All things considered – except the precedent
Once upon a time (circa 1997ish), I was deluded into believing that listening to NPR appeared to make people seem intellectual. I listened to All Things Considered regularly for my world news. Then I started thinking: NPR is funded by donations, advertising, and (the big one) government funds. I mean big as in influencing my decision and not relative dollars.
First, some boring financial stuff: In FY2000, NPR reported roughly $144M in revenues and $123M in expenses or a profit of roughly $21M. Why is their last audit for September 2000 anyway? Even though the NPR national organization states in their financial statements: NPR received no direct general operating support from any national or local government source roughly 10 – 25% of any NPR stations revenue is from the government. The national organization does however receive grants for projects and states that this is 13% of revenue (revenue is $144M so it’s almost $19M). Also, their financial statements don’t contain notes and required supplemental disclosures, so much for generally accepted accounting principles.
Now why do I bring this up? One reason is that I figure if an organization such as this can’t survive on its own (without government funds), it should go out of business. Perhaps that’s the evil capitalist in me. But NPR can survive without government support. $21 less $19M leaves a profit of $2M. And I assume that NPR is not in the business to make a profit. Of course, local NPR affiliates couldn’t function without government support. Second, I oppose government funded radio. I don’t listen to NPR or watch PBS because I think that government funding of mass media is a bad idea. What does NPR do if the government decides to assert its influence with respect to the coverage of issues by threatening to pull funding? As Barry pointed out, he has seen no attempt by the government to assert its influence on NPR. NPR is not independent in fact or appearance from the government and the potential for pro-government bias with respect to reporting news exists even if it has not come to fruition. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Of course another reason not to listen is, as Barry points out, NPR’s DJs are monotonous, somnolent drones. It is boring and you’re in danger of falling asleep at the wheel. And some folks say they’re liberally biased.
And that is why I oppose media supported with public funds.
June 17th, 2003 at 4:31 pm
You’re beating a horse that I’ve already been beating on for nearly twenty years. The Liberal Democrats (redundant no?) will never let it die till it moves right. Then…
June 17th, 2003 at 5:05 pm
I’ve never claimed to be original 🙂
June 18th, 2003 at 11:19 am
NPR affiliates are only partially funded by government, and many, including our own here in Knopatch, are actively seeking to get rid of all government funding. Knoxville’s NPR affiliate is hardly funded at all right now by the University. The station is almost entirely listener supported.
All NPR/PRI programming is purchased at the local level through funds raised by the stations. If a show is not popular, the station has the choice to remove it and play something else. So what you hear on a local station is not really being spoon-fed from the national level.
A good example of an independent station is WDVX, Knoxville’s world-famous bluegrass/Americana station. They can do whatever they want.
NPR stations do tend to attract the more intelligent/affluent listeners because of their programming and musical selections. Those people have a lot of money to give, and do so. Those people also like the quiet DJ who can properly pronounce all the German/Russian/whatever names too.
Anyway, many NPR affiliates survive with ZERO government funding. Our local station is working towards that at this very moment. It is important to realize that the local stations are not sanctioned by nor are they controlled by NPR. These stations simply broadcast selected NPR/PRI shows that listeners pay for.
June 19th, 2003 at 1:17 pm
Bjorn, with respect, as long as donations to the organization are tax-deductable, it IS supported by tax dollars. If someone donates $100 to NPR and this results in a tax reduction of $20, that $20 is state sponsorship of liberal media.
June 19th, 2003 at 2:06 pm
Good point, AlphaPatriot. However, donations to just about all NPO’s are tax deductible, so it seems to be fair: whether the NPO is liberal or conservative (church, whatever), your donation is still tax deductible. Although technically you are correct, you as a citizen get to allocate those monies rather than the government, so maybe that’s a subtle difference?