NPR, PBS members see record donations after Congress cuts funding

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

PBS, NPR donations surge after Congress cuts funding

The $20 million in annual added value flowing from donations to stations is a fraction of the $550 million in lapsed federal grants.

thedesk.net

Yes as mentioned in parts of this article its local stations in affluent parts of the country like San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, New York and Los Angeles that are getting the most private donations to local public media outlets that are affiliated with NPR and PBS.

Public radio and television stations have encountered a surge in private donations and funding, spurred in large part by emotion-driven charity after the U.S. Congress agreed to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting earlier this month.

According to a report from the New York Times, PBS and NPR member stations have seen a collective boost in the number of individual donors — more than 120,000 — who have contributed an estimated $20 million in additional annual value. The Times sourced its data to Michal Heiplik, the President and CEO of the Contributor Development Partnership, an organization that tracks public media fundraising efforts and outcomes.

The donations offer some PBS and NPR member stations short-term relief, but the amount raised is still not enough to fully offset the $550 million cut from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides financial grants to stations.

Stations in affluent parts of the country are likely to see the biggest individual donor contributions, while small and rural-area stations — which have historically depended on CPB grants for their ongoing operations — are less likely to see sizable donations, despite having the greatest need.

 

[TheBigA]

Meanwhile, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is preparing to shut down:

CPB prepares for closeout while hoping Congress reverses course

“It’s very difficult — hope on the one side, and sort of acceptance on the other,” CEO Patricia Harrison said.

current.org

They can't raise funds from the public. So once the money runs out, they're done.

More on that from Bloomberg:

MSN

 

[KilowattKat]

Maybe the answer is the creation of a national fund that corporations and individuals could donate money to. These funds would be earmarked for those stations in the most dire need financially, and are close to shutting down.

 

[TheBigA]

Maybe the answer is the creation of a national fund that corporations and individuals could donate money to. These funds would be earmarked for those stations in the most dire need financially, and are close to shutting down.

Somebody would have to decide which stations qualify. That's what CPB did.

 

[KeithE4]

Somebody would have to decide which stations qualify. That's what CPB did.

Why can't that somebody be a not-for-profit, non-government organization put together by stations that care to join it? It would have to have a Board of Directors elected by the stations, bylaws, and rules for when and how money is divvied up. I believe there is an IRS category for such things, but I don't remember which one.

 

[TheBigA]

Why can't that somebody be a not-for-profit, non-government organization put together by stations that care to join it?

I'm sure that conversation is taking place. NPR has already announced it is capitalizing a fund.

NPR Cuts Operating Budget By $8 Million, Diverts Money To Member Stations.

In what it’s calling a “first step” to aid radio stations most vulnerable to the Trump administration’s recission of federal funding for public broadcasting, National Public Radio says it will

www.insideradio.com

But that money is strictly for their affiliates. There are a lot of non-NPR stations in the cold.

It sounds like CPB still thinks they have a shot at getting some funding for more strategic grants from congress.

A lot of it depends on how their lawsuit goes with DOJ. That's going to take a while.

 

[KilowattKat]

And how about one of those big music artist benefit aid concerts. A line up of music artists that could be televised on PBS, as well as air on public radio stations, to raise money for this new non profit.

 

[KeithE4]

I'm sure that conversation is taking place. NPR has already announced it is capitalizing a fund.

But that money is strictly for their affiliates. There are a lot of non-NPR stations in the cold.

I'm talking about something brand new, apart from any existing organization (CPB, NPR, PBS, etc). This would be owned by the station owners themselves. both government (at any level) and non-government owned.

 

[radiofan2023]

I'm talking about something brand new, apart from any existing organization (CPB, NPR, PBS, etc). This would be owned by the station owners themselves. both government (at any level) and non-government owned.

The government doesn’t own stations.

 

[davideduardo]

The government doesn’t own stations.

Through state run universities, it does. There are others. How about the city of Dallas' well known WRR?

 

[TheBigA]

I'm talking about something brand new, apart from any existing organization (CPB, NPR, PBS, etc). This would be owned by the station owners themselves. both government (at any level) and non-government owned.

In the early 80s, after Reagan defunded NPR, the stations came together and reorganized NPR under a new CEO, and then had congress amend the public broadcasting act. In it, a coalition of NPR stations became the owners (or custodians) of the NPR satellite system, and the federal appropriation was changed to mainly benefit local stations. With CPB defunded, the NPR satellite system has also lost funding. So those stations that own it need to find replacement funding. Perhaps out of that might come what you're talking about. The satellite system is owned by an independent charitable trust:

The satellite transponder capacity, as well as the national operating system equipment located in Washington, DC and St. Paul, Minnesota, are owned by The Public Radio Satellite Interconnection System Charitable Trust.

But legally this is complicated right now because congress didn't repeal or amend the public broadcasting act. Something has to be done there if there is to be a new structure. The problem is the president wants to control what's left of CPB.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Through state run universities, it does. There are others. How about the city of Dallas' well known WRR?

