ELECTRONIC MEDIA MANAGEMENT - Ayo Menulis FISIP UAJY

ELECTRONIC MEDIA MANAGEMENT
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The design of the fund-raising drive is in the hands of the local station. For
NPR stations, there is also a national fund-raising framework. Special versions
of popular programs are presented. For a producer’s manual for the WWOZ
spring membership drive, please see Appendix B, “Excerpt from Membership
Drive Producer’s Manual.”
Most stations prefer not to break the existing format during fund drives.
Instead, special editions or encore presentations of programs are presented in
their regular time periods. During fund-raising, a station might use a Garrison
Keillor special, for example. Such programming is then interspersed with onthe-air
appeals to the audience. Premiums might be anything, but the more
successful ones are books, such as Go Public, which features coverage maps
and format information on public radio stations across the country, and coffee
mugs displaying the names of popular programs. Phone-in pledges are
taken by volunteers, usually community leaders and members of community
organizations. Where possible, involvement of local sports or entertainment
celebrities is desirable.
Public radio stations do engage in other kinds of fund-raising. Music stations
often mount performance events for revenue. WWOZ, for example,
organizes a series of Piano Night concerts. The station also arranges an annual
Mangold Freeze. These two events generate $75,000 in net annual revenue
for a station whose annual revenue is $1.4 million.
Some public radio stations produce auctions. However, this fund-raising
method is difficult because radio lacks the visual element. Special events, with
personalities from national programs carried by the station, are another type.
New methods of audience fund-raising are developing and evolving. It is
important to be aware of ideas and success stories from stations around the
country. This can be done by direct contact with other public stations or by
membership in selected organizations. Other development and fund-raising
information is available on the Internet. 19
UNDERWRITING This revenue source is used either to develop or
present programs. As a rule, public radio stations are more active than television
stations in program development. Stations involved in program production
may submit grant applications to large corporations or foundations to
secure funds.
Stations not engaged in program development still may rely on underwriting
to defray some of the costs of presenting programs. To secure presentation
underwriting, a representative of the station offers to a local business sponsorship
identification during the program in exchange for a monetary contribution.
To preserve noncommercial integrity, close attention must be paid to the
preparation of underwriting copy.
Product identification is acceptable. Price information, product comparisons,
and customer motivational language are not. Comments made earlier
in the chapter about the specific guidelines are relevant here.
Since underwriting is one of the few realistic revenue sources available to
public radio, management should provide sufficient personnel and support to
develop it.
For a summary of the principal sources of revenue for a public radio station,
please see Figure 9.9.