Should the government continue to provide funding for NPR? If financial support is removed, should the FCC remove non-commercial classifications? Why is NPR provided with government issued financial assistance and non-commercial classifications when mainstream radio stations are held to different standards?
These are some of the questions inside the minds of many up top in radio circles this week. It’s a result of last week’s drama on Capitol Hill, which saw NPR CEO Katherine Maher face the newly-formed Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee.
Maher’s testimony has generated a lot of attention, most of it less than positive. While she defended NPR’s role in serving American families, she also came under heavy fire for a lack of balanced coverage and staffing, ignoring the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, and her past social media use, something she’s tried to distance herself from. At stake is NPR’s future federal funding.
To provide clarity on the situation, I reached out to former long time President/CEO of CBS Radio, Dan Mason. Dan’s tenure in broadcasting spans five decades. Just last week, he received the Edward L. McLaughlin Lifetime Achievement Award from the Broadcasters Foundation of America. He was previously presented with the NAB National Award for Outstanding Leadership, and in 2022, earned induction into The Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. Here is what Dan had to say about it.
Dan Mason Weighs In
JB: NPR claims to provide a balanced presentation, but that’s debunked by many. Do you think the outlet will use this situation to make improvements, and present more content from both sides?
DM: Not likely. In the fifty years I’ve been around NPR stations, it has never happened. NPR has always broadcast a liberal thinking take of the nation. That’s not going to change, in my opinion.
JB: The biggest question is whether or not the government should continue to fund NPR. Do you think they should?
DM: No, I don’t think so. If you look at conservative leaning radio with Premiere/iHeart in the days of Rush and now Hannity and Cumulus/Westwood with Levin and Bongino until recently, the government never gave those companies a dime for any type of bailout when they faced extremely tough financial times. Then there is EMF (Educational Media Foundation), a religious network of hundreds of stations. To the best of my knowledge, EMF never received any government funding to support their religious values. EMF has always been supported by listeners and they do quite well.
JB: Can NPR survive then if it doesn’t receive government support?
DM: Yes. it receives corporate support and grants as well as their fundraisers.
JB: Is there still a place for NPR in radio broadcasting?
DM: Yes. NPR represents a democratic point of view just like Premiere and Westwood do on the conservative side.
JB: How could NPR replace the funding it receives from the government?
DM: NPR radio stations are classified by the FCC as non-commercial stations. This was part of The Communications Act of 1934. It is time now to remove that classification. Local NPR stations then would be free to compete with commercial stations in their home markets.
JB: That’d certainly make things more competitive and interesting. Would there be enough advertising support in local markets for NPR to sustain themselves?
DM: Absolutely! Many (if not most) of NPR stations are highly rated by Nielsen. For example, here in Washington, DC, WAMU-FM is the number one station in the market over WTOP. NPR stations are highly rated in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, Austin and many others. It is eye-opening to see how highly rated they are and how well they could compete against commercial stations without government funding.
Non-commercial classifications should be removed by the FCC if government funding goes away. That would open up new revenue sources for those stations. I believe the re-classification to commercial would also increase the asset value of each station.
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Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
