An interesting piece on NPR and the ways it is — and isn’t — like commercial radio.
The fact is that underneath its quirky, bohemian image, NPR – which by its own estimation is the biggest producer of news, information and cultural programming in radio – subtly has evolved into something that in many ways resembles a well-run, aggressively entrepreneurial company. Granted, if NPR, which employs about 600 people in the Washington area, were a private company, it would be a fairly humble player in the media business. The network and its sister organization, the NPR Foundation, together are projected to generate about $144 million in revenue this fiscal year – spare change compared to the $4 billion garnered annually by Clear Channel, commercial radio’s big Kahuna. (Or to look at it another way, NPR and the NPR Foundation’s revenue after expenses is projected to be $21 million – about what Rush Limbaugh earns in salary from January to July.)
As a regular listener to Morning Edition and All Things Considered, it was interesting encountering something about how NPR works other than the Abomination Which Is Pledge Week.