24 ms·
NPR cancels 4 podcasts amid major layoffs
- cptskippy 4y agoIf you listen to NPR you should consider donating. https://www.npr.org/donations/support https://www.npr.org/donations/support
- gordon_freeman 4y agoI donate to KQED as a sustaining member. Can someone tell me if that money goes to just KQED in SF or also to NPR?
- kfarr 4y agoIt's a mix of both. NPR affiliates pay fees back to hq for the use of national programming based on audience size. Donations to your local station could cover local payroll, equipment, or their payments for national programming.
- billsmithaustin 4y agoI see Morning Edition and All Things Considered on KQED's weekly schedule (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PrFgenUlR9TW8bZJ26LopRObTuBeB4nC/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PrFgenUlR9TW8bZJ26LopRObTuB...). KQED pays NPR for that content.
- brewdad 4y agoKQED pays NPR for NPR produced shows that KQED chooses to air. So, yes NPR gets some of that money indirectly. I believe it is possible to support NPR directly via their website. I sort of do this already with my local public broadcaster. I give to OPB but I also make a separate donation to KMHD radio because I value what they are doing. The money all ends up under the same umbrella organization but I hope the separate stream shows that their listeners value this relatively small part of the overall mission.
- drewg123 4y agoI started donating 50/50 to both my local affiliate and the national NPR non-profit a few years ago. I realized that about half my NPR listening was via the affiliate, and half was via NPR podcasts. You can also support some of the podcasts directly by joining NPR+.
- abtinf 4y agoAmericans are already forced to do so through taxation.
- dfmooreqqq 4y agoAccording to disclosures: Less than 1% of NPRs budget comes from government grants (https://www.npr.org/about-npr/178660742/public-radio-finances https://www.npr.org/about-npr/178660742/public-radio-finance...). Other sources put it maybe as high as 4% (https://www.newsweek.com/where-does-npr-get-its-funding-calls-defund-outlet-met-calls-donate-1529009 https://www.newsweek.com/where-does-npr-get-its-funding-call...) across all federal, state, and local funding.
- adamrezich 4y agoso why is parent comment being downvoted, when it's a true statement?
- Retric 4y agoBecause it’s true of every single non profit in the US. You can say the same about random churches, but that level of support doesn’t keep the lights on.
- kgermino 4y agoBecause while it’s technically true (each American does contribute about $0.40 a year to NPR stations via federal taxes and the corporation for public broadcasting) it’s a tiny fraction of NPRs budget so the statement is misleading. It would be similar to complaining that people are forced to pay Ford via taxes because the government uses F-150s
- happytoexplain 4y agoFactual truth is required, but it is not the only part of human communication by a long shot. "It's true" is a meaningless defense of expressions (past childhood) if nobody is claiming otherwise (downvotes don't mean "I think this is a lie"). The GP leaves the degree of taxation/funding, as well as the broader context of what other entities are tax funded and to what degree, unspoken; and they imply that, whatever those facts may be, it's a bad thing in this case. The parent (and other commenters) then provided some of that relevant information (and, assuming that information is true, you presumably would appreciate such a thing). As for the downvoters, they may reasonably disagree with the parent's implication that it is a bad thing, or disapprove of their omission of details. You may reasonably disagree with this use of the downvote button, but it means they are not necessarily claiming the GP is stating an untruth.
- uberman 4y agoI used to donate a lot. Now I dont find my local stations content to be informative or relevant to me. I wish them the best and I hope they are successful in growing their new user base.
- cptskippy 4y agoYou can donate directly to NPR and if you consume NPR online instead of OTA you have the option to choose a different "local" station.
- mdaniel 4y agoAs an FYI they also offer a bundle at https://plus.npr.org/ https://plus.npr.org/ where one gets all the "plus versions" of the podcasts and your local station gets a percentage of that donation Only KALW showed up for me, but I previously donated to them anyway because I prefer their programming and they were the original home of 99% Invisible for which I'll be eternally grateful
- abraham 4y ago> Currently, the NPR+ bundle is only available in a select number of locations. It's apparently not available in WI.
