NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized as npr) is an American non-profit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California.[2] It serves as a national syndicator to a network of over 1,000 public radio stations in the United States.[3] It differs from other non-profit membership media organizations, such as the Associated Press, in that it was established by an act of Congress.[4]
For other uses, see NPR (disambiguation).Type
April 20, 1971
Global
February 26, 1970
$322.7 million (2022)[1]
$309.1 million (2022)[1]
$−7.18 million (2022)[1]
- United States
- Guam
- Puerto Rico
- American Forces Network
National Public Radio, Inc.
Katherine Maher (CEO)
Funding for NPR comes from dues and fees paid by member stations, underwriting from corporate sponsors and annual grants from the publicly funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.[5] Most of its member stations are owned by non-profit organizations, including public school districts, colleges, and universities. NPR operates independently of any government or corporation, and has full control of its content.[6]
NPR produces and distributes both news and cultural programming. The organization's flagship shows are two drive-time news broadcasts: Morning Edition and the afternoon All Things Considered, both carried by most NPR member stations, and among the most popular radio programs in the country.[7][8] As of March 2018, the drive-time programs attract an audience of 14.9 million and 14.7 million per week, respectively.[9]
NPR manages the Public Radio Satellite System, which distributes its programs and other programming from independent producers and networks such as American Public Media and Public Radio Exchange, and which also acts as a primary entry point for the Emergency Alert System. Its content is also available on-demand online, on mobile networks, and in many cases, as podcasts.[10] Several NPR stations also carry programs from British public broadcaster BBC World Service.
Name[edit]
The organization's legal name is National Public Radio and its trademarked brand is NPR; it is known by both names.[11] In June 2010, the organization announced that it was "making a conscious effort to consistently refer to ourselves as NPR on-air and online" because NPR is the common name for the organization and the tag line "This ... is NPR" has been used by its radio hosts for many years.[11] However, National Public Radio remains the legal name of the group, as it has been since 1970.[11]
NPR is a membership organization. Member stations are required to be non-commercial or non-commercial educational radio stations; have at least five full-time professional employees; operate for at least 18 hours per day; and not be designed solely to further a religious broadcasting philosophy or be used for classroom distance learning programming. Each member station receives one vote at the annual NPR board meetings—exercised by its designated Authorized Station Representative ("A-Rep").
To oversee the day-to-day operations and prepare its budget, members elect a board of directors. The board was previously composed of ten A-Reps, five members of the general public, and the chair of the NPR Foundation. On November 2, 2015, NPR Members approved a change in the NPR Bylaws to expand the board of directors to 23 directors, consisting of 12 Member Directors who are managers of NPR Member stations and are elected to the board by their fellow Member stations, 9 Public Directors who are prominent members of the public selected by the board and confirmed by NPR Member stations, the NPR Foundation Chair, and the NPR President & CEO.[41] Terms are for three years and are staggered such that some stand for election every year.[42]
As of January 2024, the board of directors of NPR included the following members:[41]
The original purposes of NPR, as ratified by the board of directors, are the following:
The Public Editor responds to significant listener queries, comments and criticisms. The position reports to the president and CEO John Lansing.[44]
In April 2020, Kelly McBride became the Public Editor for NPR.
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