National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in
all lowercase
Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...
) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, with its NPR West headquarters in
Culver City, California. It differs from other non-profit membership media organizations such as the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
, in that it was established by an act of Congress. Most of its member stations are owned by
non-profit organizations
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
, including
public school districts,
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
s, and
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
. It serves as a national
syndicator to a network of over 1,000
public radio stations in the United States.
, NPR employed 840 people.
NPR produces and distributes news and cultural programming. The organization's flagship shows are two
drive-time
Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cla ...
news broadcasts: ''
Morning Edition
''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...
'' and the afternoon ''
All Things Considered
''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'', both carried by most NPR member stations, and among the
most popular radio programs in the country.
, the drive-time programs attract an audience of 14.9 million and 14.7 million per week, respectively.
NPR manages the
Public Radio Satellite System
The Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) is the interconnected satellite-distributed network managed by NPR (National Public Radio), and used by NPR, Public Radio Exchange (PRX), and American Public Media (APM), as well as independent public radio ...
, which distributes its programs and other programming from independent producers and networks such as
American Public Media
American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...
and
Public Radio Exchange
The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...
, and which also acts as a primary entry point for the
Emergency Alert System
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via cable, satellite, or broadcast television, and bot ...
. Its content is also available on-demand online, on mobile networks, and in many cases, as
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
s. Several NPR stations also carry programs from British public broadcaster
BBC World Service.
Name
The organization's legal name is ''National Public Radio'' and its
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
ed brand is ''NPR''; it is known by both names.
[Dana Davis Rehm]
NPR: What's In A Name?
NPR (July 12, 2012). In June 2010, the organization announced that it was "making a conscious effort to consistently refer to ourselves as NPR on-air and online" because NPR is the common name for the organization and the tag line "This ... is NPR" has been used by its radio hosts for many years.
However, ''National Public Radio'' remains the legal name of the group, as it has been since 1970.
History
1970s
National Public Radio replaced the
National Educational Radio Network
The National Educational Radio Network (NERN) was a means of distributing radio programs in the United States between 1961 and 1970. With funding from the Ford Foundation, the network began broadcasting on six radio stations on April 3, 1961.
A ...
on February 26, 1970, following Congressional passage of the
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 () issued the congressional corporate charter for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private nonprofit corporation funded by taxpayers to disburse grants to public broadcasters in the United ...
.
This act was signed into law by 36th
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
, and established the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
, which also created the
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for television in addition to NPR. A CPB organizing committee under John Witherspoon first created a board of directors chaired by
Bernard Mayes
Anthony Bernard Duncan Mayes (10 October 1929 – 23 October 2014) was a British broadcaster, university dean and author who founded America's first suicide prevention hotline.
Biography
Born in London, Mayes was educated at University College S ...
.
The board then hired
Donald Quayle to be the first president of NPR with 30 employees and 90 charter member local stations, and studios in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
NPR aired its first broadcast on April 20, 1971, covering
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
hearings on the ongoing
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
. The afternoon drive-time newscast ''
All Things Considered
''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'' premiered on May 3, 1971, first hosted by
Robert Conley. NPR was primarily a production and distribution organization until 1977, when it merged with the
Association of Public Radio Stations The Association of Public Radio Stations was a radio network in the United States from 1973 to 1977.
It was formed on May 24, 1973, becoming the main public radio representative to federal agencies and Congress. In 1977 it merged with National Pub ...
. ''
Morning Edition
''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...
'' premiered on November 5, 1979, first hosted by
Bob Edwards
Robert Alan "Bob" Edwards is an American broadcast journalist, a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He hosted both of National Public Radio's flagship news programs, the afternoon ''All Things Considered'', and '' ...
.
1980s
NPR suffered an almost-fatal setback in 1983 when efforts to expand services created a deficit of nearly $7 million (equivalent to $19 million in 2022 dollars). After a Congressional investigation and the resignation of NPR's then-president
Frank Mankiewicz
Frank Fabian Mankiewicz II (May 16, 1924 – October 23, 2014) was an American journalist, political adviser, president of National Public Radio, and public relations executive.
Life and career
Frank Mankiewicz was born in New York City ...
, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting agreed to lend the network money in order to stave off bankruptcy. In exchange, NPR agreed to a new arrangement whereby the annual CPB stipend that it had previously received directly would be divided among local stations instead; in turn, those stations would support NPR productions on a subscription basis. NPR also agreed to turn its satellite service into a cooperative venture (the
Public Radio Satellite System
The Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) is the interconnected satellite-distributed network managed by NPR (National Public Radio), and used by NPR, Public Radio Exchange (PRX), and American Public Media (APM), as well as independent public radio ...
), making it possible for non-NPR shows to get national distribution. It took NPR approximately three years to pay off the debt.
1990s
Delano Lewis
Delano Eugene Lewis (born November 12, 1938) is an American attorney, businessman, and diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador to South Africa from 1999 to 2001, and previously held leadership roles at the Peace Corps and National Public ...
, the president of
C&P Telephone
The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, usually known as C&P Telephone, is a former d/b/a name for four Bell Operating Companies providing service to Washington, D.C., Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.
Today, three of the companies ...
, left that position to become NPR's CEO and president in January 1994.
Lewis resigned in August 1998.