- mdaniel 4y agoOh, wow, that's absolutely terrible :-( I've never known NPR to play region locked games like that, and doubly so when turning away donations. But I guess that does explain why KQED isn't an option even out here
- tootie 4y agoThis audio piece explains the NPR/affiliate model pretty well. PBS is mostly the same. Only difference is that as of a few months ago, NPR began accepting direct donations for the first time. I think they will send some of that donation to affiliates as well.
- pipeline_peak 4y agoI bet their bike racks are gonna have a lot more space
- pcurve 4y ago:-( I see couple of big names in there too.. Karen Grigsby Bates Sylvia Poggioli (retired last week)
- hanklazard 4y agoI listen to a ton of tech, current events/news and finance podcasts. Their radio programming seemed to weaken over the last few years so I lost touch. Are there any NPR podcasts worth listening to ?(asking honestly, looking for recs)
- gordon_freeman 4y ago'Marketplace' [0] daily and 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me' [1] on the weekend. [0] https://www.npr.org/podcasts/381444600/marketplace https://www.npr.org/podcasts/381444600/marketplace [1] https://www.npr.org/podcasts/344098539/wait-wait-don-t-tell-me https://www.npr.org/podcasts/344098539/wait-wait-don-t-tell-...
- Rolcol 4y agoMarketplace isn’t an “NPR” show. It’s owned by American Public Media. I wonder if this page is more of a generic podcast feed and player
- elijaht 4y agoI like Up First. No frills daily news, 3x~4min stories. That being said- my news consumption is pretty limited, so the appeal for me is quickly catching me up with major stories. If you already keep up with current event/news it might be a bit basic for you
- darknavi 4y agoUp First, BBC Global News, and NPR News Now (top of the hour, 3 minutes) are my go-to in the car. No nonsense news headlines.
- blakesterz 4y agoI like Hidden Brain, Planet Money and Marketplace. I can't keep up with all the podcasts I'd like to.
- jonny_eh 4y ago
- Sai_ 4y agoI wish more media did this: “ Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and NPR Intern Mary Yang. It was edited by Acting Chief Business Editor Emily Kopp. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly. “ Ie., they reported on themselves without interference from the suits.
- jahsome 4y agoNPR is definitely one of the institutions doing it right when it comes to reporting standards. Makes news like these layoffs all the more heartbreaking.
- Sai_ 4y agoI had exactly the same response to reading the linked article and then the disclaimer - like the article was a “dear departed” homily to the laid off.
- desi_ninja 4y ago[flagged]
- RickJWagner 4y agoI agree. As one example, NPR made a very public decision not to carry the Hunter Biden laptop story just before an election, with no solid basis for doing so. It was a legitimate story, it was newsworthy, but NPR intentionally spiked the story.
- Clamchop 4y agoThere's no journalism outfit that can beat back this criticism from someone, all things not being aligned with every ideology. Perfect neutrality doesn't exist, and very arguably isn't desirable anyway. But NPR is doing better than most.
- 4y ago
- costanzaDynasty 4y agoSometime NPR can be great and sometimes I think "who is this for?". Well, they would retourt "Not everything is for you". And that was fine when money was flowing, but when the spigot gets turned off it's time to run to the center, or for them center-left. The entertainment industry as a whole has abandoned broadcasting during the 2010s in favor of narrowcasting. Your viewers and listeners are exhausted and begging you to just entertain us. All of us.
- jmugan 4y agoI used to love NPR and recommend it to everyone, but sometime around 2015 they just lost me.
- radicaldreamer 4y agoWhy?
- johnmc408 4y agoNo OP, but I stopped when they renamed themselves to AdPR, which might have been around the same time...
- DiggyJohnson 4y agoI couldn't find any information about this. Am I missing a joke or a point?
- yamtaddle 4y agoProbably a joke about them going from having hosts very-occasionally acknowledge the names of big sponsors, to straight-up reading ads for them. Between ads for sponsors and ads for other NPR content or begging me to give them my car, they're almost as ad-heavy as any other station now. Maybe are as ad-heavy, if you count hours spent on pledge drives per year.
