Is Public Radio a Charity?

Some people would rather starve than beg, but public radio got over that hurdle a long time ago. But when the WBEZ pledge drive that wrapped up Tuesday was launched, its hat-in-hand appeal to its audience took a new approach that in some minds—including mine—went too far.

A friend told me he heard a WBEZ announcer invite listeners to contribute to the station "along with all the other charities you give to." He heard announcers invoke the "charitable organization nature" of WBEZ and call the station a "philanthropic institution."

As WBEZ, though legally a nonprofit, isn't in the business of feeding orphans or distributing medicines, my friend believed WBEZ's calling itself a charity was a stretch.