GaryTheThompson said:
I am a big proponent of EMF's product quality as an alternative to much of the sludge that's out there.
I am, too. They're definitely good at making radio.
However, if what is being said here is true and something illegal is being done...action should be taken to correct it.
I didn't say "illegal;" I don't know what the laws (if there are any) are. Here's where I'm coming from on this:
Lying to the audience -- telling them that their donations are needed to "keep their station fully-funded." "Funded" is a fascinating word in this case, is it not? The implication is that stations are individually "funded" and must be "funded" to "continue" on the air (between the words used and the tone in which they're said, there is the clear implication and threat that the station will not "continue" unless "fully funded"). Now, we all know that's not true; most of us know that is
not how EMF operates its stations. Even their website admits that there's much money budgeted for signal "expansion" and "improvement." Plus, when it comes to their fundraisers, even two full weeks tend not to get them enough, and Dick Jenkins will take to the air in serious voice and tell the audience that "the board is going to have to prayerfully consider the next step, including what stations might have to be lost" when the truth is
all actual operating costs were covered days back and "phase two" of the sharathon is
already scheduled! (The next one, to supposedly cover the supposed "shortfall," has long been scheduled for December 27-30, in case you didn't know.)
Lying to its contributors -- telling them ("them" being individual
and business donors even though business donors get nothing out of it) that their money is "needed" and even more would be great. In reality, even in the midst of a massive buying spree, EMF, over the last three years, has been raising an average of $12-13,000,000 per year over their expenses and was $8-9,000,000 over expenses the year or two before that. On top of that, the "expenses" have been growing significantly -- up 20+% in the last reported year alone -- and, yet, EMF is
still $12-13,000,000 in the black. There is no reason not to believe that the nonprofit EMF has
at least $50,000,000 sitting around in accounts and investments, but it is telling its donors more is better and is using on-air stories of crying women donors who literally don't know where their child's next meal is going to come from to inspire
like giving and
more giving; tell me, is it reasonable for a man making a half million a year to claim that money is "desperately needed" from a struggling single mother living in a crappy apartment in an unsafe neighborhood and feeding her kids generic cereal and peanut butter sandwiches every day? In addition, EMF will not readily disclose actual numbers to donors (you do not find it on the website or in the monthly mailings), preferring to use only nebulous pie charts without any dollar amounts. Furthermore, actually owning more and more stations, EMF has more and more vertical real estate from which to generate revenue, and I am not aware of a single public disclosure of that; it is very possible that tower leases alone could be paying stations' electric bills, probably the largest expense any single EMF station has.
Lying to acquisition targets -- owners have been told that, despite the network nature of the orgainzation, a strong local presence will be maintained. In reality, EMF will always go for a main-studio waiver and have a local presence only when it benefits them (in the form of soliciting donations, putting themselves before a large audience, and/or giving them the opportunity to load up their database of listeners and potential donors). And, if you'll notice, the EMF "regional reps" have been becoming fewer and are covering larger and larger geographic areas; regional reps can sometimes drive
a full day and just barely reach the other end of their region for an event or appointment.
Lying to the industry -- this took place before I began following these formats, so I could be not exactly right, but it's my understanding that, early in this decade, Dick Jenkins stood up at a conference and told the attendees that EMF was all about bringing the format to places that would otherwise never have it and that they would
never go into an area that already had a station doing Christian AC. Today, any of us in the business can probably list a dozen places that show that to be a lie.
Okay, that's why I say what I do. If someone can refute it or justify it, have at it; I
do, actually, keep an open mind. I don't "hate" them or anything of the sort. I might even be happy to work with them at some point, but these particular aspects do and, should they continue, would always disturb me greatly.
