NPR quandary

[bjarvis]

Our two local NPR stations, WAMU and WETA, are deeply embedded in their annual fund-raising drive at the moment. On the one hand, I would like to give them financial support as I listen to both avidly. On the other hand, I abhor the idea of being placed on yet another mailing list; both stations also routinely sell their mailing lists to other organizations. I get far, far too much junk mail already.

I wish NPR had a method of accepting donations anonymously. I feel like running up to the station door at 2 AM, taping a $100 bill to the door, ringing the doorbell and running like hell before anyone sees me.

Comments

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

I preferred WETA, although I had both progammed into the car radio.

I like the tracking info idea.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

In the past year, WETA has dropped most of their classical music format in favour of a more news-oriented format. In effect, they're copying competing NPR station WAMU, duplicating key portions of their programming: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Marketplace, etc.. While I much prefer the news format over music, I have to wonder if both can survive in the same marketplace without significant differentiation.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Heh. Similar things have been happening in Boston. Both public stations (WGBH and WBUR) used, in the distant past, to carry a fair amount of classical music, although WGBH always had much more; but WBUR eliminated it years ago. Meanwhile WGBH has been shaving its classical music broadcasting down (or rescheduling it to the same effect -- weekends from 6 AM to 10 AM? C'mon!) so they can run the exact same NPR and PRI news-and-talk programs that are running on WBUR.

I still give my annual $250 to WGBH, and I turn them off for the duration of their pledge periods. But I mostly can't stand to listen to talk-and-news, and I miss my classical music.