DEAR FELLOW BAY AREA 88.5FM -KQED LISTENERS,
I USE TO GIVE YEARLY TO KQED. NOW WE HAVE SEVERAL TV-RADIO PRIVATE AND NOT REALLY PUBLIC-GOVT STATIONS CONSTANTLY BEGGING FOR MONEY IN THE BAY AREA. ADMITTEDLY, THE PROGRAMMING IS USUALLY BETTER THAN THE MAJORS LIKE ABC, CBS, NBC, AND FOX. BUT SOME OF THESE STATIONS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE AND JUST RE-BROADCAST OTHERS PROGRAMS WITHOUT CREATING ANYTHING ORIGINAL ,OR VERY LITTLE, FROM THE CULTURALLY RICH AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES OF THE SF BAY AREA. AS FOR KQED, I MISS THE LOCALLY PRODUCED "NEWSROOM" SHOW FROM THIER EARLY DAYS.
RECENTLY I TELEPHONED KQED TO SUGGEST MORE DISCUSSION ON THE 2004 ELECTION INSTEAD OF GHOST SITES IN THE USA. I RECIEVED 3 STRANGE VOICE MAILS THAT WERE IRRITATED THAT I WAS BOTHERING THEM DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS, THAT THEY WERE NOT SET UP FOR LISTENER-VIEWER INPUT UNLESS YOU COULD GET YOUR CALL ANSWERED ON THE AIR,THAT MORE VOLUNTEERS WERE NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, THAT WITH A BUDGET LIKE $60 MILLION PER YEAR THEY WERE VERY RESTRICTED, THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE TIME TO ARGUE OVER THE PHONE (??),AND THAT THEY DID NOT DO POLITICS ANYMORE(BOY, I BET ALL THE WEAK AND WORSE LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS JUST LOVE THAT!!),,,ALL OF WHICH SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING FROM A MAJOR COMMERCIAL MEDIA CORPORATION, THAT DID NOT BDG FOR AND TAKE IN $ MILLIONS FROM THE LOCAL PUBLIC RADIO LISTENERS AND TV VIEWERS.
SO I AM GLAD I NO LONGER CONTRIBUTE TO KQED, IF IT CHOOSES TO BE SO DISINTERESTED IN AND IMPOLITE TOWARD IT'S LOCAL AUDIENCE,,,AND DOES NOT WANT TO DO LOCAL POLITICS WHEN IT DID COVER IT WELL INITIALLY. I NOW KNOW HOW TYPICALLY CORPORATE AND PRIVATE BUSINESS KQED IS. I WILL NOT CALL EVER AGAIN TO COMPLIMENT OR SUGGEST A SHOW OR TOPIC IF THAT IS THE WAY THEY FEEL...I LISTEN TO THEIR COMMERCIALS, AS I HAVE TO ON THE MAJORS,,,WHY ARE SO MANY AMERICAN COMMERCIALS STUPID AND INSULTING AND ANNOYING , LIKE THE" DITECH" ONE , AND SO MANY OTHERS !??,,,SO I DO PAY FOR KQED THAT WAY. TOO BAD THEY DO NOT SEEM TO APPRECIATE US OR HAVE BETTER MANNERS. MORE OF THAT JUST- BUSINESS-AS- USUAL- US ATTITUDE,,,SAD, CONSIDERING WHAT KQED COULD BE, COMPARED TO OTHER SUCH STATIONS.
