Pledge Drives Annoy Blogger

Pledge drives are SOOOO annoying, especially when you're driving.

Of course I'm talking about those beg-a-thons public radio stations put on about four times a year.

For days and days and days, regular informative programming, sometimes the only news I get, is interrupted by interminable requests for money, punctuated by an infinitely repeated toll-free number for making a pledge.

It’s endless.

And no matter what they tell you, one thing that doesn't end the pledge drive is making a pledge. They make it sound like if they just reach their goal for that hour, they'll stop. But they never do. They just set another goal.

During those endless pledge-drive days, I'll go to extremes to avoid listening. I may go as far as changing to a (gasp) commercial station or just driving in silence.

I'm not saying we shouldn't support our local public radio and television stations. I just wish there were a less annoying way for them to remind us that we need to support them.

I'm sure the public radio people hate delivering the excruciating upbeat chatter as much as I hate listening to it. Who cares if Glen in Castle Rock just became an evergreen partner member? I'm sure that if there were a better way to raise money, they would.

It might help to look at the up-side to pledging. Sometimes they give you stuff if you donate enough. I have a couple of cool public radio coffee mugs. I even have a tote bag. It makes me look smart when I use it to shop. 

I really like public radio when it's not pledge drive time. It's about the only source of broadcasted information that doesn't wallow in breathless sensationalism. National Public Radio in particular delivers balanced, well-crafted journalism.

Oh sure, there's the occasional annoying feature about some obscure musician that I just don't care about. I can live without the insipid sharing of recipes, especially at holiday time.

But nothing good comes free in this life. If I have to change the channel for a few weeks every year, then so be it.

Hmm – I suppose if you wanted to make a substantial donation to BillsWeek, I could send you a coffee mug.