Thread by @NBCJoshua

(THREAD) Someone asked me to address the #DefundNPR hashtag that circulated in the last day or so. My first thought was, "UGH: this again???" @NPR is a constant, convenient whipping boy for people across the political spectrum (right and left). Here are a few things to know.

First, I think some people want NPR defunded because they know, deep down, that it's damn good at what it does. If you want to kill it the moment it makes an error, then it must not make too many of them.
Some folks love to throw rocks at things that shine.

Next, NPR is not a line item in the federal budget. Congress funds @CPBmedia, which gives grants to public radio & TV stations. Those stations CHOOSE where to spend that money, including on NPR programming or their own shows. So to defund NPR, you'd actually have to defund CPB.

Some politicians and public figures (generally conservative, but not all) rail publicly about NPR, but having interacted w/quite a few of them I can tell you: many of them listen to NPR at least occasionally. It's smart. It's interesting. It's different.
It shines.

In some parts of the country the NPR member station is either the strongest or only local news source. They reflect what we call a "sense of place". Communities can tell their own stories thanks to NPR providing national shows to form the skeleton of a locally programmed lineup.

So if the issue is having your dollars used the way you want them, then NPR provides a great means for that. We as a nation fund CPB specifically to let communities make their own choices about news and information. That's something commercial television doesn't often do.

Should we actually deprive small towns & regional enclaves of a time-tested way to tell their own stories in their own voices? Would we destroy something that the American people, of our own volition, spent decades building for ourselves? If so, what would take its place?

And what would we gain?
$1.35 per person.
That is how much CPB (not NPR, but ALL of the nation's public media federal funding) costs each person in the country. If you divided the cost up evenly, it comes out to about $1.35 per year.
Clearly, worth the trouble.

From covering COVID-19 to helping communities discuss race and equity, public media can do immense good right now. And the economy is wreaking havoc even on big stations, with layoffs at @WBUR, @WBEZ, @MPR & more. Even NPR had pay cuts. No one is immune.

I owe so much to public radio. And no, I've never worked at NPR - at the network. I've worked ON the network hosting @1A from @wamu885, as well as at @KQED and @WLRN. They made me the journalist I am, and I will always be grateful. My nearly 17 years in public radio were a gift.

...oh, BTW: CPB is funded two fiscal years in advance, to protect it from exactly this kind of political pressure. Worth noting: that money could theoretically be pulled back - it's called "recission".

So don't get distracted by all this huffing and puffing about how NPR deserves to die. You have the power to keep it alive, and it needs your help now more than ever.
npr.org/stations/
And if you can't afford to donate, volunteer.
ALL PUBLIC STATIONS DEPEND ON VOLUNTEERS.

Maybe there's a city you care about: you have family there or friends there or a business there. You love to vacation there. You want to retire there. You went to school there or are heading there for a new opportunity.
That's another city's station you might consider helping.

NPR may always be a political target. Don't worry about it. All you need to worry about is whether you are doing your part - as a donor, a volunteer or an advisory board member - to keep your station strong.
So get in the game. It's time to #DEFENDNPR. (/THREAD)