Our local NPR station, WAMC, is in fundraising mode again. As much as I enjoy the programming and (to the chagrin of some) actually like the political commentaries of their CEO, I think they've missed a couple of important things in the way that they run their fundraisers.

Here's the problem: When they do their fundraisers, they go into full-on telethon mode. There is nothing on their airwaves except for the sounds of them imploring people to donate, thanking those who did, and singing the station's phone number to the tune of Camptown Races.

I tune out. I imagine that a lot of other people do, also. This puts them in the unenviable position of not being able to have anyone hear their pleas.

So what do I tune in when I tune out? Podcasts. Of what?

Well, one in particular is a program that runs on WBAI in New York.

Oh, by the way, WBAI is in fundraiser mode, too.

...but that doesn't stop my listening because, when they go into fundraiser mode, their broadcasts still have something: content!

As such, a radio station in New York, 250km away from me, with one transmitter, covering only the greater New York area (i.e. the city, Long Island, and maybe Westchester, Orange and Rockland counties) has managed to get my ear, during their pledge drive, and a local station, with 22 (yes, twenty two!) transmitters has lost it.

In an era when there are so many alternatives, not just for what to listen to on the radio, but for what to do instead of listening to the radio (hundreds of TV channels, thousands upon thousands of websites), one must ask: what are they thinking?