In November 1998, NPR's board of directors hired
Kevin Klose, the director of the
International Broadcasting Bureau
The International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) is the technical support outlet within the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) (former Broadcasting Board of Governors, BBG), which is a U.S. independent agency. The IBB supports the day-to- ...
, as its president and chief executive officer.
2000s
NPR spent nearly $13 million to acquire and equip a
West Coast production facility, NPR West, which opened in
Culver City,
Los Angeles County, California, in November 2002. With room for up to 90 employees, it was established to expand its production capabilities, improve its coverage of the
western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...
, and create a backup production facility capable of keeping NPR on the air in the event of a catastrophe in Washington, D.C.
In November 2003, NPR received $235 million from the estate of the late
Joan B. Kroc, the widow of
Ray Kroc
Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman. He purchased the fast food company McDonald's in 1961 and was its CEO from 1967 to 1973. Kroc is credited with the global expansion of McDonald's, turnin ...
, founder of
McDonald's Corporation
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...
. This was the largest monetary gift ever to a cultural institution.
In 2004 NPR's budget increased by over 50% to $153 million due to the Kroc gift. Of the money, $34 million was deposited in its
endowment. The endowment fund before the gift totaled $35 million. NPR will use the interest from the bequest to expand its news staff and reduce some member stations' fees.
[ The 2005 budget was about $120 million.
In August 2005, NPR entered podcasting with a directory of over 170 programs created by NPR and member stations. By November of that year, users downloaded NPR and other public radio podcasts 5 million times. Ten years later, by March 2015, users downloaded podcasts produced only by NPR 94 million times, and NPR podcasts like ''Fresh Air'' and the ''TED Radio Hour'' routinely made the iTunes Top Podcasts list.
]Ken Stern
Ken Stern is President of Palisades Media Ventures and the author of ''With Charity for All'' and ''Republican Like Me: How I Left the Liberal Bubble and Learned to Love the Right''. He is a former chief executive officer of National Public Radio ...
became chief executive in September 2006, reportedly as the "hand-picked successor" of CEO Kevin Klose, who gave up the job but remained as NPR's president; Stern had worked with Klose at Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
.
On December 10, 2008, NPR announced that it would reduce its workforce by 7% and cancel the news programs ''Day to Day
''Day to Day'' (''D2D'') was a one-hour weekday American radio newsmagazine distributed by National Public Radio (NPR), and produced by NPR in collaboration with ''Slate''. Madeleine Brand, Alex Chadwick, and Alex Cohen served as hosts. Topics ...
'' and ''News & Notes
''News & Notes'' was a National Public Radio program focusing on issues affecting African-Americans and African diaspora communities. The listenership was multiracial and international. The program aired for one hour each weekday and was hosted b ...
''.[
] The organization indicated this was in response to a rapid drop in corporate underwriting
Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liabili ...
in the wake of the economic crisis of 2008
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
.
In the fall of 2008, NPR programming reached a record 27.5 million people weekly, according to Arbitron ratings figures. NPR stations reach 32.7 million listeners overall.
In March 2008, the NPR Board announced that Stern would be stepping down from his role as chief executive officer, following conflict with NPR's board of directors "over the direction of the organization," including issues NPR's member station managers had had with NPR's expansion into new media
New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...
"at the expense of serving" the stations that financially support NPR.
As of 2009, corporate sponsorship made up 26% of the NPR budget.
2010s
In October 2010, NPR accepted a $1.8 million grant from the Open Society Institute
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a st ...
. The grant is meant to begin a project called Impact of Government that was intended to add at least 100 journalists at NPR member radio stations in all 50 states by 2013. The OSI has made previous donations, but does not take on-air credit for its gifts.
In April 2013, NPR moved from its home of 19 years (635 Massachusetts Avenue NW) to new offices and production facilities at 1111 North Capitol Street NE in a building adapted from the former C&P Telephone Warehouse and Repair Facility. The new headquarters—at the corner of North Capitol Street NE and L Street NW—is in the burgeoning NoMa
Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to:
Places
* NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US
** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro
* Noma, Florida, US
* NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England
* Noma Distr ...
neighborhood of Washington. The first show scheduled to be broadcast from the new studios was ''Weekend Edition Saturday
''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program ''Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' ...
''. ''Morning Edition
''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...
'' was the last show to move to the new location. In June 2013 NPR canceled the weekday call-in show ''Talk of the Nation
''Talk of the Nation'' (''TOTN'')
is an American talk radio program based in Washington D.C., produced by National Public Radio ( NPR) that was broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. It focused on current events and controversial i ...
''.
In September 2013, certain of NPR's 840 full- and part-time employees were offered a voluntary buyout plan to reduce staff by 10 percent and return NPR to a balanced budget by the 2015 fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
.
In December 2018, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported that between 20 and 22 percent of NPR staff was classified as temps, while this compares to about five percent of a typical for-profit television station. Some of the temporary staff members told the newspaper the systems were "exploitative", but NPR's president of operations said the current systems was in place because the station is a "media company that strives to be innovative and nimble."
In December 2018, NPR launched a new podcast analytics technology called Remote Audio Data (RAD), which developer Stacey Goers described as a "method for sharing listening metrics from podcast applications straight back to publishers, with extreme care and respect for user privacy."
In late November 2022, CEO Lansing told staffers in a memo that NPR needed to reduce spending by $10 million during the current fiscal year due to a drop in revenue from sponsors. The amount is approximately three percent of the organization's annual budget.
