Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
Against Advertising
RECEIVED Mon., Sept. 11, 2006
Dear Editor,
The writer Kevin Brass has opened up a public secret; KUT has sold out to big-business advertising ["KUT by the Numbers," News, Jan. 20]. Hawk Mendenhall is trying to turn KUT into something no one wants, and he is killing the station with advertisements in the process.
If Austin has any claim to a basic personality, it would be exemplified by its PBS station and, in our own special circumstances, KMFA.
Over the past 15 years, KMFA has been assaulted by too many advertisements. If we don't pay, then trim the station back until it fits the needs of its listeners.
Advertising: It seems reasonable that any public carrier should provide a strict accounting of advertising time, self advertising, and personality enhancement. Hawk in cooperation with the business suits responsible for PBS has exceeded any reasonable limit of promotional advertising.
If this is the case, then as a civic-funded station, it should make the statistics public, routinely.
Why hasn't this been done? Well, salesmen are wont to play down their promotions. I suspect that the business managers are reluctant to discuss their double-billing routines, advertisers, and the public.
This problem of overadvertising extends to KMFA and KLRU.
The local boards of directors are responsible for this glut of advertising and commercialization of public stations. Someone had to hire Hawk and his tribe. We need a new board of directors. They shouldn't be allowed to hide in the shadows.
The Chronicle should be praised for taking on this task. Congratulations, and I hope you keep up and enlarge your attack on those who want to use our PBS facilities for mind-numbing advertising.
If Austin wants to be different, send a message, don't send money to KUT or KLRU until their managements have been sent someplace else.
Thanks for the piece by Kevin Brass.
When you get down to it, why doesn't our country have the best public educational TV and radio in the world? Well, why not? Certainly we could afford it.
The writer Kevin Brass has opened up a public secret; KUT has sold out to big-business advertising ["KUT by the Numbers," News, Jan. 20]. Hawk Mendenhall is trying to turn KUT into something no one wants, and he is killing the station with advertisements in the process.
If Austin has any claim to a basic personality, it would be exemplified by its PBS station and, in our own special circumstances, KMFA.
Over the past 15 years, KMFA has been assaulted by too many advertisements. If we don't pay, then trim the station back until it fits the needs of its listeners.
Advertising: It seems reasonable that any public carrier should provide a strict accounting of advertising time, self advertising, and personality enhancement. Hawk in cooperation with the business suits responsible for PBS has exceeded any reasonable limit of promotional advertising.
If this is the case, then as a civic-funded station, it should make the statistics public, routinely.
Why hasn't this been done? Well, salesmen are wont to play down their promotions. I suspect that the business managers are reluctant to discuss their double-billing routines, advertisers, and the public.
This problem of overadvertising extends to KMFA and KLRU.
The local boards of directors are responsible for this glut of advertising and commercialization of public stations. Someone had to hire Hawk and his tribe. We need a new board of directors. They shouldn't be allowed to hide in the shadows.
The Chronicle should be praised for taking on this task. Congratulations, and I hope you keep up and enlarge your attack on those who want to use our PBS facilities for mind-numbing advertising.
If Austin wants to be different, send a message, don't send money to KUT or KLRU until their managements have been sent someplace else.
Thanks for the piece by Kevin Brass.
When you get down to it, why doesn't our country have the best public educational TV and radio in the world? Well, why not? Certainly we could afford it.
Bill Adorno, a polar bear and tree hugger
