So all day long I sit in my office with it’s one window and one door - private and all mine, it’s a rather huge step in a direction I never expected to be professionally. There is something pretty spectacular about being able to listen all day long to NPR and not worry about disturbing someone around me. Growing up in Virginia, during Middle school my stepfather at the time would drive my sister and I to school on his way to work. We lived in Fauquier county, notorious for two lane highways, deer roaming the pavement and static filled radio - inevitably the choice was either classic rock or NPR. My fondest memory of listening to NPR was the really amazing Prairie Home Companion segment which played early enough for the length of the ride to school and became a huge distraction from reality. Inserted in the segment was always an homage to poetry - with a poem being read aloud and some history about the poet begin offered. It was the first time I’d ever heard someone read aloud, The Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, and the first time I heard someone talk about Tennyson other than my art history and mythology teacher.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I still feel those early mornings, climbing into my stepfathers green Toyota truck, driving over the gravel road, watching the cold crisp air of Virginia still busy settling back down to earth. We lived on a mountain, so the fog held tight in the early dawn - almost as tight I still hold on to those years so long ago.
Today, years later, I get into the office, put down my bag, take off my coat and turn my little radio on. It’s dial is preset to Chicago Public Radio. After about ten minutes I began to realize that they were holding their annual pledge drive - though they also said they do this about three times a year - either way - after two hours I had to turn the radio off. I wanted to listen to Fresh Air, I wanted to listen to the new segment aptly called, “Story,” and I wanted to listen to my afternoon cup of knowledge, All Things Considered. I kept looking over at my phone, asking myself why I wasn’t one of those loyal listeners who could donate a dollar a day, or the $170 to get a membership card. So I turned the radio back on, thinking something would happen and I would be wholly motivated to call once and for all with credit card number in hand. I should have left it off.
Someone from the marketing team was talking about how for this hour they were working to raise a couple thousand dollars. Instead of remarking or making a comment like, “any support is appreciated,” she instead said something to the effect that all donations should reflect how much one values having Chicago Public Radio - I hate this tactic of fundraising. Don’t incite guilt just to get your buck. I was really irritated by the sudden lack of money I had to give towards something I listen to every single day - irritated by a culture of publicly funded avenues and mediums of art that shouldn’t have to ask and beg and plead for money each and every year. In a day and age when news media is so saturated and most is so unreliable and biased, it’s such a comfort to have Chicago Public Radio - but I think it’s time to focus on some other sort of fundraising method besides a radio telethon. I look forward to days filled with Ira Glass and BBC hour - so maybe I am feeling guilty that I didn’t pledge my loyalty today - maybe we should all feel a little guilty that they even have to ask.
