Public radio

Behind the Scenes: Fundraising at a Classical Station

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This is not going to be a compendium of fundraising ideas for classical stations, so if you’re looking for the foolproof idea that will make your fundraising SING during a recession, sorry.  I wanted to give non-radio types a look at what goes on behind the scenes.

It’s almost impossible for public classical stations to generate “earned income.”  Radio has always been free — like the internet — so you can’t really sell the product, unless you’re satellite radio and force people to buy a special receiver and pay a subscription fee.

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New Hampshire’s WCNH: a small station filling a big role

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The other day I wrote that I found no applicants for new noncommercial classical stations in last fall’s application window, other than the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Well, I did find another one, under the inconspicuous name of Highland Community Broadcasting. And Highland is no newcomer to classical radio — in fact, it now operates the only classical station in the state of New Hampshire.

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Milwaukee orchestra faces longer wait for radio station

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I wrote recently about the good fortunes of free103point9, the New York nonprofit devoted to art that uses radio and transmission media as a starting point. free103 recently received a construction permit to start a new noncommercial FM radio station in Acra, N.Y. This led me to wonder about the fate of other applicants for noncommercial stations. Unfortunately, it looks like they have more waiting in store.

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Classical stations, fundraising and the economy

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A recent article on MSNBC.com examined how public radio stations are faring with fundraising in these unstable economic times. The article prominently features two classical stations, WDAV in Davidson, N.C., and WWFM in Trenton, N.J. As I mentioned the other day, WDAV has just restarted its on-air fundraising drive after putting it on hold.

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