Governance
NPR is a membership organization. Member stations are required to be non-commercial
A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...
or non-commercial educational radio stations; have at least five full-time professional employees; operate for at least 18 hours per day; and not be designed solely to further a religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting, sometimes referred to as faith-based broadcasts, is the dissemination of television and/or radio content that intentionally has religious ideas, religious experience, or religious practice as its core focus. In some coun ...
philosophy or be used for classroom distance learning
Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...
programming. Each member station receives one vote at the annual NPR board meetings—exercised by its designated Authorized Station Representative ("A-Rep").
To oversee the day-to-day operations and prepare its budget, members elect a board of directors. The board was previously composed of ten A-Reps, five members of the general public, and the chair of the NPR Foundation. On November 2, 2015, NPR Members approved a change in the NPR Bylaws to expand the board of directors to 23 directors, consisting of 12 Member Directors who are managers of NPR Member stations and are elected to the Board by their fellow Member stations, 9 Public Directors who are prominent members of the public selected by the Board and confirmed by NPR Member stations, the NPR Foundation Chair, and the NPR President & CEO. Terms are for three years and are staggered such that some stand for election every year.
, the board of directors of NPR included the following members:
;NPR member station managers
* Mike Crane, director, Wisconsin Public Radio
Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a network of 34 public radio stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct analog services, the ''Ideas Network'' and the '' NPR News & Music Network,'' as well as the ''All Classic ...
* John Decker, director, KPBS
* Tim Eby, general manager, St. Louis Public Radio
* Jennifer Ferro, president, KCRW
KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...
* Nico Leone, president and CEO, KERA
* Wonya Lucas, president and CEO, WABE
* Joe O'Connor, president and CEO, WFAE
WFAE (90.7 MHz) is a non-commercial public radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the main NPR news and information member in the Charlotte region. The station's main studios and offices are at One University Place in the University ...
* LaFontaine E. Oliver, president and general manager, WYPR
WYPR (88.1 FM) is a public radio station serving the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area. Its studio is in the Charles Village neighborhood of northern Baltimore, while its transmitter is in Park Heights. The station is simulcast in the Fred ...
* Jay Pearce, CEO and general manager, WVIK-FM
WVIK (90.3 FM) is the flagship National Public Radio station for the Quad Cities region of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. It is based in Rock Island, Illinois, and licensed to and owned by Augustana College. The studios are located o ...
* Mike Savage, director and general manager, WEKU
* Joyce Slocum, president and CEO, Texas Public Radio
Texas Public Radio, or TPR is the on-air name for a group of public radio stations serving south central Texas - including San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country - and the Big Country region of West Central Texas. All are affiliated with Nati ...
* Sylvia Strobel, CEO, ideastream
;President of NPR
* John Lansing, president and CEO
;Chair of the NPR Foundation
* John McGinn
;Public members of the board
* Carlos Alvarez, CEO, The Gambrinus Company
* Fred Dust, designer, speaker, and consultant
* Paul G. Haaga, Jr., retired, Capital Research and Management Company – Chairman of the NPR Board of Directors
* Jacqueline Reses, head of Square Capital and Chief People Officer of Square
* Jeff Sine, co-founder and partner, The Raine Group
* Carlos Watson, CEO and co-founder, OZY Media, Inc.
* Howard Wollner, senior vice president, retired, Starbucks Coffee Company
* Telisa Yancy, CEO, American Family Insurance
American Family Insurance, also abbreviated as AmFam, is an American private mutual company that focuses on property, casualty, and auto insurance, and also offers commercial insurance, life, health, and homeowners coverage as well as investm ...
* Neal Zuckerman, partner and managing director, Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by re ...
The original purposes of NPR, as ratified by the board of directors, are the following:
* Provide an identifiable daily product which is consistent and reflects the highest standards of broadcast journalism.
* Provide extended coverage of public events, issues and ideas, and to acquire and produce special public affairs programs.
* Acquire and produce cultural programs which can be scheduled individually by stations.
* Provide access to the intellectual and cultural resources of cities, universities and rural districts through a system of cooperative program development with member public radio stations.
* Develop and distribute programs for specific groups ( adult education, instruction, modular units for local productions) which may meet needs of individual regions or groups, but may not have general national relevance.
* Establish liaison with foreign broadcasters for a program exchange service.
* Produce materials specifically intended to develop the art and technical potential of radio
; NPR Public Editor
The Public Editor responds to significant listener queries, comments and criticisms. The position reports to the president and CEO John Lansing.
In April 2020, Kelly McBride became the Public Editor for NPR.
Funding
In 2020, NPR released a budget for FY21 anticipating revenue of $250 million, a slight decrease from the prior year due to impacts of COVID-19. The budget anticipates $240 million in operating expenses, plus additional debt service and capital costs that lead to a cash deficit of approximately $4 million. The budget includes $25 million in budget cuts.
Funding pre-2000
During the 1970s and early 1980s, the majority of NPR funding came from the federal government. Steps were taken during the Reagan administration in the 1980s to completely wean NPR from government support, but the 1983 funding crisis forced the network to make immediate changes.
Funding in the 2000s
According to CPB
CPB may refer to:
Companies
* Campbell Soup Company, an American producer of canned soups and related products
* Campbell Brothers, an Australian laboratory and manufacturing company
* Crispin Porter + Bogusky, an advertising agency
* Corporate ...
