I Sustain

I am a “sustainer”. I'm not a big sustainer as sustainers go but I am a sustainer and I cannot believe I am. I listen the public radio everyday. I'm not proud of that but I need to be honest and upfront I listen to public radio. I'm almost at a point where if I had to I could quit public radio but it would be difficult but I could do it. Especially this last year I've noted with some concern just how plastic NPR has become. Not that I even come close to supporting Trump but sometimes I wonder if he may have something about the liberal news machine. I've noticed, as I have said, the past couple years as the new stable of NPR staff have come online that the new kids seem just a little bit fake to me. It seemed like in the old days that the reporters were making up their own questions, the question seemed authentic. However now the question seemed canned, you can almost tell they were written by the producers somebody else behind the scenes. Even the seasoned reporters I sense a lack of authenticity one in particular, Steve Inskeep is difficult for me to listen to and his energy style.

Maybe it's just the old guy syndrome that I'm falling into. You know anything new is bad thing? I hope not. I have noted the past couple of fundraisers that the stations have gone from just wanting your money to wanting”sustainers”. No longer will it do to offer the caller 20 or 30 bucksAnd you get whatever prize/reward NPR's come up with this season. I've enjoyed the New Yorker over the years. The 20 bucks no longer enough. Somewhere, the great brains and Development has realized as long as you got the person at gunpoint why settle for a one-time donation when you could be getting it every month? What a joke I thought The blatant money grabbing almost made me angry. I had to appreciate however, the brashness, the gall to actually clarify what kind of gift they wanted..

The blatant begging for sustainable gifts coupled with the elitist attitude and comments I have began to hear on the NPR shows I like confirms to me that NPR is targeting a specific niche of listener which I'm not sure I am one. My friend Kim, who is actually the person who turned me onto public radio, 20 or 30 years ago began weaning himself off public radio a number of years ago. Oh Kim still listens To public radio maybe not public radio maybe community radio and programming from the BBC. That must be what really cool people do these days but not me. BBC listening is way elitist in a funny sort of way.

Why did it anyway even if I did not really believe. I became a sustainer. I came on board with the least amount a month I could. I actually had to give them access to my bank account so they can suck the money out monthly, five bucks a month. So, instead of $30, or 20 I'm doing $60 a year. I suppose I can do it, and I suppose it doesn't hurt I mean five bucks is less than the movie ticket these days even for disabled old guys.I even chose the dorky coffee cup to my favorite local show Radio West am I pathetic or what?