This has to the the most idiotic piece I've ever read in Slate. I don't believe for a second that the writer actually enjoys these mind-numbing fundraisers.

Agreed - you have to be a sadistic to listen to the intrusive pitches by these so-called journalists. WNYC is the worst.

I have a fundamental problem with the way the fundraising scheme is set up: they don't tell you how many days the fundraising drive will last; what is the fundraising goal; or how much money has been received. It makes it seem like a scam.

That's a problem with your station. Both KCUR and KMST clearly state total and hourly fundraising goals and the duration of the drive. Both also always end as soon as the goal is met -- normally a day before the end of the drive.

I agree that it is sadistic to listen but WNYC is far from the worst, try Pacifica. However, the fundamental problem is what you raise but worse than that, they LIE. With mailings and on air blurbs for weeks before the "official" drive, we are told that for each $120,000 raised before the "first day" the drive will be one day shorter. One day shorter than what? When will it start, when will it end? Last year I caught them; they announced the start day and end day and told us they raised enough for almost two days' shorter. It started and ended on the same day as announced.

This "poor" radio station bombards us with commercials written by illiterates, delivered by a person who can't pronounce the most ordinary names or words, in the most boring intonations available on radio and then tells us we provide more than half their support. Doesn't add up.

All of the above being true, WNYC is the station I love to hate. Brian Lehrer and The Takeaway with small doses of Morning Edition and All Things Considered are my only sources of news. I find the Times even more exasperating.