- Overtonwindow 4y agoI listened to NPR every day for 20 years, but around about 2006 they took on a clear bias in their reporting. Public Radio should be unbiased, nonpartisan, and provide programming enrichment for everyone. For me, it didn't matter who the bias was against, it was just the fact that this was supposed to be publicly funded programming, and I could no longer trust it's objectivity. Terri Gross and the whole lot abdicated their responsibility to be neutral.
- 4y ago
- adamgordonbell 4y agoBesides great podcasts like Embedded and Planet Money, NPR is also home to NPR Training which has lots of helpful information.[1] Their ear traing guide is great. [2]. [1] https://training.npr.org/ https://training.npr.org/ [2] https://training.npr.org/2017/01/31/the-ear-training-guide-for-audio-producers/ https://training.npr.org/2017/01/31/the-ear-training-guide-f...
- nostromo 4y agoPlanet Money is just sad now. It used to be some of the best financial reporting out there -- almost as good as Money Stuff by Matt Levine. Now it's always falling over itself to be cute and talks down to its audience. It's like they think they're a podcast for middle schoolers, and if they're not cracking lame jokes and playing silly songs nobody will listen.
- orev 4y agoSad? Are you expecting lectures from economists? I’m sure you can find that somewhere, but I would expect podcast from a major media outlet to sim to be more accessible. There’s a lot of complex economics involved and I think they do a good job of explaining it in a layman’s terms.
- jononomo 4y agoI completely agree with this -- I can't stand podcasts that add cutesy stuff. I don't like wasting even one half second of time.
- pgwhalen 4y agoI’m curious how long ago you think Planet Money was good. I was never a regular listener, but I can remember 5 years ago being turned off by the relative lack of depth and time consuming humor. I always wrote it off as “not my style” or “for a different audience” as opposed to thinking it was objectively bad.
- nytesky 4y agoPlanet Money started around financial crisis and it was pretty concrete economic news about the crisis.
- robhunter 4y agoI enjoyed Invisibilia, but it seemed like every episode ether directly or indirectly just had to touch on - or directly focus on! - how terrible Trump is/was. I don’t particularly love Trump either, but it would also be nice to be able to listen to an NPR podcast without hearing about him on a regular basis.
- natdempk 4y agoInvisibilia took a real down turn after the first couple of seasons, especially after the hosts changed from the original ones. The original season or two of the show were amazing to me, and it fell off quick after that.
- strict9 4y agoStarting with This American Life, podcasts were a daily part of my life at home for more than 15 years. Then the pandemic happened and for reasons I can't fully explain I just stopped listening to all of them. Part of it was the subject matter became less compelling. There were also internal drama issues like with Reply All and I just lost interest. Kind of a shame as the podcast format is great way to consume media when you're primarily doing something else like cooking or doing the dishes.
- cglong 4y agoAt least for me, it was two main factors: 1. I started driving a lot less, so I really couldn't get into a topic. 2. The conversations became very focused around the pandemic. There are pros and cons to escapism, but that was the main thing I wanted out of the medium.
- ironmagma 4y agoI am not convinced I could get into podcasts if I started today. They are filled with ads, unnecessary intro music, intros to the intros, and network readouts. On top of that, the corporate-ness of it has ramped up and it's really hard to find a good indie podcast these days.
- jononomo 4y agoI've adjusted my habits and now every time I start a podcast I immediately hit the "fast-forward-30-seconds" button 2-3 times and just start listening from whatever spot that lands me on. Once in a blue moon I'll rewind a bit if I really want more context. And for stupid podcasts (that I still listen to occasionally for some reason (like The Fifth Column)) I'll just keep fast-forwarding 30 seconds until the joking has stopped and there is only one person speaking at a time.
- dehrmann 4y agoThere are a few more indie podcasts I listened to that sold out in the last few years. Since then, they've felt both slicker and lazier.
