Pledge Boom Helps Public Stations Ride Out Recession

Loyal public help keep stations going as sponsorships, government funding vanish

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 5, 2009 10:07 AM CDT

(Newser) – Loyal viewers and listeners have stepped up to help their local public broadcasters make it through the recession, the Washington Post reports. Public stations say their appeals to the public are meeting a warm response despite the recession, with donations staying steady and, at some stations, even rising to record levels. "We're getting astounding numbers," says the fundraising chief of a DC public radio station.

The uptick in private donations has helped offset a drop in government and corporate funds, making layoffs and cutbacks less severe at stations across the US. "From everything I know anecdotally, and I speak constantly to the stations, individual giving has held up," says one industry consultant. Another speculates that the decline of other media such as local newspapers has left people feeling more protective than ever about their public broadcasters.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A pledge drive in progress at Sacramento's KVIE. (Flickr)

Volunteers man the phones at a pledge drive at Chicago's WBEZ. (Flickr)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Having been in this industry for 30 years, my gut tells me that people really value public broadcasting and its place in the community. They're passionate.
- Helen Kennedy, a fundraising consultant for public broadcasters

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Your TV, Radio Will Be Interrupted Tomorrow

Emergency Alert System gets first national test at 2pm Eastern

(NEWSER) - Turn on the tube or radio tomorrow at 2pm Eastern time, and you’ll be witness to the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System. It's expected to last about 30 seconds. Though the system has been used locally for concerns like weather alerts, this is the first time it will be tested at the national level, ABC News reports. More»

SpongeBob Hurts Kids' Brains

Show weakens their ability to focus, research suggests

(NEWSER) - He lives in a pineapple under the sea, and apparently he poses a threat to your kid’s attention span. Researchers showed one group of children a nine-minute SpongeBob SquarePants segment; another group watched a clip of the same length of an educational PBS show called Caillou; a third spent the time drawing. Then scientists tested the focusing abilities of each group of 4-year-olds. SpongeBob viewers' "ability to stay on task, to not be distracted" was significantly worse than that of the other two groups. More»

Pledge Drives Muscle In on PBS Programming

Individuals are cash-strapped stations' biggest funding source

(NEWSER) - Between the recession and threats to its federal funding, PBS is facing tough times—so don’t be surprised if you see a lot more Les Miserables and self-help programming. PBS stations have upped the length of televised pledging periods by 9% since 2005, the company says, with some stations spending 10 weeks a year on fundraising. And this month, it’s been working: viewers have pledged 31% more cash than they did last March, the New York Times reports. More»

Fox News, CNN, MSNBC Shed 13.7% of Viewers

Every cable news channel sees drop-off for first time in 12 years

(NEWSER) - CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News all lost viewers last year for the first time in at least 12 years, a study finds. A Pew journalism group found a combined 13.7% drop in viewership, the largest decline of any news sector, and all three networks fell for the first time since the group began keeping track. Broadcast news, meanwhile, continued its decline with a 3.4% drop in 2010, the Hollywood Reporter notes. More»

Apple, Amazon Joining Battle for Your TV

Apple to announce revamped version of Apple TV with Netflix

(NEWSER) - Amazon and Apple are both planning major pushes into the online TV business, insiders say. Apple will announce today a new set-top box that will deliver TV to consumers and include movies from Netflix, reports Bloomberg . Apple will offer 99-cent rentals of TV shows through its revamped, $99 version of AppleTV, the sources say. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Pledge Boom Helps Public Stations Ride Out Recession