Wednesday, May 08, 2002

Putting the P in NPR
Speaking of InstaPundit, his readers seem to be intent on demonstrating to him that National Public Radio is not, in fact, listener-supported. (This in reponse to a series of posts about their "unacknowledged but obvious" leftward skew.)

From NPR's page:

NPR's annual revenues come primarily from member station dues and programming fees, contributions from private foundations, and corporate underwriting. A long-standing board policy prohibits NPR from soliciting listeners directly: on-air fund raising, direct mail, and telephone solicitations remain a prerogative of member stations.

This doesn't easily reconcile with the hissy-fit you and your supporters threw when you were in danger of losing that teensy, microscopic, unimportant government grant money, at the hands of that Demon in Human Form, Newt Gingrich -- but, OK, if you say so.

But if one-third of your income comes from member station dues and programming fees (and, according to your pie chart, it does), and member stations get their money directly from listeners (as we listeners know darned well they do) and from local and state government grants (which also comes from us in the form of taxes), then NPR's money comes from...?

"Oh, we have no idea where the money comes from, we certainly don't solicit it. See, we prohibit ourselves from soliciting it, it's right there in our non-binding press releases. Guido, take this gentleman out back and explain to him where our money comes from, will you?"

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