Remain Calm And Support Flows In

Michael Hedges February 3, 2020 Follow on Twitter

Public radio broadcasting, conceptually, is on a different wave-length. This has made it lauded by fans, listeners and supporters. At a time when commercial radio, talk stations in particular, are filled with ranting, raving and screaming public stations are unique. Public radio does the job and remains calm.

For the greater part of the last ten days US public radio network NPR became the focus of two intertwined themes; public broadcasting and press freedom. There were headlines, briefly. Inevitably, the story arc dissipated into another football game.

Several local NPR broadcast affiliates reported a bit of a fund-raising surge at the end of last week, reported Current (February 1), the magazine/portal for public broadcasting employees. That windfall came in response to a week of testy, insulting and even threatening exchanges with government departments and their leaders. “We are hearing from a number of (member stations) that they have seen an uptick in gifts since Friday,” said public media fundraising collaborative Greater Public executive director Melanie Coulson. “Some markets are getting a much stronger response than others.”

The catalyst for this spontaneous outpouring of financially-deposited affection was several days of ranting from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about an interview with Mary Louis Kelly (January 24), co-host of NPR’s afternoon news block, All Things Considered. Secretary Pompeo became destabilized, apparently, when asked about Ukraine, questions State Department press aides knew were coming and on the record. He ordered Ms Kelly to a private room after the interview and hurled F-bombs mixed with insults. “Kelly calmly described the incident on air, and NPR listeners were apparently filled with a renewed appreciation for public radio journalism,” reported Mashable (January 31).

Secretary Pompeo continued ranting through the week, questioning Ms Kelly’s veracity and of being part of a media conspiracy to “hurt President (Donald) Trump and his administration.” The State Department removed NPR reporter Michele Kelemen from the press pool covering Secretary Pompeo’s visit to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the UK. “We can only conclude that the State Department is retaliating against National Public Radio as a result of this exchange," said State Department Correspondents’ Association president Shaun Tandon, quoted by CNN (January 28).

Ms. Kelly then penned an op-ed in the New York Times (January 28) on the subject of press freedom. President Trump, overjoyed, complimented Secretary Pompeo on “the good job” on Ms Kelly and noted the desire to eliminate public broadcasting funding. “This goes towards intimidation,” said NPR chief executive John Lansing, quoted by Rolling Stone (January 26). “And let me just say this. We will not be intimidated.”

US public broadcasting is organized, operated and funded quite differently from similar institutions in the rest of the world. NPR - and public TV PBS - are private non-profit companies, effectively financed by their affiliate member stations. Both were formed, officially, through the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 signed by President Lyndon Johnson, which established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Prior to that a set-aside FM frequency allocation - low end of the dial - was established for non-profit, largely educational radio services. Several countries have adopted the language of the US Public Broadcasting Act.

Many NPR affiliate broadcasters, which are licensed by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), remain owned and operated by educational institutions and, in some cases, local and state governments. Religious broadcasters, by statute, operate separately and there are many public radio broadcasters unaffiliated with NPR. Originally, CPB provided about 30% of the funding for public radio and television operations. That percentage has dropped to about 2%. Affiliate stations conduct their own fund raising and chip-in to the NPR operating budget. For that consideration, they can carry NPR programs at their discretion.

As in many countries, pubic broadcasting in the US has been an object of derision by right-wing politicians. Both NPR and PBS have had critics across political ideology but the right-wing has most vocal and threatening. Various right-wing administrations have cut federal funding for CPB, one politician complaining that public broadcasting was “a sandbox for the elite” and offered to “gift” the entirety to Rupert Murdoch or John Malone before discovering that would be legally impossible. The financial calculus for NPR changed significantly in 2003 when the estate of Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, bequeathed US$200 million to the organization. More support followed, even in small amounts.

See also...

• Hot Topics - Public Broadcasting