- 4y ago
- blamazon 4y agoThis part is at least good for me as an Embedded fan who has been frustrated by the irregularity of appearance: > NPR says that the investigative podcast series Embedded, which has appeared irregularly, will become the umbrella under which all of NPR's investigative and enterprise narratives series will stream. Officials say it will become a frequent, dependable channel for listeners to consume NPR content.
- andrewclunn 4y agoInvisibilia was just a rip off of 99% Invisible with female hosts. No real loss there.
- totetsu 4y agoThere was no women ever involved in the production of 99pi, or even occasionally hosting it?
- palijer 4y agoInvisibilia, a show about investigating the hidden side of human behavior - was a ripoff of 99% invisible, a show that focuses on the unseen aspects of design? I think your are confused about one of these shows at least, I don't see these as being relayed at all other than they are podcasts talking about things, which can hardly be claimed as original.
- o8o8o8o 4y agoSlightly offtopic, but I feel like America's lack of a true public broadcaster like the BBC in the UK, ABC in Australia, CBC in Canada etc. is a major contributor to America's polarization issues. NPR is okay but it doesn't fully fill the void that's missing there. Since Americans don't have a public broadcaster that they all have a stake in as taxpayers, Americans pick and choose which news sources they listen to, which inevitably leads people to listen to news that confirms their personal biases. Of course, Americans are allergic to such things as "state run propaganda".
- loxias 4y agoThat's what I think of NPR as.
- kgen 4y agoThere's PBS, but yeah if it had the popularity of BBC it would probably look a lot different.
- gandalfgeek 4y ago> Of course, Americans are allergic to such things as "state run propaganda". ... for good reason. Is there evidence to show that the BBC and CBC have reduced polarization in Britain and Canada? One could argue that they have plenty of their own biases and are not especially good at detecting or correcting for those.
- vkou 4y agoNot for any 'good' reason, given how they are not allergic to other utterly insane examples of state propaganda (constant glorification of the military, the executive, childhood recitation of the pledge of allegiance). The only reason for why there isn't a CBC equivalent in the US is 'because it happened that way'. Trying to find some generalized reason in this particular artifact of a political culture is like trying to find reason in a drunkard's walk.
- Y_Y 4y agoThe implausible claim needed proof here isn't that one. Those state broadcasters absolutely do have their own angle (pro-state, and pro whatever the editorial staff is into, vaguely left of centre stuff these days). They aren't on the same level as major US news networks when it comes to distortion and agenda-pushing though. This is my opinion, but there are plenty of systematic studies that show the same thing. If you look but can't find any then I'll come back with links.
- slackfan 4y agoEh, ever since one half of the Car Talk duo died, and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me started being played in front of a live audience, there really hasn't been anything worth listening to on NPR.
- tzs 4y ago"Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" has been playing in front of a live audience since 2005, except during COVID, and had been playing several shows a year before a live audience since 2000. They only were only exclusively not live for their first two years.
- slackfan 4y agoAnd my point is that it hasn't been worth listening to since.
- tzs 4y agoOh. I assumed you misremembered when Wait Wait started live audiences, since you said that ever since one of the Car Talk guys died and Wait Wait started having live audiences NPR hasn't had anything worth listening to. But that Car Talk guy died in 2014, 14 years after Wait Wait started recording some shows in front of live audience, and 9 years after they started recording almost always in front of a live audience. Your comment doesn't really make sense if those two events aren't in the same general timeframe so I had assumed you probably didn't realize how early Wait Wait was having live audiences.
- dehrmann 4y agoThere's actually a bigger story to what you're saying. Public radio (NPR, APM, et al.) hasn't come up with new hit shows with longevity, while some are aging out. The format of Wait Wait is fine, but the references are 40 years too old. Terry Gross, while an amazing interviewer, is in her 70's. On KQED, Michael Krasny retired from forum, and his replacements aren't as good. As it currently exists, public radio in the US feels like a thing for coastal liberals between the ages of 50 and 70. It's trying here and there to find a new voice, but it hasn't.
