So,
KGO had an all-day on-air charity. For what? This gets interesting.
KGO suspended commercial ads and used those spots to host a fund raiser
encouraging listeners to donate money to a non-profit organization called
World Concern. They emphasize World Concern's efforts to help
"
eradicate parasites in third world countries." Fine and good, until you dig deeper.
There's more to this.
Looking up the organization one discovers that World
Concern is a Christian outreach ministry of
Crista Ministries. I
listened for about two hours this morning, from 9am-11am. I
heard no mention made of World Concern's connection to Crista Ministries, or
even that World Concern is a faith-based religious organization. Here's their
website: read it. Nobody on the air at KGO read a disclaimer. Why, one may ask, would that be necessary? Because it's darn misleading, just for starters.
I called the organization directly and asked why there was
no mention of World Concern's connection to Crista Ministries in their appeals
over the air on KGO radio. The person I spoke to said she was not
in charge of making those decisions. A reader tried the same method and got the same results.
Some other news? Unlike during the Leukemia cure-a-thon's
or other KGO fundraisers, I didn't hear Ronn Owens
acknowledge the fundraiser in any way, other than a toss to the host, Tim Montemayor, one of KGO's new religion gurus.
What is going on? Why would KGO give
up an whole day of ad revenue for a fundraiser, yet go out of its way to conceal
the religious nature of the beneficiary?, asks a tipster. Good question.
Better yet, why did not station management state the origin of the benefactor? Ethically, that's what you're supposed to do. I'm not a lawyer nor an
FCC hound, but I got to believe there may be some
splainin' to do here.
Would you care to know. It's KGO. Don't hold your breath.
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Another victim of Bain Capital
ReplyDeleteRuss Couglin is turning in his grave. Perhaps the brainiacs who own KGone are trying to convert the station to religious programming like the other big frequency to the left of the AM dial. Maybe the Dickwad brothers have something up their sleeves. This is one lemming who won't be led to their sea. Where's my satellite radio?
ReplyDeleteIt's KGO.
ReplyDeleteLighten up.
Nobody listens to 810 anymore.
yap sad but true... the bay radio has died....
DeleteFrom the website:
ReplyDelete"World Concern provides life, opportunity and hope to suffering people around the world through disaster response and development programs. Motivated by our love of Christ, we bring hope and reconciliation to those we serve, so they may in turn share with others.
Caring for AIDS orphans. Rebuilding homes after disasters. Fighting child trafficking. Providing business loans to poor moms. Teaching men sustainable agriculture. Preventing HIV/AIDS. Planting trees. Digging water wells. These are the ways we help.
Did you know?
Financial responsibility – 94% goes directly to the cause
Literacy rates in some countries where we work are as low as 25%
More than one third of child deaths worldwide are attributed to under nutrition
Nearly 1.4 billion people live on $1.25 a day or less
We have 900+ staff in 22 countries—we are working to bring hope"
They do this as an expression of their faith in Christ. Is this a bad thing? Or am i missing the point (entirely possible)?
Christ, Mohammad, Buddha or Gumby--it doesn't matter if the deeds are noble.
DeleteBut it does appear that KGO was trying to keep the Christian part a secret.
Is there nothing Tim Montemayor won't do? Embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a jealousy complex to me.
Deletethere are so many sick and needy and hungry and unsheltered kids in America...Shouldn't we start here?
ReplyDeleteI thought KGO was off the air, are they still on?
ReplyDeleteThe biggest parasites aren't the ones attacking children in Africa. That title belongs to Cumulus management.
ReplyDeleteAre you being serious??? I'm no fan of Cumulus, but you have your priorities all messed up with that. Children are children. Grow up. Cumulus is just a corporation that may kill a spirit, but not a person.
DeleteI agree with 6:45 about needy kids here in America. I have always thought that charity starts first at home and then when that is handled we can look elsewhere. We seem to be more concerned with everybody but ourselves. Why would you want to adopt a child from another country when there are so many U.S. kids in need?
ReplyDeleteThis is a sad attempt at rehab after trashing the Cure-A-Thon and the Thanksgiving Charities. Pathetic.
ReplyDeleteTimoteo MonteMANURE is a disgrace. Talk about a guy who will sell his soul for ANYTHING if the price is right above minimum wage. On another subject, how about Bill Clinton tonight huh? KO'ed Romney and Ryan with his signature eloquence. Compare him to the disgraceful, vile, despicable chair talker. Four more years! Next up: The Castro Twins!! Si se puede!!! The regressives will go crazy. First an Afro-American president and then the,first Mexican American president. Adios Mitt!!!
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if Gil Gross could get the Thanksgiving Charity drive going at KKSF.
