A successful radio station pledge drive requires a peculiar level of conviction from its announcers. Even when a radio station's programming is close to one's heart, one doesn't usually sit around, touting its benefits on the air with other station announcers. As much as listeners might enjoy certain noncommercial radio playlists and programs, they don't typically say, "Why, that was a great set of music from those four obscure dobro players. Certainly, I never hear this kind of music on any other station. I should call the station and chip in some cash to keep the dobro music going." I wish everyone thought that way, but it's unreasonable to expect everyone to share this priority.
Listeners might also be skeptical of the station's rationale behind asking for exorbitant sums of money. I can just imagine a listener thinking, "Hmmmm...Because the station's frequency is 91.7 FM, they're asking everyone to contribute a minimum of $91.70. Nice try, but that makes as little sense as saying, 'Because our new facility will consist of 40,000 bricks, we're asking each listener to contribute at least $40,000. With each listener pitching in at this level, our books should be balanced by 2038, at the latest.'"
As much as I've enjoyed noncommercial radio for decades, I was never entirely comfortable asking for money on the air. During pledge drives, however, I sounded as polite and low-key as I could, while getting the required bullet points across. The pledge drive break which satisfied me most, however, was one I ad-libbed. After a producer at one station explained how listeners' contributions keep certain programs on the air, he tossed it over to me. "And if you enjoy those programs so much, you wouldn't want to turn on the radio one day and just hear nothing where they once aired," I improvised. "You wouldn't want to tune in only to hear what Simon and Garfunkel might refer to as 'the sound of silence.'"
At my next air check meeting, the station's program director complimented my instincts during the pledge drive. I appreciated the praise, but I also thought, "It's easy to sound idealistic on the air when it isn't your own money you're asking listeners to contribute."
