Submitted by WI_LFRED t3_zfmoib in philadelphia
Try to not be automatically mean to them like I was. I felt so bad.
Comments
[deleted] t1_ize5bd5 wrote
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SoFetchBetch t1_izehk25 wrote
I love WHYY and I donate when I can and I feel great when I do. Win win.
medicated_in_PHL t1_izehoy4 wrote
Yeah, ever since Trump was elected, I've been monthly donating to WHYY.
[deleted] t1_izdy2k6 wrote
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memettetalks t1_izdz819 wrote
Do [insert the CEO of any major national news station] next!
I don't mean to do whataboutism, but if you want someone who knows the TV/radio industry well enough to lead a provider in that industry, you need to offer close to the going rate.
We should lower ALL CEO salaries, of course, but I don't think not donating to WHYY is a good solution to them having an overpaid CEO.
AKraiderfan t1_izf1xsl wrote
Then please enlighten me and propose a solution that is a good solution to ousting their overpaid CEO.
I don't mean overpaid in that "NON-PROFIT EMPLOYEES SHOULDN'T BE PAID SO MUCH MONEY", but that he's getting paid "National PBS" money, when his station is a glorified regional PBS, with a history of shitty dealings with their journalism employees, directly attributed to the CEO.
And he got this gig not because of any knowledge of tv/radio, unless you think running Weston, an environmental testing/cleanup firm, directly relates to broadcast news.
memettetalks t1_izfm5vn wrote
I just think that not donating to a cause or service purely because of the CEO is a doomed outlook that won't ultimately help anyone.
AKraiderfan t1_izfmst3 wrote
Helps me sleep better at night that I'm not contributing to some shmuck, who actively squeezes his lower employees salary numbers (had a friend who was getting paid chump change), but turns around and begs for money on a pledge drive interrupting an infomercial masquerading as some kind of educational program on a week night.
dotcom-jillionaire t1_izdyg8l wrote
he runs two stations
8Draw t1_izefp34 wrote
You're correct that this salary is obscene. Still, not enough reason not to donate to them.
justanawkwardguy t1_izekzkw wrote
Donate to his salary* FTFY
[deleted] t1_izcpnwf wrote
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ImaginaryRoads t1_izcxjmu wrote
I was a very reliable subscriber from my very first high school job through to my senior year in college. I think I was doing like $50 a year, which wasn't a huge amount but it also wasn't nothing for a broke-ass college kid who was also working a full-time job to pay for college on their own.
Anyway, the company I worked for decided to lay off a whole bunch of people in December, a couple weeks before Christmas. So I'm sitting there, very definitely not desperately crying (lie), and trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for rent, food, and the next semester of college - not to mention the trip home for Christmas, and all the other random shit you need to pay for. And WHYY called doing their annual sweep.
The conversation went something like:
Them: Hi, this is WHYY calling. We're doing our annual pledge drive and were hoping we could count on your support!
Me: Uhh ... [mentally: fuck fuck fuck. I dunno, maybe I find twenty for them? Maybe? ...]
Them: We're really making an effort for this year's pledge drive; could we put you down for $500?
Me, in utter shock: Uh, no, I just got laid off, I'm going to have to find another job. [mentally: and I've only ever given you $50 a year, what's with the ten-fold increase all of a sudden?!?]
Them: Oh, I'll so sorry to hear that! Maybe we could put you down for a hundred instead!
Me: No, I don't think so. [mentally: so I've just told you I have no income at all and you still want me to donate twice as much as ever before? WTF?!]
The canvasser said something else but I wasn't really listening anymore and we hung up shortly after.
I like WHYY and I get that the callers have targets to meet, but I haven't given them any money since then; I support NJN instead. And it's all down to that one phone call where they were just suddenly, spontaneously greedy af.
stonewallsyd t1_izebst1 wrote
Having worked for call centers before, I can guarantee you that person was sticking to the script. As much as it sucks and feels greedy and impersonal, that person was trying to preserve their own job there. I ended up quitting a call center job during the pandemic because our script had us asking for $2,000 right off the bat. Those jobs are horrendous and soul sucking.
justanawkwardguy t1_izekmm1 wrote
I got written up when I worked for a call center because they had different asks for different groups, but I found that going with the lower ones across the board netted more donations.
AhabMustDie t1_izg7qi6 wrote
That's exactly right — when I did canvassing, they drilled it into our heads that we were to STICK TO THE SCRIPT NO MATTER WHAT.
I cringed when someone agreed to give, and then I was supposed to say, "That's great — but we're asking people to give as generously as they can. Could you do [double that]?"
Having interacted with canvassers on the street since then, I think that approach is really misguided. I used to stop for them and be like, "Hey, I know how hard your job is! You're doing a great job!" But most of the time, they just keep barreling ahead, without seeming to notice what I just said. So yeah, I don't stop anymore.
AlVic40117560_ t1_izg8dcb wrote
Well that sounds dramatic. I did a very similar call center job in college. The job definitely sucked, but I wouldn’t quite call it horrendous and soul sucking haha. I think you may have been taking a minimum wage job a little too seriously.
stonewallsyd t1_izggs5o wrote
There’s lots of different call center jobs, I’ve worked at a few that sucked and a few that were fine.
Maybe it’s dramatic but I couldn’t bring myself to call people and ask them for thousands of dollars during a pandemic after hearing them tell me about their parents, husbands, and children dying from covid. The job wasn’t serious, the world was.
