WDAV cancels fund drive; video interviews

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A couple of quick tidbits:

WDAV in Davidson, N.C., cut short its on-air fund drive yesterday with three days and $100,000 to go. “We cannot be oblivious to what’s happening in the world — and especially in our region,” said Ben Roe, g.m. “There’s a bit of a crisis in our community right now. Our audience sees WDAV as an oasis of calm in an unsettled world. In times like these, we need to provide the around-the-clock classical music our listeners rely on.” More details at DavidsonNews.net.

Based on what I’ve seen, it’s relatively rare for stations to cancel fund drives. But these are extraordinary times. Are other stations reconsidering their drives as well?

Also: San Antonio’s KPAC posted video of an interview with pianist Christopher O’Riley, host of public radio’s From the Top. More blogged video: Todd Mundt links to an interview at Louisville’s WUOL with Peter Schickele.

About Mike Janssen

Mike Janssen Served as Scanning The Dial's original co-authors from Mar, 2008 to Jan, 2010 and is a freelance writer, editor and media educator based in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. He has written extensively about radio, mostly for Current, the trade newspaper about public broadcasting, where his articles have appeared since 1999. He has also worked in public radio as a reporter at WFDD-FM in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he began his career in journalism and filed pieces for NPR. Mike's work in radio expanded to include outreach and advocacy in 2007, when he worked with the Future of Music Coalition to recruit applicants for noncommercial radio stations. He has since embarked on writing a series of articles about radio hopefuls for FMC's blog.

Mike also writes regularly for Retail Traffic magazine and teaches workshops about writing, podcasting and radio journalism. In his spare time he enjoys vegetarian food, the outdoors, reading, movies and traveling. You can learn more about Mike and find links to more of his writing and reporting at mikejanssen.net.

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3 thoughts on “WDAV cancels fund drive; video interviews”

  1. We’re still chugging along, and people are still coming through (yesterday was lots of work for little result, but it could also be midweek drag)–we also started October 2nd, and plan to end October 11th.

    I remember reading on one email list that people with earlier drives still made their goals.

    I hope in appreciation of WDAV stopping their drive, that lots of people go online and pledge, so they still make their goal anyway!

    (oh, and I hope people can spare a little change for WVPR too…we’re still trying to play a good amount of music during the drive, but I look forward to everything returning to normal in a few more days)

    -Mona

    Reply

  2. We at WDAV did indeed decide to suspend our campaign last Tuesday evening, and our intention in doing so was rooted in our commitment to serving our community. The now global economic crisis is having a profound impact on the greater Charlotte region – until a week ago the second largest banking center in the country. Couple the region’s financial distress with the recent gas crisis caused by Hurricane Ike and we find ourselves in a community that needs our calm more than our calls for support.

    The response to our decision has been remarkable, both in sentiment and resources. From Colorado to Taiwan to our very own community, listeners have used language such as “brave” “sensitive” “thoughtful” and “kind” to describe our actions and have made gifts to the station in honor of our decision. We suspended our campaign because, as a contributing member of our community, we felt it was not only the right thing but also the only thing to do.

    We will complete this fall campaign in the not-so-distant future, and we anticipate the same remarkable expressions of support we received during the campaign and following the suspension of the campaign.

    Annie Porges
    Director of Development and Corporate Support
    WDAV 89.9 Classical Public Radio

    Reply
  3. Pingback: WDAV cancels fund drive; video interviews | Inside The Arts

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