NPR Gets Owned By Elon Musk (Our Biggest Taxpayer)

Democrats have scored a major off-year election victory in Wisconsin, winning the state's open Supreme Court seat and flipping control of the court to liberals for the first time in 15 years. https://t.co/MPacbhsfhP

— NPR (@NPR) April 5, 2023

He who pays the piper calls the tune, and fewer and fewer people are listening to NPR these days whatever tune they play. 

Listenership is down from its pandemic peak of 30 million a week to the current 9 million, according to Pew Research. Digital media must be the only thing keeping NPR afloat these days, even as it cancels programs and makes major layoffs. 

Maybe that 'listener-supported' money will make up the $30 budget gap NPR is facing. Oh, that reminds me - This post was made possible by the Winston and Muffy Wellborn Foundation, creating a more just, diverse, and equitable world by tax-sheltering a small part of his Robber Baron great-grandfather’s trust fund bucks. I hope that helps. 

Amid all that fiscal trouble, now comes the new post-Elon Twitter labeling NPR as state-affiliated media to NPR's great dismay. So great that NPR is currently refusing to use its Twitter account. 

Maybe Twitter is just doing its part in fighting mis-dis-and mal information in social media. Homeland Security can't carry that whole load by itself, so thanks, Elon, for policing your own corner of the internet. 

The argument for calling NPR state-affiliated is the federal appropriation of $525 million in tax money that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting got this fiscal year. That's up from the usual appropriation of $490 million. 

NPR’s website says that federal money is "critical" to its radio operations, so maybe it is not entirely crazy to call NPR state-affiliated. They aren't making their way without government money, after all. The very words national and public are heavy hints at the least. 

The case against applying that label is in Twitter's published definition of state-supported, which excludes "government funded operations that exercise independent editorial control, such as the BBC (sic)." I add the "sic" because the BBC is entirely funded by its government via mandatory license fees charged to any British person or organization using any type of television equipment. The BBC is independent of its owner? Get out of here.  

That definition needs a reality check if anyone believes there can be independent editorial control when a media outlet is dependent on a government for its funding. NPR itself states “Federal funding is essential to public radio's service to the American public and its continuation is critical for both stations and program producers, including NPR.” Critical for its continuation = dependent upon. 

NPR appears to be allergic to simply reporting that $525 million figure, since when they disclose their funding they dance around the total amount by breaking it into several categories. Nevertheless, the critical role of federal funding is clear from this NPR explainer on its financing:

Federal funding is essential to public radio's service to the American public and its continuation is critical for both stations and program producers, including NPR.

Public radio stations receive annual grants directly from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) that make up an important part of a diverse revenue mix that includes listener support, corporate sponsorship and grants. Stations, in turn, draw on this mix of public and privately sourced revenue to pay NPR and other public radio producers for their programming.

These station programming fees comprise a significant portion of NPR's largest source of revenue. The loss of federal funding would undermine the stations' ability to pay NPR for programming, thereby weakening the institution.

Elimination of federal funding would result in fewer programs, less journalism—especially local journalism—and eventually the loss of public radio stations, particularly in rural and economically distressed communities.

After all that pleading NPR really ought to admit the state-affiliated label, and just be happy they aren't called state-owned.

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Update as of 4/9/23: NPR is now labeled "government funded media." Further update: NPR still hasn't refused any government funding.