AlVic40117560_ t1_izghcob wrote
Fair enough
AlVic40117560_ t1_ize0jog wrote
A wild job for a sensitive person to have
douko t1_izeepr7 wrote
$ Can't $ imagine $ why $ they'd $ take $ the $ job, $ yeah $$$$
AlVic40117560_ t1_izefe8z wrote
I guess you have a point that if you believe in supporting their cause, you might be willing to take an underpaid job that doesn’t suit your abilities in order to help them raise money. But if you’re sensitivity gets in the way of your personal well-being, there may be better ways for you to help.
douko t1_izeg92c wrote
Less about the help, more about the needing money, and having to take a job that comes along regardless of personal well-being.
AlVic40117560_ t1_izeiwff wrote
I think you over estimate what these jobs make. You make a lot more money even at Walmart/fast food/grocery store/warehouse jobs.
AhabMustDie t1_izg6v8g wrote
Aww bless you — I did door-to-door canvassing for HRC & PennEnvironment as my first job out of high school and it was indeed brutal. Got lots of doors slammed in my face.
Worst experience wasn't mine, but a coworker's — he said a dude in South Philly threatened to get his shotgun if he didn't get off his porch.
Best was canvassing for gay marriage in the Gayborhood. This young guy told me he was already a member of HRC, but he packed me a little lunch of snacks and a cold drink.
William_d7 t1_izcpe3w wrote
For money? Tell them they could skip one whole pledge drive per year if they fire Marazzo.
Genkiotoko t1_izcrg5q wrote
For people unaware, Marazzo makes makes between $740,000-$842,000 a year. Yes, you read that correctly.
WI_LFRED OP t1_izcplhf wrote
They are trying to get people to subscribe to passport, and were thanking me for already being a subscriber. 😵💫 The poor guy was so beat down by the time he came back down my street.
Vague_Disclosure t1_izeejdn wrote
>The poor guy was so beat down
yeah thats what a sales job does
lizacovey t1_izea2ft wrote
It's unconscionable how much he makes. Marty Moss-Coane (who was making like $120-130k) confronted him about it at a staff party and he was like (paraphrasing) "I earn it because of how hard I work." Talk about tone deaf. As if everyone else at the station isn't working hard. The only other public radio exec making that much is in NYC, where the budget is 3x that of WHYY, although I think that's still bonkers. I won't give more than the bare minimum until their executive compensation returns to earth.
justanawkwardguy t1_izec7b1 wrote
If he works so hard, he wouldn’t have any issue with all his employees quitting then, right? Cause he works hard enough to earn all of their wages together. He could run all of WHYY by himself
lizacovey t1_izeekbn wrote
From what I've heard about the newsroom, that doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility.
William_d7 t1_izecsv2 wrote
The head at WGBH might earn as much but they are a content powerhouse. WHYY produces Fresh Air and maybe 2-3 other hours of content per week. It’s pathetic.
The only reason why WHYY operates in the black is because all the South Jersey supporters fell into their lap when Chris Christie axed NJN - not due to any management expertise.
My original comment wasn’t even an exaggeration - I’ve sat through two weeks of pledges to hear “Thanks to you, we’ve made $900,000.”
Super, it can all go to one executive.
Mission-Curve4273 t1_ize9lms wrote
We stopped giving when we realized that their CEO, William Marrazzo, got paid $740,000/yr. Not a fan of charities where the management makes 10x the average person who donates to the charity. These guys also make money from your taxes and ads. So it’s not like they’re starving for cash. Other charities need that money more, so we give it elsewhere.
To be fair, that compensation may be ok for a for-profit company who risks their own capital. The shareholders can decide whatever they want to pay the management. After all, the shareholders are risking their own capital and not the public’s money.
AKraiderfan t1_izesnnf wrote
Yeah,
Until Marrazoo gets shitcanned, not a single one of my dimes will go to their constant pledge drives and membership rallies.
And not because he gets paid 740k for being the CEO of a not-for-profit. Its because he's getting paid so much for shit work. You compare his salary to WTTW(Chicago) 685k, WGBH(Boston)720k, it looks normal, but WHYY make little to no syndicated work that gets broadcast out that isn't local.
Except for Fresh Air and A Taste of History, WHYY has zero national presence, yet this guy is getting paid as if his PBS station is a national station like Boston, DC or Chicago(who produces 60% of the cartoons). Fuck that shit.
Kind_Session_6986 t1_izeblep wrote
This. I try looking at every company’s pay and supply dynamics before supporting with my hard earned money. Thank you for pointing this guy out; it’s time to put him on blast r/antiwork.
LocalOnThe8s t1_izhlsp1 wrote
Came here to say this, dude shouldn't be making that much for a place that gets a government handout.
AKraiderfan t1_izesy29 wrote
After the guy identified himself, i told him "Stay warm, have a nice day" and I closed my door. He needs to learn to take that as the end of the transaction.
Instead, he was trying to talk through the door about if i wanted a flyer or some shit. That's on him.
[deleted] t1_ize8zez wrote
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[deleted] t1_izeeas0 wrote
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[deleted] t1_izefld6 wrote
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[deleted] t1_izgimy9 wrote
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baldude69 t1_izhxcnk wrote
I’m a monthly contributor, not a huge dollar amount, but it’s something. The canvasser who called me recently was persistent but ultimately polite and understanding that I can’t contribute more right now. We hung up amicably after saying goodbye. Very professional experience overall
[deleted] t1_ize1qed wrote
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MonsterNog t1_izcuqo1 wrote
Why?
uptown_gargoyle t1_ize1vf2 wrote
Because being mean to strangers will give you brain cancer
tonberryjr t1_ize3sn8 wrote
*Whyy?
[deleted] t1_izcxcun wrote
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medicated_in_PHL t1_izcr1ek wrote
If you aren’t currently giving them money, you should. They consistently get rated as a very reliable and neutral news source, they don’t fan the flames of division, they have a lot of programming that makes people smarter and more informed, and it’s equally accessible to the very wealthy and very poor.
It’s one of the few high quality public services making the US a better place.