WHUT Pledge Drive is Music to Washington’s Ears

Diane Robertson, director of Broadcast Services, leads the planning for the station’s pledge drives.

The Howard University Television (WHUT) summer pledge drive is in full-swing, featuring an entertaining collection of music programming, including documentaries about artists such as Sam Cooke and Tony Bennett and footage from concerts by Tina Turner, Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Planning for the pledge drive, which began on Aug. 12 and continues through Sept. 15, is spearheaded by Diane Robertson, director of Broadcast Services.

Pledge drives are vital to the sustainability of public television stations since they do not generate advertising revenue. The donations from viewers help WHUT to continue providing quality programming such as the BBC broadcasts and other news programs, exercise and wellness shows, and unique programs such as “Evening Exchange,” with Kojo Nnamdi.

Robertson, who has been at Howard since 2000, has been leading the planning for the pledge drives since last year, which includes creating a strong programming schedule and overseeing the coordination of outreach and customer correspondence, production, and other operational matters.

To plan a drive, Robertson first researches the type of pledge programs that would best suit WHUT’s demographic because strong programming is the key to enticing donations. Since every public television station conducts pledge drives, companies package and produce programs that can be “pledged,” meaning the programs incorporate breaks to advertise gifts that donors will receive at the different pledge levels. Robertson sifts through the many programs she receives from vendors and she also conducts her own research to find programs that would be a hit with Washington, D.C. viewers.

For the past couple of drives, music programs have proven extremely successful with WHUT’s audience. “Music programming has done well for us. We feature programs that people want to see and that they don’t find on other stations. We are successful in having a unique line-up,” says Robertson. “The programming has to make people feel that this is something that is worthy of a contribution. It has to be something that is rare and timeless and appeals to viewers.”

As the team lead, Robertson works with other staff members to organize a stellar month-long event. Terri Davis, director of development, tracks the pledges and distributes the pledge gifts to the donors; Cody Cox, production manager, and his team produce breaks for the programs, which allows for both recorded promo spots to encourage donations and to also accommodate live hosts during the programs, such as WHUR’s Taylor Thomas and Tony Richards; and many other staff members work together to make each event more successful than the previous drive.

“We have already raised over $75,000 in this drive, whereas two years ago, we didn't have an August drive. Last year we raised over $200,000 through our on-air drives. What thrills us most is this clear evidence of community support for WHUT,” says Jennifer Lawson, general manager, WHUT.

To donate to WHUT, please call (866) 900-9488. For more information about WHUT and to see a schedule of upcoming programs, go to www.whut.org.