Posted on 12/10/2008 1:07:17 PM PST by abb
Faced with a sharp decline in revenue, National Public Radio said today it will pare back its once-flourishing operations, and institute its first organization-wide layoffs in 25 years.
Washington-based NPR said it would lay off about 7 percent of workforce and eliminate two daily programs produced out of its facilities in Culver City, Cal. The shows include "Day to Day," which was aimed at younger listeners, and the newsmaker-interview program "News & Notes," which NPR hoped would attract African Americans.
The layoffs of 64 of NPR's 889 employees is designed to close a $23 million shortfall in NPR's current fiscal year, said Dennis Haarsager, NPR's interim president and chief executive in an interview. The cutback will affect all departments, including reporters, producers, researchers and digital media employees.
Until very recently, NPR has bucked the consequences of the shrinking economy, finishing its last fiscal year in September on budget, with operating revenues of about $158 million. Its programs, especially the daily news shows "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered," have remained popular, reaching some 26 million listeners per week. In July, its executives were projecting revenue growth in the new fiscal year, and additions to the organization's staff.
But the bad news has caught up in the past few months, as all four of its major funding sources have taken hits, leading the organization to revise its financial projections downward. It projects revenue this year to fall to $145 million, an 8 percent decline.
snip
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
ping
HA HA.
Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.
http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=13730
NPR memo on layoffs
I’m so sad, sniff sniff
The O'ne will NOT be pleased, nosiree!
Waitaminnit -- that means I got a tax cut!
Back when I commuted to NYC, I used to listen to classical music every day on NPR. Then they cancelled their only excuse for being subsidized and went all liberal, all the time.
This post made my day.
Thank you.
Schadenfreude
I'm always happy to help.
:-)
There was a time twenty years ago...when jazz, opera, and classical music made up fifty percent of their production and delivery....and simple shows like “Car-Talk” cover another thirty percent. Then they started getting used like hookers, hiring high-priced journalists after high-priced journalists, and then they tried to make their entire production news instead of unique music. That was the end of the NPR legend. They are simply a liberal mouth-piece today, with no connection to eighty percent of America. If you want jazz or folk music or classical....it won’t be on NPR.
But those days are long since gone. NPR could be put on the auction block and produce income rather than be yet another expense item in another unneeded government program.
What is their overhead for programming?
Oh man I hope Terry Gross and Juan Williams are on the chopping block!
What to make of this. I can understand them giving up on the younger group, because they don't pay attention anyway. But it is downright racist to cancel the show that is for African-Americans. They get all magnanimous about how supportive they are of pet socialist causes, and how much they care about poor people and minorities, and children, but when there are cuts to be made, it's the minorities and children. Freaking hypocrites, although they are immune to being called that. Of course, there is no greater sin to a liberal than a conservative that they can call a hypocrite.
Now if we could just cut the federal dollars they steal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.