KCUR-FM’s Membership Drive Begins

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sep 28, 2012 #124
Contact: Kristin Pitts
(816) 235-6678

Station now offers the opportunity to donate monthly

This week, Kansas City’s public radio station, KCUR-FM 89.3, will launch its fall membership drive. From September 29 through October 5, the station will ask its listeners to make one-time or ongoing monthly donations.

Donations can be made online or over the phone during the membership drive at (816) 235-5287. The station accepts cash, checks and most major credit or debit cards.

Membership drives are critical to KCUR’s daily operations. Community support comprises more than two-thirds of KCUR’s budget, and allows the station to continue its long-standing tradition of entertaining and informing local listeners.

“KCUR is one of the best resources in the region for high-quality, fact-based journalism. It’s also a great resource for the hundreds of thousands of people in the region who rely on us day in and day out for great arts and culture programming,” Nico Leone, the station’s general manager, said.

Although membership drives are nothing new, they tend to evolve over time. The latest change allows listeners to make ongoing monthly payments via credit or debit card. These options make gift-giving a little more wallet friendly, and also give the station a more reliable and steady income.

These new options come at a critical time. Perhaps now more than ever, public radio stations like KCUR depend on donations to sustain high-quality, impartial programming.

“Our style of programming — our independence — is really made possible by people’s individual gifts. Gifts are what allow us to do the style of reporting and style of radio that we do,” Leone said.

This funding structure gives KCUR — and the rest of the National Public Radio family — freedom to deliver programming that is less influenced by pressures to satisfy advertisers or chase ratings than other news outlets.

“Because our support comes primarily through our members, we aren’t subject to the same type of commercial pressures that commercial news organizations face. So it leaves us with more room to be impartial, and to explore more topics in greater depth,” Leone said.

KCUR-FM is licensed by the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

About the University of Missouri-Kansas City

The University of Missouri-Kansas City, one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit www.umkc.edu. You can also find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.

 

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This information is available to people with speech or hearing impairments by calling Relay Missouri at (800) 735-2966 (TT) or (800) 735-2466 (voice).


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