The KSER 3-Minute Egg Timer

Here's a quick technical explanation of how a modern-day radio station moves ahead in this ever evolving high-tech world.  Below you see two of the most important tools we utilize in the studio during our KSER Fall Pledge Drive.

Yeah, sure, there's the microphones and headphones and control board....but there are two more important things in that picture.

The first is our volunteers.  That's Steve Ward of KSER Big Bandstand fame. The volunteer DJ's, hosts and personalities are what make the station sound so good and they're the ones who do such a great job on the air explaining why we need your contribution.  If you don't believe me turn on 90.7 right now or listen online at KSER.org.


Off the air there are the volunteers, some of them brand new, who are spending hours upon hours at the station helping to answer phones and write down your pledge information and help the whole operation run smoothly. We really can't thank all of the KSER volunteers enough. They do an incredible job.

But the other very important tool in that picture, believe it or not, is that yellow 3-minute hour-glass egg timer.  It may not be high-tech, but it gets the attention of every person who is on the air doing what we call a 'pitch' or what some people might just call 'asking for money.'

Because, believe it or not, we are bending over backwards to make sure we only talk for a maximum of 3 minutes during every 'pledge break.' 

                                 
A few times a year we do week-long pledge drives. And when we do them we want each one of our
pledge breaks to be no longer than 3 minutes.  When you listen to commercial radio, they make all of their money by running commercials.  Sometimes 5 or 6 breaks every hour and some of those breaks can be longer than 5 minutes. 

In the grand scheme of things, a few pledge breaks of less than three minutes, a few times a year is really not such an interruption.  But it is how we make most of our money and it's how we are able to keep KSER on the air.

So here's hoping you've decided to help.  And if you haven't, you still have plenty of time to ensure we meet our goal for this pledge break. Just call our helpful volunteers at 425-303-9070. Or make a donation online. 

You can also buy some very nice gifts in the KSER store. Heck, you could even donate your old car! 

And if you've already donated, thanks. And please bear with us while we work for the next week to try to reach our goal in this pledge drive. Thanks to our high-tech egg-timer, we promise to keep the interruptions to less than three minutes. 

Two more quick reminders:

You can also support KSER, meet some wonderful neighbors and have a great evening at the annual KSER Voice of the Community Award ceremony. It's Saturday evening, November 10. You can get tickets here. 

There are still tickets left to see Amy Goodman when she comes to Everett October 27. But the tickets may not last long.  Don't miss this rare chance to see her in person at Everett Community College.  Ticket info here.