Britt called "membership" a disruptor that's as "unwelcome as it is overdue". Why is it a disruptor? Because with membership comes a voice, and with enough voices comes power to demand things like accountability and change. Adamsj's
annoyance is probably not because of being given the label of member, but rather because of not being given the privileges and power that go with membership:
Am I the only person who bristles when I hear public radio stations describe their funding base as a "membership"?
PBS and NPR ask for "members" to support their programming by giving funds, but do they want to actually hear from their members or to be accountable to them? By giving them support, the assumption is made that we approve or have chosen their programming because it is what we want. Aren't we really giving our support just to keep them alive, because even if their programming is not of our choice, we like it marginally more than the commercial offerings? Therefore, we are not really members, but simply financial supporters.
PBS and NPR have built their public personae around the emotion of membership, out of the public's need for a sense of ownership and involvement. However, for supporters on the receiving end of programming, the limited dialogue of calling in to a specific radio show, talking to a volunteer at a pledge drive, posting an email, getting a magazine or wearing a sweatshirt has had to suffice for a "relationship" and the only voice they are collected into is one with a bottom line. As for content, the reverberation of agreement or dissatisfaction, the groundswell of support or bubbling up of new ideas for programs cannot be generated when individual voices are left to echo around in each communication's silo.
Does PBS or NPR actually want members? If they do, then they have to be willing to enter into an authentic relationship with their supporters and give us the privileges of membership. In other words, give us a voice, and more than a voice, a dialogue - with them and with each other.
Membership is personal. It embodies a sense of belonging, of loyalty. Most people want to belong. From a military unit to a commune, a biker gang to a convent, belonging is a basic desire. It is often how we identify ourselves to others. Membership also gives us a feeling of security and power: the whole can be greater than its parts. Membership makes us think our voice might be heard.
Membership is powerful. It should not be implied unless it supports a reciprocal voice. None of us should be willing to be called "... members of enterprises that would rather not have members."
