Without You(r Donation), We're Doomed

Considering I've had my head buried in the "so how are we going to pay for this whole internet journalism thingy" issue quite a bit over the past couple of weeks, I read this article covering "public radio's 10 most effective fundraising strategies" with a close eye. I mean, what NPR listener hasn't groaned aloud when turning on the radio in the wee hours only to discover that she is going to have to endure the guilt trip that is the week-long fundraiser? Still most of us remain unable to change the channel in response, and apparently enough of us open up our checkbooks to keep public radio (alongside its other streams of revenue) afloat. Could this work on the internet?

Reading over the list, I don't think that websites foster the same sense of obligation in the reader that public radio can suggest to those consuming its transmissions. We might be offering similarly enriching news and information, but no single site holds me captive or emotionally connects strongly enough that I wouldn't just click away. Am I wrong about this? If your favorite website carved out a week and relentlessly asked you for cash, implied that you owed them for what you'd been reading for free and enjoying all year, threatened that without you they couldn't go on, and offered you an umbrella in return for your charity, would you pony up?

(And if so, do you need my mailing address? I've got these lovely tote bags I can send as a thank you, and for the next hour your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar by my Aunt Sallie.)