Another Head Rolls at NPR?

[The Voice of Reason]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/11/npr.recording/index.html?hpt=T2

Listen to the audio featuring Diane Rehm. She mentions only seven percent of NPR listeners donate during fundraising drives. It's no wonder NPR depends on government funding. If NPR was a stand-alone operation not depending on taxpayer dollars it would go the way of Air America.

 

[musichead1029]

If NPR was a stand-alone operation not depending on taxpayer dollars it would go the way of Air America.

Not true.

In 2009, NPR revenues totalled $164 million, with the bulk of revenues coming from programming fees, grants, contributions and sponsorships. According to the 2009 financial statement, about 40% of NPR revenues come from the fees it charges member stations to receive programming. Typically, NPR member stations raise funds through on-air pledge drives, corporate underwriting, and grants from state governments, universities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 2009, member stations derived 6% of their revenue from direct government funding, 10% of their revenue from federal funding in the form of CPB grants, and 14% of their revenue from universities. NPR receives no direct funding from the federal government. About 1.5% of NPR's revenues come from Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants.

 

[TheBigA]

In the linked article, film-maker James O'Keefe explains his motivation:

"My other colleague Simon Templar came up with the idea to have a Muslim angle since Juan Williams was fired due to his comments," he said. "So we decided to see if there was a greater truth or hidden truth amongst these reporters and journalists and executives."

The problem is that he so far hasn't released video or audio of reporters or journalists. My thinking is if he had something really damaging, he would have released it. So the best stuff he has is with an already-resigned fundraiser who has no role in news or reportering, and the upshot is that despite his headline-grabbing comments about the tea partiers, he didn't accept the money.

So what do we really have here? The only "hidden truth" is that fundraisers will say anything to get money. Big news? Hardly. Had NPR accepted the money, and started a Muslim news service, that would have been something. This is embarrassing, but hardly significant.