ReplyDeleteIt's KGO. It's a charity. That's how they used to roll. It's not what I'm familiar with, though. I can recall the Luekemia Curathon, the Thanksgiving Charities, and the news stories with a "where to donate" portion. Seems like that is missing, now -- just like the community spirit that seemed to make KGO great.
ReplyDeleteWell at least they did something positive to help others. Isn't that really the bigger picture! Helping others and not being so self absorbed. Its not always about ME ME ME. And oh yes. Tim Montemayor.................he's the best and making a positive contribution to a positive cause. And Lisa Campbell was compassionate also. The religious aspect of it is irrelevant as long as the funds are going to help those that truly need them to improve their health.
ReplyDeleteRich, thanks for the fine print! And now you know the rest of the story! Paul Harvey.
ReplyDeleteI thought that there was something strange about yesterday's effort, but a friend said that he called in to make a contribution.
ReplyDeleteHe's a very generous person. However, he is not going to be amused when he starts getting (the inevitable) onslaught of junk mail, and requests for $$, from ANY religious organization.
It's too late, now. I don't know whether I should tell him, or not.
Thanks for the information. I'm glad I trusted my gut and didn't donate. I knew if it was being done by Cumulus, there had to be strings attached. I don't believe in "faith based" charities since my employer is constantly being ripped off by them.
ReplyDeleteP. S. 8:09am - you ought to tell your friend...he will probably have $44.00 deducted from his credit card next month.
At around 11 AM, and then well into the noon hour, I thought I heard Owens take part.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the charity sounded like it had a GREAT cause, and I'm not sure why I'd be bothered by the prpgram, except for it may have replaced, in some small way, the L Cureathon. Unless KGO listeners, like the Democratic Convention, have a problem with God.
Thats because Mr Owens is a class act!
ReplyDeleteSo the Dickeys are christian?. Is that part of the KGO turnover?..and the promoting of Montemayor,the anti Latino?
ReplyDeleteWell,Tim proves that people of color CAN be as equal in right wing hate as anybody in the media. They usually never get hired to prove it.
Ronn obviously stayed as arms-length from this as he could -- at one point telling the WC representative that he had never heard of them. Ouch! My problem with this was KGO devoting all that time to a turnkey, non-local fund drive. Whatever happened to localism in radio?
ReplyDeleteIn defense, I checked out World Concerns, including Christa Ministries, every which way. I thought there might be some connection to the Dickeys. There isn't. The religious affiliation got my guard up. However, WC has a four star rating from Charity Navigator. They spend 94% of funds on delivering life-saving services, have a small headquarters staff and put most of their people in the field delivering services. Based in Seattle, they seem to follow a Gates Foundation operating model of resourcefulness, propriety and accountability. In fact, they have retired Microsoft people involved. They seem as worthy as any non-religious charitable organization.
If you use Charity Navigator's alphabetical listing of charitable organizations nationwide, there is no listing for World Concerns.
DeleteHowever, if you type the name World Concerns into the website's search box, you get the listing for Christa Ministries.
It certainly appears that World Concerns is being cagey about its parent organization. One could wonder why.
If those obnoxious Kars 4 Kids ads that are run non-stop don't have to disclose that they are run by a charity organization that promotes Jewish education, I don't see why KGO's stance should be any different...
ReplyDeleteIt isn't different. Both seem to be hiding who is behind them in order to collect more donation money. For that alone, despite what good works they may be doing, I lose respect for them.
DeleteThere is one difference. Those abominable Kars4Kids spots run as 60 second spots, during the spot clusters of regular programs, and during the regular commercial slots on network newscasts, sandwiched in with all the other commercial spots for household cleaners, arthritis remedies and Pepsi. You may assume it's a PSA, but the evidence, for anyone who's paying attention, is that it's paid for like all the other commercials. This thing was designed to be misleading from the get-go, and trick listeners into thinking it was a bona fide fundraiser by a legitimate charity. (The charity may be legitimate, but based on the tactics employed, you'd be wise to question that premise too before parting with your hard-earned dollars.)
DeleteI just wonder if the FCC has enough balls left to investigate whether Cumulus acted in a deceptive manner (or allowed this sponsor to buy time for a blatant deception), and if it did, whether it still merits being a licensee of the public airwaves.
(OK, you can stop laughing now.)
Looking forward to your DNC coverage Rich. Obama will move us with his oratory. Prepare to be shaken to the core as we move FORWARD!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the reasons the Cure-A-Thons were so successful was it was one way listeners could "thank" the station and show their appreciation for its programming. Dinners with hosts, guest-host an hour etc.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad. I wish the charity well, but until KGO starts giving back to its audience, I'll pass.
Its okey to help but help for who you think are the needy one not the rich one :) make sense. God Bless!
ReplyDeletemore info