First Email: Cancelling my pledge to WBEZ

Thursday, July 24, 2008 4:28 PM

From: "Jeanne Marie Olson"

To:Questions@ChicagoPublicRadio.org, membership@chicagopublicradio.org

After 15 years of supporting WBEZ, I called earlier today and canceled my monthly pledge.

This is a pity, because I’ve always been a proud supporter. I have generally supported many things that the station has decided to do (neighborhood bureaus, getting rid of some jazz programs) but siphoning off the funds I’ve pledged to this side project that I wasn’t told about when I pledged? Nope. That is a violation of donor intent.

I don’t care much about Vocalo one way or the other. I think experimentation is cool, as long as the donors to Vocalo know what they are supporting. If Vocalo can make it on their own through their own donors, kudos. But not with my money unless I choose to give it to them.

Even if Vocalo was QUALITY experimental radio (which I can't even tell if it is, the skills of the crew are so terrible, that it is hard to listen to more than a few minutes at a time), I would still have a problem with my pledge going to them. Because I pledged to support the programming on 91.5 FM. Only.

I hope that this gets straightened out quickly, because I want to begin pledging again. But I can't begin pledging again unless I'm sure that my donations aren't being misused.

Thanks.

Jeanne Marie Olson