NPR Laying off 7% Of Staff; Canceling “Day To Day”

Growing up my parents were rather strict so until I was around 11/12 my siblings and I weren’t really allowed to watch TV stations other than PBS (outside of Saturday morning cartoons), and Radio stations other than NPR.

To this day I’ve always had an aversion to their pledge drives that was stronger than most (in my opinion at least), because I recall being 7/8 and just wanting to watch: “The Electric Company” without all of the bloody interruptions. In other words while the adult in me understands the purpose of pledge drives, the seven year old just wants to listen to “All Things Considered” without all of the bloody interruptions. I suppose I’m satisfying both my adult mind and my inner child when I make my contributions, supporting the station I love and making the pledge drives go away.

In any event the purpose of this diatribe is to let you know that if enjoy PBS and NPR as much as I do, and are financially able, you might want to go ahead and send them a little Christmas donation this year.

From NPR.com:

NPR News announced Wednesday that it is canceling two daily radio programs - Day to Day and News and Notes - as part of a broader effort by the company to close a projected budget shortfall of $23 million for its current fiscal year. Overall, NPR will cut 7 percent of its work force and slash expenses further around the company.

“It’s a very difficult time for us all, but NPR is not exempt, unfortunately, from the recession that has covered our country in the last several months,” Dennis Haarsager, NPR’s interim president and CEO, said at its corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C. “We simply must react to it in a responsible way - and that’s what we’ve tried to do.”

The two shows will go off the air on March 20, and 22 journalists working for them will lose their jobs, including hosts Madeleine Brand and Farai Chideya. The shows are both based in Culver City, Calif., at NPR West, a major satellite operation.

Day to Day was designed as a midday complement to mainstays Morning Edition and All Things Considered , while News and Notes , a successor to The Tavis Smiley Show , was intended to draw more African-American listeners. Beyond the two shows, another 12 journalists will lose their jobs throughout NPR News.

Companywide, NPR is laying off 64 people and eliminating 21 other positions that are currently vacant. NPR News will still have more than 800 employees on staff, including about 300 journalists.

The shortfall was driven in large part by the erosion of corporate underwriting, Haarsager said. Earlier this year, budget planners counted on receiving $47 million from those corporate spots and online ads. Now, he said, the company projects that it will receive just $32 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Interest payments from an endowment created from the bequest of the late Joan Kroc, which have typically paid out about $10 million a year to NPR, were wiped out by the sharp downturn in the financial markets. However, NPR’s board authorized the company to draw down $15 million from the company’s operating reserves, most of which also came from the Kroc gift.

You can read more on the situation from NPR here and coverage from the WSJ here.

Now  I know there is often some political controversy over PBS funding and programming, but it’s important to note that NPR receives no direct funding from the Government and the 1-2% of its budget that does come from the government is in the form of grants. Additionally you can often direct support towards specific shows, which will allow you to direct your support towards the programs you like the most.

You can find more information on how to support your local NPR station here.

Sources:

NPR.org: “NPR Announces Cuts To Staff, Programs” — David Folkenflik, December 10, 2008.

Disclosure: at the time of publishing the author didn’t own a position in any of the companies mentioned in this article; the ideas expressed are solely the opinions of the author and shouldn’t be viewed as financial or investment advice.

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