, in 2009 11.3% of the aggregate revenues of all public radio broadcasting stations were funded from federal sources, principally through CPB; in 2012 10.9% of the revenues for Public Radio came from federal sources.
In 2010, NPR revenues totaled $180 million, with the bulk of revenues coming from programming fees, grants
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
* Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
*Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
*Grant, Inyo County, ...
from foundations or business entities, contributions and sponsorships
Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...
. According to the 2009 financial statement, about 50% of NPR revenues come from the fees it charges member stations for programming and distribution charges. Typically, NPR member stations receive funds through on-air pledge drive
A pledge drive is an extended period of fundraising activities, generally used by public broadcasting stations to increase contributions. The term "pledge" originates from the promise that a contributor makes to send in funding at regular interval ...
s, corporate underwriting, state and local governments, educational institutions, and the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
(CPB). In 2009, member stations derived 6% of their revenue from federal, state and local government funding, 10% of their revenue from CPB
CPB may refer to:
Companies
* Campbell Soup Company, an American producer of canned soups and related products
* Campbell Brothers, an Australian laboratory and manufacturing company
* Crispin Porter + Bogusky, an advertising agency
* Corporate ...
grants, and 14% of their revenue from universities. While NPR does not receive any direct federal funding, it does receive a small number of competitive grants from CPB and federal agencies like the Department of Education and the Department of Commerce. This funding amounts to approximately 2% of NPR's overall revenues.
In 2011, NPR announced the roll-out of their own online advertising network
An online advertising network or ad network is a company that connects advertisers to websites that want to host advertisements. The key function of an ad network is an aggregation of ad supply from publishers and matching it with advertiser's d ...
, which allows member stations to run geographically targeted advertisement
Targeted advertising is a form of advertising, including online advertising, that is directed towards an audience with certain traits, based on the product or person the advertiser is promoting. These traits can either be demographic with a focu ...
spots from national sponsors that may otherwise be unavailable to their local area, opening additional revenue streams to the broadcaster.
''Center Stage'', a mix of native advertising
Native advertising, also called sponsored content, is a type of advertising that matches the form and function of the platform upon which it appears. In many cases it functions like an advertorial, and manifests as a video, article or editorial. ...
and banner ad
A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking ...
featured prominently on the NPR homepage, above-the-fold, was launched in 2013. The launch partner for ''Center Stage'' was Squarespace
Squarespace, Inc. is an American website building and hosting company which is based in New York City, USA. It provides software as a service for website building and hosting, and allows users to use pre-built website templates and drag-and-drop ...
.
In 2014, NPR CEO Jarl Mohn said the network would begin to increase revenue by having brands NPR views as more relevant to the audience underwrite NPR programs and requesting higher rates from them.
For the year ended September 30, 2018, total operating revenues were $235 million, increasing to almost $259 million by September 2019.
Underwriting spots versus commercials
In contrast with commercial broadcasting, NPR's radio broadcasts do not carry traditional commercials, but has advertising in the form of brief statements from major sponsors which may include corporate slogans
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group. T ...
, descriptions of products and services, and contact information such as website addresses and telephone number
A telephone number is a sequence of digits assigned to a landline telephone subscriber station connected to a telephone line or to a wireless electronic telephony device, such as a radio telephone or a mobile telephone, or to other devices f ...
s. These statements are called underwriting spot
An underwriting spot, known as sponsor credit ( ja, 提供クレジット, Teikyō kurejitto) in Japan, is an announcement made on public broadcasting outlets, especially in the United States, in exchange for funding. These spots usually men ...
s and, unlike commercials, are governed by specific FCC restrictions in addition to truth in advertising laws; they cannot advocate a product or "promote the goods and services" of for-profit entities. These restrictions apply only to radio broadcasts and not NPR's other digital platforms. When questioned on the subject of how corporate underwriting revenues and foundation grants were holding up during the recession, in a speech broadcast on C-SPAN before the National Press Club
Organizations
A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
on March 2, 2009, then president and CEO Vivian Schiller
Vivian Luisa Schiller (born September 13, 1961) is the former president and CEO of National Public Radio, and former head of news and journalism partnerships at Twitter. She is also the former senior vice president and chief digital officer for NB ...
stated: "underwriting is down, it's down for everybody; this is the area that is most down for us, in sponsorship, underwriting, advertising, call it whatever you want; just like it is for all of media." Hosts of the NPR program ''Planet Money
''Planet Money'' is an American podcast and blog produced by NPR. Using "creative and entertaining" dialogue and narrative, ''Planet Money'' claims to be "The Economy Explained."
History
The podcast was created by Alex Blumberg and Adam Davids ...
'' stated the audience is indeed a product being sold to advertisers in the same way as commercial stations, saying: "they are not advertisers exactly but, they have a lot of the same characteristics; let's just say that."
Audience
In 2014, the Pew Research Center reported that NPR had a similar level of listener trust as CNN, NBC and ABC. A Harris telephone survey conducted in 2005 found that NPR was the most trusted news source in the United States.
