By Mikel Ellcessor & Mike Henry

Well, it happened. The velociraptors learned how to operate the doors.

The decades-long threat to defund public media is a reality. A flood of listener donations has already begun and will likely continue in the short-term as the core audience internalizes the magnitude of the situation. But soon, the attention shifts to sustaining those relationships once the fury over defunding dies down. 

Once the inevitable reset to the new normal happens, the question becomes: how will the sound and content of public radio on-air fundraisers evolve and improve to reflect this new reality? 

The answer to this question will have a material impact on public radio’s future viability. No one believes that “more of the same, but different” is the future. We live in a Hobbesian war of all against all for our attention. Our brains have been damaged by social media, and the waves of chaos, distraction, and shock in our post-COVID society aren’t going to ebb and recede.

For years, every very honest conversation about on-air fundraisers has acknowledged that they drive away the audience and inflict damage on the station’s brand. The listener is facing a dozen viable alternatives for every public radio option. In the post-defund world, why should we believe that listeners will tolerate our on-air fundraising indulgences?

There is another way.

The public radio brand has been built on delivering carefully planned and deliberately presented work. Thoughtfully assembled ideas. Rigorously edited scripts. Locally crafted music mixes. Impeccable sound-design and audio production. Careful sequencing designed to extend listening. Public radio’s QUALITY is foundational to the case for support.

It is only going to become more difficult to square the

1) pressure to raise more money

2) honor a brand built on quality

3) continue to embrace the fact that going directly to listeners over the air is the most efficient revenue-generating option

Team Paragon believe the way through is a recommitment to the principle that great on-air fundraising is great radio programming.

System veterans would be right to point out that this is not a new idea. Also, it would be right to point out that public radio’s on-air fundraisers could use a refresh. Rambling, unfocused, adrenaline-jacking breaks have never been a great idea. Media’s margins have always been tight and, now, driving away potential donors could be the delta between viability or insolvency. 

This moment requires a passionate devotion to developing and delivering messages that cut through, inspire, and keep people listening. That’s why we’ve been developing a strategic framework and toolkit that integrates programming, philanthropy and marketing to deliver an on-air fundraising experience targeted to the attention-starved listener. It provides stressed staff with the capability to mount an on-air fundraising experience that holds audience, drives financial results and improves the station’s brand profile.

We’re looking for 5 stations who are ready to modernize their on-air fundraising operation with an approach that reflects the expectations of today’s media consumer. We want to speak with teams who are ready to set a new level of commitment to radio and revenue excellence, and reimagine their on-air fundraisers in a way that has the focus on these four things:

  1. Growing revenue
  2. Maintaining audience listening and engagement during the on-air fundraiser
  3. Activating new donors
  4. Infusing the on-air fundraiser with content best practices that strengthen the brand

We have receipts. We can show you real-world examples where stations employed these approaches, met their revenue goals, did less damage to their staff and brand, and experienced no measurable audience loss during the on-air fundraiser.

We are passionate in our belief that there is untapped opportunity in our existing audience. We believe unlocking this opportunity could help keep the wolf away from the door, which would create room for more innovative approaches to content creation, revenue generation and community engagement. 

It would be an honor to speak with you about your situation and see if we can help.