Through my eyes the difference between an Enhance Underwriting spot and full fledge commercial is merely the wording./quote]
You say that like it's not a profound difference.
Anyways, anyone who thinks there's no difference between commercials and underwriting clearly has not tried to sell underwriting to potential clients. When you're forking over cash, suddenly that difference means quite a lot...and woe to the salesperson who isn't prepared for that.
Also, little mentioned in this debate is that in the commercial world, buying ads typically gives you the "right" to exert editorial control over the programming to a substantial degree. The most common example is sponsoring a regular series; that series suddenly becomes a lot about what the sponsor wants it to be about...usually to the sponsor's own fiscal benefit. That editorial control is non-existent in non-commercial radio (where there's almost always a huge firewall between content and sponsorship) and a lot of long-time radio buyers are shocked that their money gets a mention and nothing else. Quite often they're damned obnoxious about it, too.
I know one particular commercial station that's owned by a non-profit and is trying to have it both ways (they're a niche format in a niche market) and they've hired a lot of ex-public radio folks to bulk up their cred for fundraisers. And the producers are CONSTANTLY fending off demands from the business owners (who buy commercials) that the producers do more stories about their businesses.
Anyways, if the commercial restrictions were lifted from NCE's, I'd give it five years...tops...before NPR as we currently know it is dead and gone. Too many NPR affiliates are desperate for cash and would start "selling out", which would destroy the trust in the brand, which would destroy the effectiveness of the fundraising. That trust is absolutely crucial and it's largely based on the idea that NPR affiliates are accountable to listeners, not commercial sponsors.
