We Want Media

I absolutely love WNYC. I love waking up to the scholarly voice of Soterios Johnson. There are very few radio and television stations that continuously produce such high caliber news. The stories are in-depth, insightful, and relevant. Every morning I walk away with so much new knowledge about issues such as healthcare or the war in Iraq. The Villager ran an article last year that highlighted what is so innovative about WNYC. While there are so many things I love about WNYC, what I don’t love…fundraising.

A few times a year (at least once each season) WNYC has a week long fundraising period. It wouldn’t be so bad if they were reserved for certain parts of the day so you could choose when you tuned in. However, they are smart. They intersperse their fundraising drive in between their news stories. As you enjoy a story on perhaps the new Norah Jones CD a plea to donate money to WNYC quickly follows.

If you don’t already know, WNYC is an independent public radio station. In the late 1990’s, the radio station bought the right to self-governance from New York City. This independence is one of the reasons why WNYC is so unique in the broadcasting field. The station essentially answers to no one but itself.

Due to this divorce from city ownership it is necessary that these fundraising drives exist. I hate them, but since they have to occur in order for one of the best radio stations to continue, I offer three suggestions.

1. Ask a few classical musicians to play at a WNYC sponsored concert (Central Park perhaps). WNYC is one of the few stations that actually play classical music so I’m sure they would love to do it. As a way to raise money, charge a small fee for people to attend. Not only will WNYC be raising money, it will also be exposing people to classical music. 2. How about the good old fashioned telemarketing call. I say turn to the phones and get dialing. It’s a lot harder for people not to give when you are on phone (not to say they will) and you can limit the fundraising interruptions you have during shows like Morning Edition. 3. Listeners of WNYC, please donate generously before the fundraisers. It cuts down on the number of fundraising days.

Those are my thoughts. Keep those impressive stories coming.