Posted on 09/01/2004 11:40:58 AM PDT by Nasty McPhilthy
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 - With a newly robust endowment burning holes in its not-for-profit pockets, National Public Radio is in the midst of a major expansion. But NPR's ambition has stirred anxiety within the public radio system over how to preserve the character and financial viability of local stations in the ever larger shadow of the national production service they created more than 30 years ago as a modest support operation.
NPR, a member organization governed in part by local stations, is pumping $15 million into its news division over the next three years, using interest from a recent bequest of more than $236 million from Joan B. Kroc, the widow of Ray A. Kroc of McDonald's. NPR executives have touted the expansion as unmatched in a time of media cutbacks and consolidations.
But at a meeting earlier this month in Los Angeles between NPR executives and station managers from the top 25 radio markets to discuss cultivating future major gifts, the NPR team faced a flurry of pointed questions about its long-term intentions.
Among the questions, according to several station representatives: Was NPR trying to woo away coveted local donors? What, if anything, would NPR give to member stations from the Kroc endowment? And what about rumors that NPR was considering taking its top-rated shows to satellite radio?
"The local stations created NPR as a newsgathering organization for us," said Alan Chartock, president and chief executive of WAMC Northeast Public Radio, a regional network that serves seven states from Pennsylvania to Vermont. "If the tail is now wagging the dog to literally compete with us, then we have to protect ourselves."
Kevin Klose, the president and chief executive of NPR, said it was merely responding to an increased appetite for the type of wide-ranging, in-depth news that public radio can provide. NPR's audience has doubled in the past 10 years to roughly 22 million listeners a week, according to Arbitron.
"We want to be the authoritative source for broadcast journalism in this country," Mr. Klose said, "the place people go to first."
The first fruits of the expansion will become evident soon. To cover more breaking news and to provide more investigative and analytical reporting, NPR is spending $4 million this year for everything from domestic beat reporters to expanded foreign bureaus to pricey satellite telephones that transmit higher quality sound.
Many public radio executives contend that NPR's growth offers potential benefits for all players. While people are spending less time listening to radio over all, public radio's share of radio listenership is up, from roughly 1 percent 20 years ago to more than 5 percent of all listeners today, according to the Station Resource Group, a public radio strategy and analysis organization.
Much of the anxiety about NPR's growth has less to do with changes at NPR than with broader changes on the radio landscape.
Satellite radio companies are fast expanding their services to include channels with public-radio-like content and sensibility. Last month XM Satellite Radio - the largest satellite operator, with 2.1 million subscribers - announced that it had hired Bob Edwards, the former host of NPR's flagship news program "Morning Edition," for a competing morning broadcast.
That move sparked fears among public radio stations that NPR, to remain competitive, might consider offering "Morning Edition" and its other staple, "All Things Considered," to Sirius Satellite Radio, XM's rival. The two NPR-produced programs are keys to sustaining listenership and fund-raising for many public radio stations, which pay millions in annual dues and programming fees to NPR to support their production.
"These programs have required an enormous public investment," said Ruth Seymour, general manager of KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif. "To simply sell them to a commercial entity is completely against the principles of public radio."
He's a lib, but he's got great pipes.
I didn't know he had left NPR. We were told that he would be doing "Special Assignments".
He was much easier to listen to than Carl Castle, who sounds like a sh#t salesman with a mouth full of samples!
NPR is about as biased as they come. Just yesterday I was listening to them refer to the "Republican swift boat ads."
Ah, yes. National Socialist Radio.
Precisely why I think an organized effort should be undertaken to ensure that they receive no public funds until they clean up their act.
Rush sometimes says that whatever the Times leads with in the morning, will be what the major networks lead with in the evening. I say that whatever NPR’s “All Things Considered” leads with in the evening is what the Times lead with the next morning.
I got into a minor gripe with a coworker. He was lambasting another coworker for stating they "hated" NPR. The liberal made some snippy remark that it was more balanced than Rush. The liberal now understands that that is an arguable position.
I hate NPR, I hate the idea of my money funding it. but I also enjoy listening to them.
"Crush your enemy, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women" NPR helps in the last part.
Perhaps, in all seriousness, there should be diversity hearings held by congress to study the diversity (or lack thereof) of NPR. Since this is PUBLIC radio, they have a PUBLIC duty to represident DIVERSE views not just the commie/socialist view.
Since they are using limited PUBLIC frequencies this would be a reasonable proposition.
Perhaps it would be REASONABLE to make sure there have 12 hours of conservative programing to go with 12 hours of liberal programs. This would be a switch from the 24 hours of hate-america speech.
"I hate NPR, I hate the idea of my money funding it. but I also enjoy listening to them."
Same here. I listen to NPR for a few hours each day. I would like to contribute to the local fund drives because I enjoy most of the musical programming. But, as long as there is even the most remote chance that a dime of my money would go to NPR, it ain't gonna happen.
This organization needs to get off the public dole!
Kroc's big crock will enable NPR to crock the Pubbies with a larger crock (for all of NPR's lost, benighted crocks, of course).
On, Off, or grab it for a Media Shenanigans/Schadenfreude/PNMCH ping:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~anamusedspectator/
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