Yesterday I brought up what’s becoming an annual event: the Troop-A-Thon sponsored by the pro-military group Move America Forward. While last year’s internet broadcast (which featured co-hosts blogger Michelle Malkin and MAF head/radio host Melanie Morgan) raised just over $1 million, this year’s event (which was co-hosted by Morgan and blogger Andrew Breitbart) raised a smaller sum – $603,049. Obviously the take was disappointing to MAF.
I watched or listened to about 1/3 of the Troop-A-Thon as I was doing other tasks and one problem they definitely had was a lack of technical proficiency with their guests who were appearing via internet. Perhaps it was the simple bad luck of being online at the same time as the Michael Jackson death saga – and the massive internet traffic such a breaking event has become known for causing – but it’s definitely something which needs to be worked out.
It’s also noteworthy that their viewership was significantly lower this year. Last year as I recall the constant audience ranged between 2,000 and 3,000, but this year’s observations generally showed viewership in the 1,100 to 1,800 range. It’s fairly consistent with the lower grand total.
I also noticed that the care packages were more expensive, since I purchased one. This year they ran about $25 apiece as opposed to $15 last year. Unfortunately this will also impact the number MAF can send out. However, each care package is supposed to be for two troops so perhaps the increased price is for double the supplies.
Regardless, the novelty may have worn off for the Troop-A-Thon but I presume it will be back for a third year in 2010. We’ll likely still have troops in harm’s way in both Iraq and Afghanistan so the need will still be there.
