The KOSU Membership Drive for Fall 2014 marks my 14th on-air fundraising campaign since returning to KOSU as Director in 2007, and my 40th in public radio.
A lot has changed since I first started at KOSU in 1990. Back then, it was difficult to hear the station outside of Stillwater. There was no Internet, the few cell phones that existed were the size of bricks and our tools of the radio news trade were land-line telephones, cassette recorders and typewriters.
Today, our broadcast signal reaches four states, you can listen to our online audio stream with a smart phone almost anywhere, and we rely on digital technology to capture, edit and deliver our sounds.
As much as KOSU has grown and changed in the past three decades, the station’s mission has remained constant. We have always served as a community connector, providing ongoing learning opportunities through the stories and conversations we create and curate. KOSU has always sought to inform instead of sell and engage rather than enrage. We treat you as a citizen rather than a consumer because listeners like you make the choice to support what we do. It is a philanthropic-driven business model that allows us to follow a different path that puts your interests first.
Something else that has stood the test of time is the generosity of KOSU listeners, and during the Fall 2014 KOSU membership drive, my colleagues and I will join with our community partners asking you to support our continued work. As we seek to raise 1,400 pledges and $225,000, you will hear us talk about the importance of NPR and KOSU during a year of instability around the world, and how these shaky times deserve rock-steady reporting, now more than ever. You will also hear us talk about our role as a community connector that amplifies the Oklahoma way of life, from the conversations about important issues to the ongoing discovery of independent music. And you will hear us talk about how KOSU will be relying even more on community support in the years to come.
Your gift will help us afford our original, but expensive blend of national and local news and music that tops $30,000 each month. It will also sustain the infrastructure needed to deliver our sounds to your radios, phones and computers. The $6,000 monthly electric bill, the $12,000 annual land leases for our broadcast towers and the $20,000 dollar annual bill for our digital services, add up quickly. Without the towers, the electricity, and the digital capacity, you wouldn’t be able to hear KOSU. And where would that leave all of us? A lot less informed and a lot less connected to our community and the world.
On behalf of the entire KOSU team, thank you for considering a financial gift. The generosity of listeners has allowed KOSU to grow and adapt and evolve as a community connector through the years, and it will ensure our future relevance as a trusted source for news and culture.
Kelly Burley
KOSU Director