According to 2009, NPR statistics, about 20.9 million listeners tune into NPR each week. By 2017, NPR's weekly on-air audience had reached 30.2 million. According to 2015 figures, 87% of the NPR terrestrial public radio audience and 67% of the NPR podcast audience is white. According to the 2012 Pew Research Center 2012 News Consumption Survey, NPR listeners tend to be highly educated, with 54% of regular listeners being college graduates and 21% having some college.[Section 4: Demographics and Political Views of News Audiences](_blank)
Pew Research Center (September 27, 2012). NPR's audience is almost exactly average in terms of the sex of listeners (49% male, 51% female). NPR listeners have higher incomes than average (the 2012 Pew study showed that 43% earn over $75,000, 27% earn between $30,000 and $75,000). The Pew survey found that the NPR audience tends Democratic (17% Republican, 37% independent, 43% Democratic) and politically moderate (21% conservative, 39% moderate, 36% liberal).
NPR stations generally subscribe to the Nielsen rating service, but are not included in published ratings and rankings such as '' Radio & Records''. NPR station listenership is measured by Nielsen in both Diary and PPM (people meter) markets. NPR stations are frequently not included in "summary level" diary data used by most advertising agencies for media planning. Data on NPR listening can be accessed using "respondent level" diary data. Additionally, all radio stations (public and commercial) are treated equally within the PPM data sets making NPR station listenership data much more widely available to the media planning community. NPR's signature morning news program, ''Morning Edition'', is the network's most popular program, drawing 14.63 million listeners a week, with its afternoon newsmagazine, ''All Things Considered'', a close second, with 14.6 million listeners a week according to 2017 Nielsen ratings data.[NPR Reaches 99 Million People Monthly, GenXers And Millennials Drive Growth](_blank)
''NPR,'' October 25, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017. Arbitron data is also provided by Radio Research Consortium, a non-profit corporation which subscribes to the Arbitron service and distributes the data to NPR and other non-commercial stations and on its website.
Digital media
NPR's history in digital media includes the work of an independent, for-profit company called Public Interactive, which was founded in 1999 and acquired by PRI in June 2004, when it became a non-profit company. By July 2008, Public Interactive had "170 subscribers who collectively operate 325 public radio and television stations" and clients such as ''Car Talk
''Car Talk'' is a radio talk show that was broadcast weekly on National Public Radio (NPR) stations and elsewhere. Its subjects were automobiles and automotive repair, often discussed humorously. It was hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Maglioz ...
'', ''The World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
'', and ''The Tavis Smiley Show
''The Tavis Smiley Show'' was an American public broadcasting radio talk show.
Public Radio International
''The Tavis Smiley Show'' was broadcast on Public Radio International (PRI). It was a one-hour weekly program featuring interviews with new ...
''; by the end of that month, NPR acquired Public Interactive from PRI In March 2011, NPR revealed a restructuring proposal in which Boston-based Public Interactive would become NPR Digital Services, separate from the Washington D.C.-based NPR Digital Media, which focuses on NPR-branded services. NPR Digital Services would continue offering its services to public TV stations.
The technical backbone of its digital news publishing system is Core Publisher, which was built on Drupal, an open-source content management system.
NPR has been dubbed as "leveraging the Twitter generation" because of its adaptation of the popular microblog
Microblogging is a form of social network that permits only short posts. They "allow users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links",. Retrieved June 5, 2014 which may be the major reason for ...
ging service as one of its primary vehicles of information. Of NPR's Twitter followers, the majority (67%) also listen to NPR on the radio. In a survey of more than 10,000 respondents, NPR found that its Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
followers are younger, more connected to the social web
The social web is a set of social relations that link people through the World Wide Web. The social web encompasses how websites and software are designed and developed in order to support and foster social interaction. These online social inte ...
, and more likely to access content through digital platforms such as its Peabody Award-winning website npr.org, as well as podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
s, mobile apps and more. NPR has more than one Twitter account including @NPR; its survey found that most respondents followed between two and five NPR accounts, including topical account, show-specific accounts and on-air staff accounts. In addition, NPR's Facebook page has been at the forefront of the company foray into social media. Started by college student and fan Geoff Campbell in 2008, the page was quickly taken over by the organization, and over the last two years has grown to nearly 4 million fans and is a popular example of the company's new focus on a younger audience. NPR also has a YouTube channel featuring regularly posted videos covering news and informational subjects.
In May 2018, a group led by NPR acquired the podcasting app Pocket Casts. On July 16, 2021, Automattic acquired Pocket Casts from NPR.
NPR One
In July 2014, NPR launched NPR One, an app for iOS and Android (operating system), Android smartphones and other mobile devices, which aimed to make it easier for listeners to stream local NPR stations live, and listen to NPR podcasts by autoplaying content and permitting easy navigation. Since launch NPR has made the service available on additional channels: Windows mobile devices, web browsers, Chromecast, Apple Car Play, Apple Watch, Android Auto, Android Wear, Samsung Gear S2 and S3, Amazon Fire TV, and Amazon Alexa–enabled devices. ''The New York Times'' listed NPR One as one of 2016's "best apps".
Programming
Programs produced by NPR
News and public affairs programs
NPR produces a morning and an evening news program, both of which also have weekend editions with different hosts. It also produces hourly newscasts around the clock.
* ''All Things Considered
''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'', NPR News' evening news program hosted by Ari Shapiro, Mary Louise Kelly, and Ailsa Chang.
**''Weekend All Things Considered'', hosted by Michel Martin
* ''Morning Edition
''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...
