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In the Forum: Off Air Audio
In the Thread: The new FM Classical scene in Boston

Post Subject: What's NPR?Posted by scades on: 12/24/2009

Romy--I guess I don't know where to start without giving offense. Forgive me if I start back too far. NPR, WGBH, WBUR, etc. are all independent entities--separately incorporated and managed. WGBH and WBUR are local instances of stations all around the US, many of which got started as "educational radio," long before NPR was founded. NPR was founded by the station managers of a number of these stations to provide, first, news. (The first NPR program was All Things Considered.) NPR has four funding streams: Some (but very little) federal money, foundation support, "underwriters" (sponsors), and most importantly, fees charged for each program picked up by a local station, pro-rated by audience size.WGBH and WBUR are "Boston's NPR station(s)" in that they are the sole NPR broadcasters in the area, and that their NPR programs (All things Considered; Morning Edition; Car Talk; Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me; etc.) are the centerpieces of their programming. Of these, all but the news magazines are produced by local stations, for whom NPR offers syndication. WGBH, as a member station, has some input into NPR decisions, but the converse is not true; NPR has no say about WGBH's operations. There are other important syndicators that "feed" WGBH and WBUR: Minnesota Public Radio provides Prairie Home Companion, and Public Radio International provides BBC Worldwide in the US.--scades

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