Posted on 02/23/2011 8:29:39 AM PST by SeekAndFind
National Public Radio listeners are being inundated with warnings that they soon may have to drive to work every morning without the sonorous intonations of Morning Editions Corey Flintoff, Steve Inskeep, and Renée Montagne, and may be forced to drive home without the narrative drone of All Things Considereds Robert Siegel, Michele Norris, and Melissa Block.
Just this morning, I received a panicked e-mail from the director of broadcasting at an NPR affiliate in my home state, Michigan. You know, one of those state-based public-radio operations that just last October received a portion of George Soross $1.8 million Open Society Foundation gift to hire two government reporters in each of the 50 states; one of the same group of radio stations benefiting from the Joan Kroc Foundations $200 million endowment in 2003; one of the same stations that host interminable on-air fundraisers at least twice a year.
They are warning that Congress may eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the entity that heaps money on 900 NPR affiliates across the country.
The warnings reek of disingenuousness.
After all, crying poverty is public broadcastings modus operandi. If it didnt do it extremely well, no one would donate during those radiothons, corporations wouldnt spend huge sums of money to sponsor programming, and people just like you wouldnt forgo paying the cable bill so they could help meet a challenge grant from their neighbors and co-workers.
As an example of how much begging public radio does, Wisconsin Public Radio a network of 32 stations programmed by seven regional stations reported that 13 percent of its total budget in 2009 was used for fundraising. Additionally, the networks website reveals that 25 percent ($1.94 million) of the revenues garnered from listener and corporate donations ($6.25 million and $1.58 million, respectively) are directly allocated to fundraising.
So it came as no surprise when I received the directors e-mail, which warns, I believe this is one of the most serious challenges to public broadcasting that we have ever faced.
Not mentioned in his emotional appeal are the substantial costs American taxpayers are stuck with.
According to dedicated public-broadcasting professionals at several stations in Michigan with whom Ive had the pleasure of speaking without a single Freedom of Information Act request, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting allocates federal tax dollars every year to state NPR affiliates. Station personnel I interviewed this past week said that the sums granted to affiliates range from $258,000 to approximately $450,000 annually.
Why, thats only $1.35 per American per year, according to the e-mail. But not every one of the 300-plus million people in the United States is forced to pony up that buck thirty-five. If we hypothetically assume that 150 million people file federal tax returns and that half of those receive substantial refunds, that makes NPRs share more like $5.40 per person. Thats still relatively insignificant for enlightened fans of Terry Gross and Diane Rehm but its $5.40 more than most of the people who dont listen to public radio would pay if they had a choice.
Moreover, the public donations dont stop at direct coercion by the federal government. State taxpayers cover a big chunk of public radios bill through subsidies to state universities and colleges that house transmitters, offices, studios, and utilities. One publicly supported station in Michigan told me that this arrangement amounts to 12 percent ($405,159) of its annual budget. Wisconsin Public Radio has a similar 10 percent ($1.6 million) indirect/in-kind arrangement.
In addition, there is often direct support from the colleges and universities, which again are supported by taxpayers. In many cases the colleges board of trustees owns the broadcast license of the station nestled on its campus, so a line-item designation is included in the colleges annual budget. The Michigan public university referred to above bestows $1.1 million on its public-radio station (thats 32.8 percent of the stations total annual revenues). Likewise, Wisconsin colleges contributed 23 percent of Wisconsin Public Radios $16 million revenues in 2009.
There are plenty of other arguments for defunding public radio (and public television as well), but the basic one is this: Taxpayers shouldnt be forced to support the luxury of public radio.
Bruce Edward Walker (bwalker@heartland.org) is managing editor of The Heartland Institutes InfoTech & Telecom News.
Right on. They have a website up claiming that 170,000,000 Americans listen. I find that very hard to swallow, that would be half the country.
Now I’ll admit there are a couple of shows I enjoy, mainly Car Talk, but the rest is leftwing claptrap and I don’t want to pay for it. If they can’t sell advertising and make a successful business out of their shows, then Buh-Bye.
Iowa Public TV is coming up on their “festival” - I can only presume it will include more of what has been the occasional promo “begging” viewers to lobby congress not to cut funding for public broadcasting....
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