In the midst of contract negotiations with the engineer’s union, WHYY’s slow but steady slouch towards people-replacing automation hit a speed bump over the weekend. Sources tell us that WHYY TV started its pledge drive over the weekend, using pre-taped pledge pleas. Pledge callers were supposed to be re-routed to an out-of-state telemarketing firm that would process viewer donations. However, when real live staffers came in Sunday night and checked the pledge lines to make sure they worked, they realized that any and all pledge callers over the weekend were cast into the inescapable labyrinth of voice mail hell — and NOBODY could actually make a pledge. Let’s do the math: the pledge drive lasts a week. The fundraising goal is roughly $500,000. Divide that by seven days, which comes out to exactly $71,428 a day. Times two days = $142,857 in potential pledge dollars that slipped through WHYY’s needy fingers all because NOBODY CAN YEAR YOU SCREAM IN VOICEMAIL HELL. We assume the Luddite loss of all that lettuce will be addressed at the next public Board Of Directors meeting on June 20th at 8 AM.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 at 2:35 pm.