Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Deep thought: Be more like 'BUR

I love 90.9 WBUR, Boston's NPR News Source. I listen at least 3 hours a day.

I hate their pledge drives. I don't hate that they do pledge drives. But I hate the 15 minutes per hour the announcers shower me with guilt for not more enthusiastically paying them for programming. Especially when it cuts into The Diane Rehm Show.

Nevertheless, WBUR has balls. Granted, their hawkers speak to microphones and sound engineers and not into the faces of donors in a recession. Yet they say: you love our shows. You know you do. You are lucky to have our shows. We need money. Give us money. We'll give you a gift.

WBUR just began their two-week, year-end pledge drive. This morning, I lay half-gone and oversleeping, Morning Edition droning away on my radio. Bob Oakes had just stopped saying interesting things and started lecturing, and I wanted to reach through the clock face and put my hand over his mouth.

Then it occurred to me. WBUR is making the right moves, if WBUR were wooing a potential lover. Direct. Chiding, teasing. Generous with time and attention, and not taking no for an answer. Slightly grating, perhaps. But effective.

To be emulated?

Update, 3:20 p.m.: Please check out the comments...earlier today this post received a visit from a new media guru at WBUR. I hope I assured him there is no personal gripe with their morning news host. I did forget to mention that I've already donated to WBUR this year, a primary reason there's no guilt when ignoring their current pleas.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your post is spit out the morning coffee and laugh out loud funny. I wanna tack in to the bulletin board in the "event room" here at the station.

Fear not, we will get beyond this (and hopefully, with minimal bruising to Mr. Oakes).

In all seriousness, we appreciate you sticking with us through the think and the thin.

Thanks for listening.

Karin said...

@Ken. Of course I'm still with you. Note that the very first line was "I love you." I just turn down the volume at times.

If you would, pass on a few messages to your colleagues:

1) To Bob: I only gently stifle....and it's not personal.

2) To Tom Ashbrook. During this fall's election scrum, the only folks I knew I could trust were the NYT editorial page, politico.com and On Point. Such grace in navigating riled-up callers.

Keep up the good work, y'all!

Anonymous said...

Karin, I have to tell you how much I look forward to reading your posts. Today's was well worth the wait. You put everything I was thinking about the fund drive into the most perfect grouping of words ever. Lots of love to you!!!