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Telethon
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{{Short description|Fundraising event broadcast on television}} {{For|the ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' episode|Telethon (Space Ghost Coast to Coast)}} A '''telethon''' (a [[portmanteau]] of "[[television]]" and "[[marathon]]") is a televised [[fundraising]] event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitations for pledges (promises to donate funds at a later time) by masters of ceremonies or hosts, who are often local celebrities or media personalities combined with [[variety show]] style entertainment such as singers, bands and instrumentalists. In some cases, telethons feature content related to the cause being supported, such as interviews with charitable beneficiaries, tours of charity-supported projects, or pre-taped sequences. The equivalent term for a radio broadcast is a '''radiothon'''; most radiothons do not include live entertainment. In the United States, the first telethon used for political outreach occurred in 1960.<ref name=TelethonUSA.Nixon>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25334 |title=Remarks of Vice President Richard M. Nixon, National Telethon, ABC Network, Southfield, MI |date=November 7, 1960 |quote=for the first time in the history of American politics |access-date=September 30, 2020 |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905102500/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25334 |url-status=live }}</ref> The highest donating telethon per capita in the world is the [[Channel Seven Perth Telethon]] in [[Perth]], [[Western Australia]]. It has raised over AU$650 million since 1968, and raised $83.2 million in 2024.
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