'', NPR News' morning news program hosted by Steve Inskeep, Rachel Martin (broadcast journalist), Rachel Martin, A Martínez (broadcast journalist), A Martínez, and Leila Fadel.
** ''Weekend Edition'', hosted by Scott Simon (Saturdays) and Ayesha Rascoe (Sundays)
* ''Here and Now (Boston), Here and Now'', a mid-day news magazine program hosted by Robin Young and Tonya Mosley (co-produced with WBUR)
Storytelling and cultural programming (in house)
* ''Ask Me Another (radio), Ask Me Another'', a trivia quiz hosted by Ophira Eisenberg (co-produced with WNYC) (cancelled)
* ''Invisibilia'', hosted by Alix Spiegel, Hanna Rosin, and Lulu Miller
* ''TED Radio Hour'', hosted by Manoush Zomorodi
* ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'', a humorous news-based panel show hosted by Peter Sagal (co-produced with WBEZ)
=Podcasts
=
* ''All Songs Considered'', a music podcast
* ''Alt.Latino'', a podcast on Latino arts and culture
* Radio Ambulante, a Spanish-Language podcast which covers news in Latin America
* El Hilo, an offshoot of Radio Ambulante devoted to news
* ''Code Switch'', a podcast about race and identity hosted by Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby
* ''Consider This (podcast), Consider This'', a Monday-Saturday afternoon news podcast; weekday episodes hosted by ''All Things Considered'' anchors Ari Shapiro, Mary Louise Kelly, and Ailsa Chang; Saturday episodes hosted by ''Weekend All Things Considered'' host Michel Martin
*''Embedded'', a podcast hosted by Kelly McEvers
* ''How I Built This'', a podcast on entrepreneurship hosted by Guy Raz
* ''NPR Politics Podcast'', a podcast hosted by Tamara Keith and Scott Detrow
* ''NPR News Now'', podcast of 5 minute news updates updated hourly
* ''Planet Money
''Planet Money'' is an American podcast and blog produced by NPR. Using "creative and entertaining" dialogue and narrative, ''Planet Money'' claims to be "The Economy Explained."
History
The podcast was created by Alex Blumberg and Adam Davids ...
'', a podcast on economics
* ''Pop Culture Happy Hour'', a podcast on culture hosted by Linda Holmes (writer), Linda Holmes
* ''Rough Translation'', a podcast which tells stories from around the world that have relevance to a U.S. audience
*''Short Wave,'' a daily science podcast hosted by Madeline K. Sofia, Maddie Sofia
*''Throughline'', a podcast on history hosted by Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei
* ''Up First'', a Monday-Saturday morning news podcast; weekday episodes hosted by ''Morning Edition'' anchors Steve Inskeep, Rachel Martin, A Martínez, and Leila Fadel; Saturday episodes hosted by ''Weekend Edition'' anchors Scott Simon and Ayesha Rascoe
Music programming
* ''First Listen'', album previews
* ''Jazz Night In America'', hosted by Christian McBride (co-produced with WBGO and Jazz at Lincoln Center)
* ''Songs We Love''
* ''The Thistle & Shamrock'', Celtic music hosted by Fiona Ritchie
* ''Tiny Desk Concerts'', video concert series
Programs distributed by NPR
News and public affairs
* ''1A (radio), 1A'', public affairs roundtable program hosted by Jenn White (WAMU)
* ''Fresh Air'', interviews with cultural news-makers hosted by Terry Gross (WHYY-FM)
* ''Latino USA'', Latino issues hosted by Maria Hinojosa (Futuro Media Group)
* ''Youth Radio'', stories told by youth (self-produced)
Storytelling and cultural programming
* ''The Big Listen'', a radio show about podcasts hosted by Lauren Ober (WAMU)
* ''Bullseye with Jesse Thorn'', hosted by Jesse Thorn (Maximum Fun)
* ''Car Talk
''Car Talk'' is a radio talk show that was broadcast weekly on National Public Radio (NPR) stations and elsewhere. Its subjects were automobiles and automotive repair, often discussed humorously. It was hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Maglioz ...
'', humorous automotive advice hosted by Tom Magliozzi and Ray Magliozzi (WBUR, ended September 2017)
*''The Engines of Our Ingenuity'' is a daily radio series that tells the story of human invention and creativity in minute essays.
* ''Only a Game'', sports issues hosted by Bill Littlefield (WBUR, ended 2020)
* ''Rough Cuts (radio series), Rough Cuts'', a podcast and blog encouraging participation in the development of other new radio programs
* ''State of the Re:Union'', hosted by Al Letson
* ''StoryCorps'', oral history recordings (self-produced)
Music programming
* ''From the Top'', A program showcasing young classical musicians between the ages of 8–18 (self-produced)
* ''JazzSet'', hosted by Dee Dee Bridgewater (WBGO)
* ''Metropolis'', a show on electronic music hosted by Jason Bentley (KCRW
KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...
)
* ''Mountain Stage'', hosted by Larry Groce (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
* ''Piano Jazz'', hosted by Marian McPartland (South Carolina Educational Television, South Carolina ETV Radio, ended in 2011)
* ''World Cafe (radio program), World Cafe'', a 2-hour music program featuring both recorded music and interviews and live in-studio performances, hosted by Raina Douris (WXPN)
Notable public radio programs not affiliated with NPR
Many programs broadcast on U.S. public radio stations are not affiliated with NPR. If these programs are distributed by another distributor, a public radio station must also affiliate with that network to take that network's programming.
