Customers usually don't call to tell businesses how good things are. They normally only call to complain. That's also mostly true at radio stations. Oh, sure, we get calls from people wanting to know what song they just heard or the name of a guest Ed Bremer just interviewed. But, sometimes, when the phone rings, it's someone with a beef.
So when I answered the phone last week I wasn't too surprised when I heard, "Listen dude, my name is Don and I really get tired of your pledge drives."
First, I was pleased he called me 'dude.' But I had to tell Don how wrong he was when he said "You guys do pledge drives all the time!" Actually, Don, we only do it three times a year. Each time for about 7 to 10 days. So, about 3 weeks a year we do pledge drives, which means about 49 weeks out of the year we are NOT doing pledge drives.
Don admitted that he hadn't thought about it that way, but then he said, "Yeah, but when you do them you talk non-stop and constantly interrupt whatever I want to listen to." So I told him, actually, we only do about 3 or 4 segments per hour requesting financial support and each segment is about 4 minutes or less. I reminded him that commercial radio stations frequently do 4 or 5 commercial breaks every hour and some of those breaks are 5 minutes long or longer! And they do that 52 weeks out of the year.
I'm feeling like Don is starting to come around, but then he gives me an easy question,"Yeah, but what do you do with all that money?" First of all, in the radio world, it's really not that much. But here's what we do with it.
We have a very small paid staff. It covers their salaries. We need to repair and replace broadcast equipment that is in use 24 hours a day (even when we do those pledge drives). We actually have to pay for all the music you listen to in the form of fees to ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. We also have to pay to get some of the great national programming that you don't hear anywhere else, like Democracy Now with Amy Goodman.
Just like Sound Living with Ed Bremer and the information you hear in the mornings from Sondra Santos on KSER, these are all programs with viewpoints and perspectives you are not going to hear on commercial radio.
And along with the electricity bill to run the transmitter, it all costs money.
So Don is no longer quite as agitated as he was at the start of our call. In fact, he's being downright pleasant and says he wants to contribute $100 because he loves the shows on KSER. So I tell him how easy it is to contribute with credit card on our website. That's when Don tells me he hates computers and credit cards. So he agrees to mail us a check. I tell him how much I appreciate it and he says, "You're welcome, dude."
By the way, you can help support all the independent voices you hear on KSER. You can mail us a check, but it's a lot easier here.
And if you've already contributed, thanks!
Two other reminders:
If you're a KSER Member you can vote for our board of directors. Ballots have been mailed to members, so please fill them out and mail them back. The ballots will be tallied at the KSER annual meeting at the KSER Studios August 14. Public invited!
And we've extended the deadline for nominations for this years KSER Voice of the Community Award. You now have until August 15 to make a nomination of an individual, organization or business that makes a positive community or cultural impact in the North Puget Sound.
Thanks,
"Dude"
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