10 Ways Public Radio Gets You to Pay Up

If you listen to public radio, you’ve come to dread it too, writes June Thomas in Slate; at least twice a year, the airwaves are dedicated to fundraising, with broadcasters plying listeners with New Yorker subscriptions and tote bags in exchange for a few bucks. Thomas studied the pleas from two winter drives and came up with 10 cunning ways public radio gets you to pay up:

• The guilt trip, in which the stations manage to squeeze in plenty of heart-tugging stories between its pleas. "In other words: Hey, liberal, are you sure you'd rather spend your money on a new iPhone case?"
• The “overdue bill” pitch, where the host reminds you how much you take from public radio.
• The “only you can save journalism” plea. "Don't trust the capitalist press, comrades! Now give us some money."
• The sign-of-the-times pitch. In these dire economic straits, all who are solvent should pay in to help those less fortunate maintain their favorite programming.

For the complete list, click the link below. (More National Public Radio stories.)