American Public Media
American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...
(APM) and Public Radio Exchange
The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...
(PRX; which also merged with Public Radio International in 2018) are other major public radio production and distribution organizations with distinct missions, and each competes with the other and NPR for programming slots on public radio stations.
Most public radio stations are NPR member stations and many are affiliate stations of APM and PRX at the same time. The organizations have different governance structures and missions and relationships with stations.
American Public Media
* '' BBC World Service'', world news produced by the BBC often used to fill graveyard slot, overnight hours
* ''Classical 24'', generally airs overnights on many non-commercial stations
* ''The Daily (podcast), The Daily'', daily podcast created by ''The New York Times'' and hosted by Michael Barbaro
*''Live from Here'' (formerly known as ''A Prairie Home Companion''), variety radio show known for its folk music and comedy (cancelled in 2020).
*''Marketplace (radio program), Marketplace'', program that focuses on business, the economy, and events that influence them
*''Performance Today'', most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States (formerly distributed by NPR)
*''Pipedreams'', radio music program focusing on organ music
*''The Splendid Table'', weekly program about food
Public Radio Exchange
This list includes programs that were distributed by Public Radio International (PRI) prior to the merger with PDX
* ''A Way with Words'', a show about language; distributed by Public Radio Exchange
The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...
and Public Radio Satellite System
The Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) is the interconnected satellite-distributed network managed by NPR (National Public Radio), and used by NPR, Public Radio Exchange (PRX), and American Public Media (APM), as well as independent public radio ...
* ''Echoes (radio program), Echoes'', a daily program of ambient, new age, and electronic music hosted by John Diliberto (formerly distributed by PRI)
* ''Hearts of Space'', a weekly program of ambient music, ambient, Space music, space, and contemplative music hosted by Stephen Hill (broadcaster), Stephen Hill, San Rafael, Calif.
* ''Living on Earth'', environmental news program (formerly distributed by NPR and PRI)
* ''Philosophy Talk'', everyday topics examined through a philosophical lens, hosted by Stanford philosophy professors John Perry (philosopher), John Perry and Kenneth Allen Taylor, Ken Taylor, produced by Ben Manilla Productions (KALW)
* ''Planetary Radio'', space exploration radio program hosted by Mat Kaplan, The Planetary Society, Pasadena, Calif.
* ''Selected Shorts'', dramatic readings hosted by Isaiah Sheffer, Symphony Space, (WNYC; formerly distributed by PRI)
* ''This American Life'', stories of real life hosted by Ira Glass, distributed by Public Radio Exchange
The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...
* ''The Takeaway'', a daily news program from WNYC (formerly distributed by PRI)
* ''The World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
'', news magazine show with an emphasis on international news (formerly distributed by PRI)
WNYC Studios
* ''On the Media'', covering journalism, technology, and First Amendment issues (formerly distributed by NPR)
* ''Science Friday,'' science issues call-in hosted by Ira Flatow and independently produced (formerly distributed by NPR)
Independent
* ''Democracy Now!'', the flagship news program of the Pacifica Radio network, provides a feed to NPR stations
* ''Forum (KQED), Forum'', call-in panel discussion program, wide-ranging national and local topics hosted by Michael Krasny (talk show host), Michael Krasny (KQED-FM).
* ''Jazz from Lincoln Center'', Wynton Marsalis, formerly hosted by Ed Bradley, Murray Street Productions
* ''The Merrow Report'', education issues hosted by John Merrow, Learning Matters Inc.
* ''The People's Pharmacy'', a call-in and interview program on personal health from WUNC (FM), WUNC in Chapel Hill, N.C.
* ''Pulse of the Planet'', a daily two-minute sound portrait of Planet Earth, hosted by Jim Metzner.
* ''StarDate (radio), StarDate'', short segments relating to science and astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory hosted by Billy Henry.
* ''Sunday Baroque'', baroque and early music hosted by Suzanne Bona (WSHU-FM)
Controversies
Over the course of NPR's history, controversies have arisen over several incidents and topics.
Allegations of ideological bias
NPR has been accused of displaying both liberal bias, as alleged in work such as a UCLA and University of Missouri study of ''Morning Edition;'' and conservative bias, including criticism of alleged reliance on conservative think-tanks. Public radio host Lisa Simeone, who worked for NPR from 1998 to 2002, accused NPR's The Pentagon, Pentagon reporting of being "little more than Pentagon press releases." The NPR ombudsman has described how NPR's coverage of the Israel-Palestinian conflict has been simultaneously criticized as biased by both sides. University of Texas journalism professor and author Robert W. Jensen, Robert Jensen has criticized NPR as taking a pro-war stance during coverage of Protests against the Iraq War, Iraq war protests. During the 2020 election, NPR declined to cover the controversy surrounding a ''New York Post'' article on Hunter Biden, saying "We don't want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don't want to waste the listeners' and readers' time on stories that are just pure distractions, ..."
''Live from Death Row'' commentaries
In 1994, NPR arranged to air, on ''All Things Considered'', a series of three-minute commentaries by Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist convicted in a controversial trial of murdering Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia Police officer Daniel Faulkner. They cancelled airing them after the Fraternal Order of Police and members of the U.S. Congress objected.
