For a 50 dollar donation, you will get three “I’m Building Air America Radio” bumper stickers. Write a check for $100 bucks and they'll whisk on their way the bumper stickers and a “stylin’ yet functional tote bag”. For $250 bucks you’ll receive the stickers, the tote bag and one of the on-air hosts will actually say your name on the air!
But, wait - there’s more when you send money. According to the website:
“We'll send you a monthly Associates insider email with the backstage news from our shows and our headquarters.
When we take Air America Radio on the road, we'll invite you to meet our hosts and progressive leaders in your community.”
You mean a real emailed newsletter? And if they do a remote broadcast in my city I can actually drive to it and watch? Hot Damn!
Does the word "fluff" come to mind? It's like winning a free cell phone which requires a 2 year service contract. What exactly is the "premium" here? The bumper stickers? Almost every radio station in the world gives them away for free. Getting your name on the air? You probably already had it said on some morning show's "birthday list" when you were 15. Oh yeah: the tote bag.
I'm sorry but the whole pitch seems a little embarassing.
It’s as if the Air America Radio audience just walked into a quickly thrown together NPR auction. The only thing missing is a virtual tote board on their website and some flashing lights when there’s an overbid of more than $250 dollars.
Besides National Public Radio, the only other prominent radio entity which is listener supported belongs to the Pacifica Radio Foundation whose five radio stations have been operating that way for 50 years. But, they're also not-for-profit.
Air America Radio is for profit and although it has the right to ask listeners to chip in, it just seems to me if you're going to be a player, you best act like one. The Air America Radio staff can defend it anyway they like. But, on the surface, it looks desperate.
I don’t have access to the network’s financial reports so I don’t know how much money they have or what their debts are. But, it doesn’t take a genius to at least wonder if something isn’t wrong in that department.
I do cherish the idea of having plenty of diverse voices on the airwaves. Free speech is one of the cornerstones of our society and balance keeps the ideological bullies in check – on both sides.
So, I hope the network is not suffering the crisis it appears to be in because if it’s panhandling now - the next step can only be homelessness.
