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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Friday Feedback for March 24, 2017

Ben Newton from Australia - 24, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10462693
Thanks for ruining "Science Friday". -- Anonymous

Anonymous wrote: “[The] pledge drive is sooo... demeaning and embarrassing. it must be terribly inefficient at raising money, terribly efficient at raising hackles. thanks for ruining "Science Friday". name withheld because of gossip.” And listener Jerry said “Why do you spend two weeks telling us that your pledge drive is shorter than ever?”

Your Honor, the defense stipulates that a certain percentage of listeners always have, and always will, absolutely hate on-air fund drives, no matter what shape they take. That’s why we have worked very hard to reduce the number of days where we actually interrupt programming – such as 6 instead of 7 in the Take A Day Off drive. If people really don’t like the campaign, the best way to end it is for everyone to pledge to the goal on the first day of the campaign. That never happens, but hope springs eternal. And finally, I feel Anonymous’s pain if a couple of hours of fundraising ruins a show. Having to take it off the air because we can’t raise enough money to pay for it would kinda disappoint a lot of people also. I think. Thanks for writing.

Anonymous wrote:

...lots of talk recently about fake news and how to tell the difference between fake news and the fact… want to make sure you are hearing the real story? Easy! Just listen to NPR! Seriously, just listen to public radio and watch PBS and you can’t go wrong.

I recently wrote an Op-Ed piece for the Wilmington StarNews about the threat to funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which led to my being interviewed by the BBC. John Townson of Hampstead wrote a letter to the editor in opposition, saying he felt I was misleading readers about our relationship with NPR. All well and good, but he also said we should carry the program Intelligence Squared (which we have done) and should put conservatives on the air (which we also do).

Coincidentally, a listener who did not want to be identified sent us a comment. He didn’t want to be quoted, so I’ll paraphrase: I've been a critic of WHQR and NPR, but I must give credit where it’s due. I never thought I would hear a conservative point of view such as Ira Melman's talking about immigration issues [on CoastLine]. You gave the other half of the country a voice, and if you continue with that kind of programming, I might consider donating during one of your pan-handling campaigns. I still think NPR is not fair to conservatives, and that’s why local media needs to be the voice of reason. I hope inviting Mr. Melman wasn't a mistake and I hope you are turning over a new leaf.

No, it wasn’t a mistake, it was definitely part of our commitment to be fair to all sides. No leaves need be turned. Thank you for writing.

Travis Huber wrote:

My job requires me to drive all over so I tune in to WHQR throughout the day to keep up to date with news. I know some of the long time listeners miss the Diane Rheem show, I however tended to tune in to other stations during that time slot. Since 1A has replaced that time slot, I have stayed tuned to 91.3 and really enjoy this show. This site feels more aimed towards the younger generation such as myself, so I am glad to see shows like this come on the air. Thank you for being on the air and the shows that you provide to the listeners.

Finally, thanks to the over 1,000 listeners who took us $12,000 over our goal for the Spring drive, which did indeed Take A Day Offand ended early. Since this was my last on-air campaign before retirement, let me just say – Great work all around! Your support make our work possible.

Our Spring Survey is still open – please fill it out and let us know your preferences. Find our more at whqr.org.

We’d love to hear from you on Friday Feedback. You can send an email message to feedback-at-whqr-dot-org, or you can leave a call at 910-292-9477. And as always, thanks for your Feedback.