The frequency of sponsor announcements isn't the only concern. There is also the issue of content. On some stations, underwriter credits sound like commercials, a trend that troubles listeners, recent surveys show. FCC regulations limit what corporations can say during their promos. No price information.
Stations can, however, say the company's slogan.
And they can give out telephone numbers and Web addresses, just like on commercial radio. The increase in corporate sponsorship has its origins in 1995, when then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich proposed cutting all public broadcasting funding. That experience energized public radio to aggressively pursue corporate money, lest they wander into the congressional cross hairs once again. Most of the increase has come from corporate sponsors. The attraction is mutual.