Euphemisms for "torture"
In a controversial act, NPR banned in 2009 the use of the word "torture" in the context of the Enhanced interrogation techniques, Bush administration's use of torture. NPR's Ombudswoman Alicia Shepard's defense of the policy was that "calling waterboarding torture is tantamount to taking sides." UC Berkeley School of Information, Berkeley Professor of Linguistics Geoffrey Nunberg pointed out that virtually all media around the world, other than what he called the "spineless U.S. media", call these techniques torture. In an article which criticized NPR and other U.S. media for their use of euphemisms for torture, Glenn Greenwald discussed what he called the enabling "corruption of American journalism":
This active media complicity in concealing that our Government created a systematic torture regime, by refusing ever to say so, is one of the principal reasons it was allowed to happen for so long. The steadfast, ongoing refusal of our leading media institutions to refer to what the Bush administration did as "torture" – even in the face of more than 100 detainee deaths; the use of that term by a leading Bush official to describe what was done at Guantanamo; and the fact that media outlets frequently use the word "torture" to describe exactly the same methods when used by other countries – reveals much about how the modern journalist thinks.
Juan Williams comments
On October 20, 2010, NPR terminated Senior News Analyst Juan Williams's independent contract over a series of incidents culminating in remarks he made on the Fox News Channel regarding Muslim head coverings and not feeling comfortable around women wearing them. Williams' firing, which was made abruptly without Williams being given a face-to-face meeting beforehand, was reported by The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
as being a key part of Ellen Weiss, NPR's top news executive at the time, being given an ultimatum on January 4, 2011, to either resign or be fired. On January 6, 2011, NPR announced that Weiss had quit.
Ronald Schiller comments
In March 2011, conservative political activist and provocateur James O'Keefe sent partners Simon Templar (a pen name) and Shaughn Adeleye to secretly record their discussion with Ronald Schiller, NPR's outgoing senior vice president for fundraising, and an associate, in which Schiller made remarks viewed as disparaging of "the current Republican party, especially the Tea Party movement, Tea Party", and controversial comments regarding Palestine and funding for NPR. NPR disavowed Schiller's comments. CEO Vivian Schiller, who is not related to Ronald, later resigned over the fallout from the comments and the previous firing of Juan Williams.
July 4 reading of the Declaration of Independence
From 1988 to 2021, NPR broadcast an annual reading of the 1776 United States Declaration of Independence over the radio. In 2017, it began using Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
as a medium for reading the document as well. On July 4, 2017, the 100+ tweets were met with considerable opposition, some online supporters of Donald Trump mistakenly believing the words of the Declaration referring to George III of the United Kingdom to be directed towards the president. The tweets were called "trash"[ and were accused of being "propaganda", condoning violence] and calling for revolution. As of July 4, 2022, the annual tradition has been discontinued.
Sexual harassment
In October 2017, sexual harassment charges were leveled against Michael Oreskes, senior vice president of news and editorial director since 2015. Some of the accusations dated back to when he was Washington, D.C. bureau chief for ''The New York Times'' during the 1990s, while others involved his conduct at NPR. After a report on the ''Times'' accusations was published in ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', NPR put Oreskes on administrative leave, and the following day his resignation was requested. CNN's Brian Stelter reported that NPR staffers were dissatisfied with the handling of Oreskes, were demanding an external investigation, and that Oreskes poisoned the newsroom atmosphere by abusing his position to meet young women.
Publications
Source:
*''The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection'' by Ted Libbey (1994)
*''The NPR Classical Music Companion: An Essential Guide for Enlightened Listening'' by Miles Hoffman (1997)
*''The NPR Classical Music Companion: Terms and Concepts from A to Z'' by Miles Hoffman (1997)
*''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music'' by Tim Smith (journalist), Tim Smith (2002)
*''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz'' by Loren Schoenberg (2002)
*''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Opera'' by William Berger (author), William Berger (2002)
*''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Popular Standards'' by Max Morath (2002)
*''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide To American Folk Music'' by Kip Lornell (2004)
*''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to World Music'' by Chris Nickson (2004)
*''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide To Blues'' by David Evans (musicologist), David Evans (2005)
*''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Celtic Music'' by Fiona Ritchie (2005)
*''The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music'' by Ted Libbey (2006)
See also
* Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* BBC Radio
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
* List of NPR personnel
* List of NPR stations
* NPR Berlin—before its closure, the only NPR affiliate operated by NPR itself
* PBS
* Voice of America
* ''Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production''
References
Further reading
* James T. Bennett. 2021.
The History and Politics of Public Radio; A Comprehensive Analysis of Taxpayer-Financed US Broadcasting
'. Springer.
*Gibson, George H. ''Public Broadcasting: The Role of the Federal Government, 1919–1976'' (Praeger Publishers, 1977). . .
* McCauley, Michael P. ''NPR: The Trials and Triumphs of National Public Radio'' (Columbia University Press, 2005). . .
* Magee, Sara
"''All Things Considered'': A Content Analysis of National Public Radio's Flagship News Magazine from 1999–2009"
''Journal of Radio & Audio Media'' (2013) 20#2 pp. 236–250.
External links
*
* hdl:1903.1/8281, Elizabeth L. Young papers at the University of Maryland Libraries
50 Years of NPR
(report series)
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