If people want fair, balanced and free news, all they have to do is turn the radio dial. Because the various stations that make up the National Public Radio are not-for-profit, they can afford to be among the only noncommercial radio stations in the world.
Each week the stations produce 130 hours of original programs for 27.5 million listeners each week. Sound impossible? They manage it in partnership with more than 860 independently operated public radio stations around the country.
Depending on where you tune into NPR, different channels may be broadcasting different shows. But all of the stations rely on NPR's flagship shows, Morning Edition, and the afternoon All Things Considered. Now people can stream NPR coverage over the Internet, picking out whatever programs they want to hear.
President Lyndon Johnson understood the need for good public information, so he signed into law the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Finally made into law in 1970, it established the Public Broadcasting service of which NPR is a member. NPR is funded both with private and public funds — just over half of its money comes from the fees and dues it charges member stations to receive programming. Often NPR member stations raise funds through on-air pledge drives, corporate sponsors and grants. NPR as a whole is widely considered one of the most trustworthy sources of radio news in the country.
Highlights
- NPR correspondent Leroy Sievers kept a blog on his struggle against cancer. After his death, Our Cancer became a good forum for people struggling with the disease.
- NPR is committed to the ethics of fairness and balance in their reporting.
- The radio station is active in promoting diversity and helping to train the next generation of radio reporters.
Photo courtesy NPR official website
