underwriting

[EricNH@webtv.net (Eric Jacobs)]

Driving home tonight listening to NH public radio, it suddenly hit me
that in the "underwriting credits" there were phone numbers. I -thought-
that was a "call to action" and a big no-no. Or is there a subtle
difference between "joe's pizza in Manchester,offering subs and pizza,
555-1212" and "joe's pizza in Manchester offering subs and pizza. CALL
555-1212"?
I'm sure that NPR knows what it's doing,at least in that department. Can
anyone clarify the difference between an "acknowledgement" and a spot?
Especially on PBS (Rice Krispies,Chuck E Cheese,etc) the two sound a lot
alike. At the risk of kicking a hornets nest here, why doesn't public
broadcasting drop the non-comm charade and run a spot or 2 between
programs, with the existing credits as a lower cost option? At least it
would eliminate the semi-annual "beg-a-thon". As federal funding gets
tighter, the $$ need to come from somewhere. Comments?

Eric

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