Public Radio Station Continues Fund-Raising Appeal Despite Bhutto News

The public-radio station in New York City faced a difficult decision last week following news of the assassination of the Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto.

The station, WNYC, had planned to broadcast a day-long pledge drive to encourage listeners to donate money before the end of the year.

With a major news story breaking, the station ran the risk of alienating some of its listeners by running its pledge drive. At the same time, it ran the risk of losing important revenue by postponing the campaign.

What did WNYC decide?

It went ahead with the pledge drive.

Now, it is fielding criticism from some of its listeners through its Web site.

“The WNYC I used to know was the one that suspended a pledge drive when Leonard Bernstein passed away,” Evan Robinson wrote on the station’s Web site. “The management at that time recognized the importance of the event to the culture, the city and the world, and saw fit to honor an important figure rather than beg for money.”

Other listeners, though, are forgiving the station.

“This could easily enough have been delayed in order to show respect,” a listener named Eva wrote. “I will of course continue to donate to WNYC, just as I did when I was young and broke. It’s a great station, one seriously tacky mistake won’t sway my opinion.”

WNYC, for its part, says that it didn’t shirk its responsibility in covering the story. In fact, the station ran updates throughout the day on the assassination, says Jennifer Houlihan, a WNYC spokeswoman.

“While public opinion of our decision to move forward with the one-day fund raiser is mixed, it cannot be said that the fund raiser usurped coverage of an important breaking news story,” Ms. Houlihan said.

The decision — and the ultimate reaction — is also drawing attention from fund-raising experts.

“The reaction does highlight the difficult decision all fund raisers face when major news events or natural disasters interrupt our campaign plans,” writes the anonymous author of Don’t Tell the Donor.

Despite the controversy, though, the effort appears to have paid off for WNYC. The station raised $122,000 for the first-time event — $2,000 ahead of its goal of $120,000. It plans to shorten its regular February fund-raising appeal by one day.

What do you think? Should WNYC have gone ahead with running its fund-raising appeal? Could it have handled the situation differently — or did it make an appropriate financial decision?

Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.