcements that one's coming up, the goal, and where to donate online. They also stress that as soon as the goal is met, the drive ends, even if the goal is met online before the drive starts. Thus far, it seems to be working. The week-long drives have dropped to 1-3 days.

knz 11y ago

KNOW (Minneapolis/St Paul) have been pushing "Sustaining Membership" for a few years now. While it hasn't eliminated the need for the member drives it has reduced the number of days they run them for.