NPR to discontinue Talk of the Nation

[aaronread]

Keep in mind that for the years it was on the air, "Day To Day" was based there. So when WATC moves there this summer, that should fill the space a bit.

Based on the space I saw, it could comfortably handle two WATC's before it even got out of the "cavernously empty" category. Seriously, it's huge.

 

[TheBigA]

Based on the space I saw, it could comfortably handle two WATC's before it even got out of the "cavernously empty" category. Seriously, it's huge.

Don't they share the space with California Public Radio? Seems to me there's some other public radio entities that use it.

 

[FredLeonard]

Based on the space I saw, it could comfortably handle two WATC's before it even got out of the "cavernously empty" category. Seriously, it's huge.

Don't they share the space with California Public Radio? Seems to me there's some other public radio entities that use it.

If you mean Southern California Public Radio (aka KPCC), no, it has its own facility (shared with APM and Marketplace). KQED also has its own facility. Northern California Public Radio is at KQED in San Francisco.

 

[aaronread]

Don't they share the space with California Public Radio? Seems to me there's some other public radio entities that use it.

Well, first of all, AFAIK there is no such entity called "California Public Radio". Most of the pubradio outlets in California, small and large, don't get along with each other terribly well; they're all fierce competitors. (except in Santa Cruz/Monterey, where it's just a hot mess of politics) Plus California's too big, too diverse, and too provincial for any one entity to realistically cover it all; branding-wise it'd be counterproductive because listeners in San Diego don't care about (and don't want to be associated with) Los Angeles, nor the Riverside area, nor the Inland Empire, nor the Bay Area, nor the Central Coast, nor the Jefferson region. Often the politics are kooky but there's a lot of good arguments for breaking California up into three or four states; that's how big and diverse it is!

Anyways, to answer your question, NPR West does not really share studio space with anyone. Certainly none of the area radio stations (KUSC, KPCC, KCRW, etc) have studios in the space. Nor does Marketplace, which is not in KPCC's studios up in Pasadena, but instead has their own offices and studios in downtown, near Dodger Stadium. MP existed long before KPCC came around in its current leased-by-APM form.

There ARE some entities that have temporarily leased space from NPR West over the years, or NPR initiatives assigned to there. I think some of the NPR Ahora (Spanish language) programming came out of there for a while, but don't quote me on that. I have a vague recollection that when Fresno-based Radio Bilingue was doing that CPB-funded experiment (which kinda failed because they could never get a AM/FM outlet in LA proper) they were trying to coordinate local stuff through NPR West, too. But there's never been anything really huge and/or permanent at NPR West to my knowledge.

 

[FredLeonard]

Aaron: This past week, NPR has run several stories extolling how wonderful, how beautiful, how state of the art, how spacious the new building is - and they have free coffee. I just go a station membership renewal notice. Sounds like they don't need my money, not if they can afford a fancy new building and all that unused space in Culver City.

NPR used to be like one of those scrappy underground newspapers. Now they are like one of those established, elite non-profits where most of the contributions go to overhead, they have a fancy building, a high-paid well connected CEO, a board composed fourth generation money and a really fine employee restaurant. Like the Red Cross or United Way. It's a shame. Worst of all, people who have been there the longest, back to the old scrappy days, seem to have become the most smug and contented.

 

[Matt]

Operating expenses and the "free coffee" are likely being paid by the Ray and Joan Kroc trust and supplied by the local McDonald's franchise.

Later . . . .

 

[TheBigA]

NPR used to be like one of those scrappy underground newspapers.

Really? When was that? I once worked there, and it was always very well equipped, and the coffee was always free.

NPR doesn't ask the public for money. It can't. The stations do the asking. THEY'RE the ones who need the money. Because they get a bill from NPR. By the way, the NPR Board is filled with station GMs, not 4th generation money. The stations control the company, not the CEO. If he says something they don't like, he's gone.

http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/people/board.html

 

[aaronread]

NPR used to be like one of those scrappy underground newspapers. Now they are like one of those established, elite non-profits where most of the contributions go to overhead, they have a fancy building, a high-paid well connected CEO, a board composed fourth generation money and a really fine employee restaurant.

Wow. There's almost no part of this statement that isn't completely wrong. Impressive.

 

[dyeingeye]

Operating expenses and the "free coffee" are likely being paid by the Ray and Joan Kroc trust and supplied by the local McDonald's franchise.

Later . . . .

And these operating expenses paid by the Kroc trust could go somewhere else more productive. NPR isn't a for-profit that has to absolutely manage its costs against expenses. But it should never justify any expense that is out of line with similar operations because there is some huge trust giving them lots of money. Instead of supporting possibly inflated expenses, money received from the trust should lower the costs of shows or take the place of subsidies.

 

[FredLeonard]

I apparently have stepped on the toes of some of the insiders. I have never worked in public radio. I write about only what comes across to me as a listeners. My impressions. Apparently if a listener does not perceive NPR the way public radio insiders think it should be perceived, they are - be definition - wrong.

I never worked for an underground paper either but I read them back in 1971. And when I first listened to NPR (starting with the first broadcast of All Things Considered), it's tone and the stories it covered (that the rest of the MSM were not) seemed to me (I repeat "seemed to me") to have more in common with the underground newspapers of the time than with the big three networks.

Now, NPR comes across to me as smug, self-satisfied, arrogant, self-righteous and very much part of the MSM.

And NPR (and the member station where I live) do have a fancy building, state of the art equipment, a bloated staff compared to commercial stations and the bosses get fat paychecks. Just like the Red Cross and the United Way. While I have never worked in public radio, I have worked as a consultant for major (and wealthy) non-profits. They also get their shorts in a knot when anyone describes them in less than glowing terms.

The public radio people deal with criticism (here and on the NPR website) reinforces my impression of them. People who ask for voluntary contributions should pay more attention - and take more seriously - how their organizations come across and what people think of them.

I don't care that people donate to stations, not NPR. NPR is controlled by station representatives. People listen to stations because of and for NPR. A local guy may own and operate my local McDonald's but it's still McDonald's. Nobody cares about the legal fine print.

Public radio should come up with a new slogan: "Public Radio: Where the Customer is Always Wrong." Or maybe: "Shut Up: We're Doing You A Favor."

 

[TheBigA]

Apparently if a listener does not perceive NPR the way public radio insiders think it should be perceived, they are - be definition - wrong.

It has nothing to do with whether or not you're a listener. You made statements that struck me as wrong, and made them as though they were fact. If they're just your impressions, you're welcome to have them, but just know that they're wrong. You're not ALWAYS wrong, but in this case you were. Having been one of the people who has gone on air at a local station to ask for voluntary contributions, I can say that I paid attention, at the time, to how my employer came off. I care less about it now, since I'm not there. But if I see something I know is wrong, whether it's about NPR or any area where I have personal experience, I feel justified to correct the mistake. No need to take it personally. That's what discussion boards are all about.