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An unvarnished blog that dips into the past and comments on the present of WBAI-FM, a once significant, intelligent New York radio station that for years has suffered chronic abuse from within and now nears extinction. Your comments are welcomed and will not be censored.
If the station were any good, you wouldn't need premiums. But it ain't, so you do.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone worked out how much of 2014 is going to be dedicated to pledging, expressed as # of pledge days or as a % of the year? I haven't gone back and added it all up, but I believe that it will work out to about 50% of the year. That's assuming that the fall and winter drives go about 6 weeks.
ReplyDeleteHaven't done any real-figure calculation, but I would guess that 50% is not far off. It is so poorly organized that extended time is now a given. Repeat business is certainly hurt by the appalling rate of non-delivery. The so-called "premiums" are also too far removed from WBAI/Pacifica's intended path for the sales (and, let's face it, that's what they are) to have any meaning as a measure of the station's following.
DeleteAs I have mentioned previously, this disorganized approach is apparently nothing new. A few years back, I offered to donate a box of my Bessie Smith biography (hardcover) and, if they wished, sign them. I called to ask if I should have them shipped (unsigned) directly from Yale University Press or if they wanted to pick up signed copies. They said they would get back to me, but they never did. I'm sure mine was not an isolated case.
I guess my message from this morning got lost in cyberspace. I basically asked what it means to register a premium, and that the old days were easier with Folio being the standard premium for a flat rate.
ReplyDeleteSDL
Sorry about that, SDL. I saw that comment and sent it on, but I may have mis-clicked.
DeleteAnyway, I believe they register the "premiums" so that they can be approved by management (doesn't speak very well for management, but does anything Reimers does?) Another thing id that the people taking the calls need to know what is being sold, whose show to credit it to, and how much is being charged for the "gift".
I wonder if Reimers ever turned down a product or service. Should any of these questionable products ever become the subject of legal scrutiny (copyright infringements come to mins, for ex.), he won't be able to feign ignorance.
We never saw the Folio as a premium. Most people who donated money during our fundraising marathons were already Folio-receiving members. We did, however, have barter items—listeners short on cash began to send us objects that we could offer at a price. We hadn't planned it that way, it never occurred to us, but it turned out to be a great idea. We received canaries, turtles, "Mein Kampf" in good condition, autographed baseballs... you name it!
I think I posted this link before, but here it is again—it gives some details.
http://stomp-off.blogspot.com/2010/02/first-broadcast-marathon-part-ii.html
I realize Folio wasn't a premium in the sense of how the word is used now. I just wasn't sure what else to call it. I know it used to be called a "year's subscription" you would get for pledging $25 or $35 dollars.
DeleteI have nothing against offering premiums if they are genuinely honest items. Through the decades WBAI has offered books, records, CDs, tickets, etc. that didn't promise health or life benefits of very questionable natures AND the offers were done by the hosts of their time slots. The infomercials are insulting to both host and listener because they are saying the interrupted host isn't good and/or popular enough to earn the station money. Max Scmied does it old style with his own premiums which he himself pitches on his own show.
I also remember people used to give "matching funds." Basically, someone would offer $100 or more that would last the duration of a program. If the listeners' pledges made up the same amount as the matching fund, WBAI would get the matching fund. If they didn't make it, then WBAI didn't get the matching fund.
Anyway. I thought the infomercials were essentially made by Pacifica and WBAI used them because of their success rate.
SDL
I agree, of course, and I don't see anything wrong with offering items that reflect the station's raison d'être. Max does it right and well, but he also is straight up with the listeners, at least I have never heard him make false claims or lie. His honesty is refreshing and he is also someone who understands radio.
DeleteWe also had a couple of matching funds during the first marathon and, again, the idea came from listeners. When I introduced the first marathon at KPFK, I discovered that the manager, Paul Dallas, was creating false matching funds. Since I was in charge, I told him that I would leave and take that up with Pacifica if he didn't keep the fundraiser honest. He got the message. I have always seen honesty as a one of the hallmarks of a Pacifica station, never in my wildest imagination did I think it would ever become a stumbling block.
The infomercials are shameful, far more offensive than the ones we hear on commercial radio, but this is what happens when turn the station over to unprincipled opportunists.
Besides Max, I should also add Off The Hook and The Personal Computer Show to the list. In fact, TPCS is so honest they tell you that you can get some of the programs on their discs for free, if you want, by searching around the Web and compiling them. They just do it to save you the time.
DeleteAnyway. That is honest premium pitching that is relevant to the shows doing the pitching.
Claiming false matching funds? Now that would be illegal! Don't give Reimers ideas...
SDL
Yes, definitely OTH and the Windows show, and a few more can be added to that list.
DeleteReimers has already crossed the line, many times over.