Local PBS has pledge week. Actually it appears that they are having pledge months

[question everything]

Every other month. And if it is Saturday, they will start with Lawrence Welk. And then something for boomers like Simon and Gurfinkel, or Peter Paul and Mary, or Dylan. This evening, actually was Joni Mitchell. Did not know that "Both sides now" is her song.

Did not know that there is still audience for Lawrence Welk. And, in a decade, or so, the audience for the songs of the 60s will no longer be there. And then, what?

What bugs me is that the pledge usually includes: if you want more programs like that, pledge, etc. And I am yelling at them - the only time when we have programs like that is during pledge months when you interrupt them.

This is when I wish that they did carry commercials, 10 min an hour, or so.

OK, ends rant.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. The funny thing about the Lawrence Welk show is that even when it was new

it targeted older viewers. It was my grandma's favorite show, and when she came to visit she had dibs on the TV; she got to watch Lawrence Welk while we kids fussed that we couldn't watch our shows because Grandma had to have her old people music. This would have been in the late '50s. If my grandma were still alive she'd be 136, and still watching Lawrence Welk reruns. But she's not, and neither are the other Lawrence Welk fans, so I really wonder why they show reruns of it, unless it's a sort of retro-camp thing. To this day I can't stand accordion music.

Now I'm nearly the same age my grandma was when she was watching the Lawrence Welk show, and I like classic rock of the late '60s and early '70s; I suppose the Stones are today's Lawrence Welk. This suggests that PBS will be fundraising off the Rolling Stones in 2085.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

2. Pledge week doesn't bother me.

It's the hazing that follows. Who wants to eat a dozen rotten eggs just to get into a fraternity?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. That wouldn't be as bad as having to listen to Lawrence Welk.

[Squinch]

4. Government funding is down.

[Sherman A1]

5. Change the channel

Seems to work for me.

[mitch96]

6. I donate to my local NPR station and HATE the beg-a-thon's

I paid and should not be subjected to the whining and throwing guilt during the beg...
What works for me is I get other NPR stations on my phone and listen to them during the beg. Same programing without the bullshit... YMMV, works for me

m

[Wounded Bear]

7. They play some of their best programming on pledge week...

and like you say, ruin it with their 20 minute pledge breaks. Love the Ken Burns documentaries. Simon & Garfunkel are classics. And if you didn't know Joni sang "Both Sides Now" you must be under 50.

[question everything]

8. I was familiar with Judy Collins version

I think it is better known.

Under 50? Perhaps, the second time around