jim_p

For those of you in the U.S. who watch PBS or listen to NPR...

Wouldn't you think that incessant, annoying, haranguing on-air fundraising has to hit a point of diminshing returns sooner or later? I like to listen to WBUR on my way to and from work, and every so often they'll do another fundraising campaign where for days on end they'll punctuate every break they possibly can with several minutes of begging for money. As soon as I hear the words "With me in the studio now..." I cringe... they're going double-team us poor listeners and beat us over the head with how wonderful they are and how stingy we are and if we'd only go to the phone RIGHT NOW and promise them even more money they'll be oh so grateful, but not grateful enough to give us our damned programming back because they have to just keep on telling us how wonderful their programming is and it's worth it and can't you afford $1 a day it's less than the price of a cup of coffee or the daily paper and and and....

Ahem. Anyhow my point is that this might be okay for the first day or two, but does it really take a whole week to shake down the majority of people who are in a mind to give? Not only that, I believe it actually provides a negative incentive to giving; I keep shouting at the radio "I already gave you money you poor-mouthing bastards, when the hell will you give me All Things Considered back?!" Do they really get enough pledges in the later days of the campaign to make it worth it? Does the Chinese Water Torture really work to get folks to eventually give money, or do they just tune in something else?

And yes, I do give them money, so I'm not being a hypocrite here...