Although the City of Dallas owns the WRR license, the station is (ironically for this discussion) now operated by North Texas Public Broadcasting, which outright owns KERA FM and TV along with KKXT.

 

[KeithE4]

The government doesn’t own stations.

I said government at any level, including state, county, or municipal.

Here in Arizona, KJZZ is owned by the Maricopa County Community College District. KBAQ is a joint ownership with them and Arizona State University. KAET-TV is owned by ASU. KUAT/KUAZ is owned by the University of Arizona. KAWC/KOFA is owned by Arizona Western College. KNAU is owned by Northern Arizona University. All, by definition, are government-owned.

 

[Weiserguy]

The government doesn’t own stations.

I said government at any level, including state, county, or municipal.

Here in Arizona, KJZZ is owned by the Maricopa County Community College District. KBAQ is a joint ownership with them and Arizona State University. KAET-TV is owned by ASU. KUAT/KUAZ is owned by the University of Arizona. KAWC/KOFA is owned by Arizona Western College. KNAU is owned by Northern Arizona University. All, by definition, are government-owned.

And let's go a little further. I know @radiofan2023 used to work at KQED. You know, or ought to know, that down I-280 a few miles, KCSM ("Jazz91") is owned by the San Mateo County Community College District. And that the little station in Contra Costa County, KVHS, is owned by the Mount Diablo Unified School District (as discussed recently in a separate thread). And KCEA in Redwood City by the Sequoia Unified School District, and formerly by Menlo-Atherton High School in that same district. And in San Francisco itself, almost down the street from KQED, exists little KALW whose licensee is the SFUSD. Not to mention KXJZ and KXPR and all their repeating stations around NorCal, whose licenses are held by Sacramento State University. And a whole bunch of other stations...

Even the federal government owns Radio Marti, even though its transmissions are aimed at (and jammed by) Cuba.

So the statement is sort of absurd. Q.E.D.

 

[radiofan2023]

I was tired and just thinking of the federal government

 

[CTListener]

I was tired and just thinking of the federal government

Thinking of the federal government is tiring in itself.

 

[Gravel Switch]

Meanwhile, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is preparing to shut down:

CPB prepares for closeout while hoping Congress reverses course

“It’s very difficult — hope on the one side, and sort of acceptance on the other,” CEO Patricia Harrison said.

current.org

They can't raise funds from the public. So once the money runs out, they're done.

More on that from Bloomberg:

MSN

What’s missing in the national conversation around this are examples such as in the Cincinnati market alone where there are four (count’em four 😳) PBS affiliates one can easily access OTA (i.e, affiliates include Cincinnati, Dayton, and Oxford, Ohio, as well as Covington just over the river) The nearby Dayton market has easy access to three (!) of those PBS stations. Similar situations are in other markets.

It’s a similar situation to NPR/public radio in many markets, with many overlapping strong signals from affiliates. All of this shows the situation was ripe for pruning.

And if PBS and NPR had leaned editorially in the direction of Fox News instead of its current leanings, we all know it would’ve been defunded years ago …

 

[TheBigA]

It’s a similar situation to NPR/public radio in many markets, with many overlapping strong signals from affiliates. All of this shows the situation was ripe for pruning.

In a membership organization, each station pays to be a member. The more members PBS or NPR has, the more money it receives. So limiting the number of members wouldn't be good for the organization. The stations know that they have no exclusivity. It's up to them to deal with that situation.

And if PBS and NPR had leaned editorially in the direction of Fox News instead of its current leanings, we all know it would’ve been defunded years ago …

I thought we all had the right to lean in whatever direction we want, regardless of funding. Members of congress are paid by taxpayer money, and they are allowed to express any opinion they wish. Federal funding is not based on political party. In fact the public broadcasting act says that CPB has to be unbiased in the way it distributes money.

 

[umfan]

Meanwhile, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is preparing to shut down:

CPB prepares for closeout while hoping Congress reverses course

“It’s very difficult — hope on the one side, and sort of acceptance on the other,” CEO Patricia Harrison said.

current.org

They can't raise funds from the public. So once the money runs out, they're done.

More on that from Bloomberg:

MSN

Since donors are stepping up to provide funding for the actual stations, the middleman function that CPB provided is not needed.

 

[umfan]

What’s missing in the national conversation around this are examples such as in the Cincinnati market alone where there are four (count’em four 😳) PBS affiliates one can easily access OTA (i.e, affiliates include Cincinnati, Dayton, and Oxford, Ohio, as well as Covington just over the river) The nearby Dayton market has easy access to three (!) of those PBS stations. Similar situations are in other markets.

It’s a similar situation to NPR/public radio in many markets, with many overlapping strong signals from affiliates. All of this shows the situation was ripe for pruning.

And if PBS and NPR had leaned editorially in the direction of Fox News instead of its current leanings, we all know it would’ve been defunded years ago …

Excellent point.