if it was the actual reels themselves, he'd STILL be
begging because people (most of them) just don't care about the 'old days' or
"how things used to be."

I can ceratinly appreciate the desire to keep this kind of program going, hobby
or not. But I think the above may be overstating things quite a bit. Surely
MOST people are NOT dedicated shortwave program listeners, so they are entirely
unaware of this situation. It's quite common among domestic broadcasters on
SW... lack of interest, lack of funding/sponsorship, facilities, airtime, etc.
But there is a VERY large number of people from all walks of life who are
dearly devoted to old time radio programs, and the market of records, tapes,
CDs, MP3 CD-ROMs, etc., is enormous for those of us who enjoy those classic
shows. I personally own over 500 hours worth of old time radio shows, from Amos
n' Andy and Jack Benny to Lights Out, The Great Gildersleeve, etc., on CDs,
tapes, and CD-ROMs. My collection grows every few weeks...
People DO care deeply about maintaining and archiving this classic
programming, and in fact pay millions of dollars each year collectively for the
priveledge of owning OTR collections on CDs and tapes. They care about the old
days quite a lot, I can assure you. Try a search for old time radio catalogues,
you'll find a lot of hits.
And don't forget, Stan Freberg's "When Radio Was" is a syndicated OTR tribute
show, playing all the greats from the Golden Age of Radio that runs on quite a
few AM stations nationwide, and has for many years. KNX-1070AM in Los Angeles
has been running their 'Drama Hour' (featuring the classic comedy, drama,
western and suspense shows from yesteryear) for at least 25 years now.
Now, if this fellow is having trouble keeping his own dramatizations on the
air, it's sad, but let's face it, shortwave is not FM music or AM
sports/talkradio when it comes to listenership numbers. You might see thousands
or tens of thousands offering donations if he were on some regionally popular
station on mainstream FM or AM.
But the lack of funds or interest has NOTHING to do with complacency among the
average listener. It's just lack of exposure and stats.
Linus