- vsskanth 4y agoI used to be a regular NPR donor. Sometime after 2016 there were a lot of changes on the legal immigration side of things that affected a lot of indians, and there was little to no coverage by NPR. That's when I realized I am not their intended audience and simply stopped listening and donating.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- diebeforei485 4y agoI think NPR became way too focused on culture war issues or social issues. Planet Money has been doing a lot of things completely unrelated to finance and economics so I stopped listening.
- sacnoradhq 4y agoNPR is the equivalent of radio MSNBC: not doing much in the way of hard-hitting investigative journalism. It's target demo appears to be middle-age, middle-class people who want to believe everything is fine while sipping their coffee mug on the way to work. Meanwhile, Democracy Now! has been going since February 19, 1996 with a daily worldwide summary somewhat better than the BBC and then proceeds to dig into long-form, important interviews on topics that don't get much CNN-MSNBC airtime.
- tootie 4y agoNPR has corespondents in more countries than any other news org. They don't score a lot of scoops but they do a lot of long-form deep dives.
- 1vuio0pswjnm7 4y agoWhy do the BBC and some other outlets try to use http/80 instead of https/443 for podcasts. Apologies for yet another tangent in this thread but discussion of podcasts, especially technical details, is relatively rare on HN.
- bkjelden 4y agoI knew they were in trouble when I was catching up on Planet Money recently and they were giving multiple ad slots to a company selling dog treats to help dogs that get anxious during thunderstorms.
- ktosobcy 4y agoas someone from outside the US I do love NPR and PBS. Awesome sources of quality content. And then you compare it with fox news...
- sdenton4 4y agoRough Translation was one of my favorite podcasts; this is a major loss.
- sosodev 4y agoI'm surprised nobody has mentioned MaximumFun. It's worker owned co-operative podcast network with some really great shows. I'd recommend trying some of their stuff out if you're looking for something fresh.
- xnx 4y agoI don't subscribe to many services, but I would subscribe to NPR if I could get it ad free.
- black_13 4y ago[dead]
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- jononomo 4y agoNPR is over, I'm afraid. I used to listen to their podcasts maybe 8-10 years ago, but lately I just find that I prefer a more personal touch and NPR podcasts feel too produced. Also, there is an undercurrent of preachiness to NPR podcasts, and their hosts tend to have a "we think we're smart but we're trying to play that down and be relatable" vibe which I find incredibly off-putting. And I literally never listen to the radio anymore.
- AlbertCory 4y agoSince a lot of commenters seem confused about this in relation to charitable deductions: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marginaltaxrate.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marginaltaxrate.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/110614/overall-tax-burden-state.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/11061... It's the marginal tax rate we're concerned with, not the average. That's what you're deducting against. Secondly, some people cite the 13% of taxpayers who itemize as the relevant number. The relevant number is the high-income taxpayers who itemize, and even more relevant is that same number but in high-tax states. It's a legitimate debate whether public broadcasting serves a purpose, or whether it's biased. It's also a legitimate debate whether 501(c)(3) should exist at all. But whether we're subsidizing NPR through private deductions is not a debate. We are. Likewise lots of 501(c)(3) organizations that are deeply controversial.
- dredmorbius 4y agoI'd been noting in recent weeks and considering commenting on the increased prevalence of sponsorship spots either highlighting service's own programmes and podcasts, or straight-up audience-support notices, across a range of podcasts, both NPR and from other organisations (e.g., WNYC Studios). This suggests a longer-term and sharp weakness in the advertising market and spending. Given that public media sponsorships seem to be longer-term committments (I'm supposing quarterly or longer), this would mean a strong and likely lagging overall indicator. Then was yesterday's news of layoffs and programme cancellations at NPR. Given the significance of advertising to much of present Web / Mobile / online business space, this would seem to have a broader interest to HN's readership as well.
- _virtu 4y agoWith all bad news comes a silver lining. At least with the cancellation of Everyone & Their Mom, I won't have to hear Emma Chee ever again.