2 ms·

But it's NPR... It's government-owned, right? A public broadcaster? Can they legally charge for anything?

by tormeh 12y ago

mesh 12y ago
fyi, NPR is is publicly and privately funded, but is not owned by the government. There is a good article here on its status: http://www.npr.org/yourturn/ombudsman/2001/011228.html http://www.npr.org/yourturn/ombudsman/2001/011228.html "Legally speaking, NPR is a private, not-for-profit corporation chartered by the District of Columbia and qualified by the Internal Revenue Service as a "501(c)(3)" organization exempt from taxation. "
MBCook 12y ago
They're not government owned. They're get a subsidy through the appropriate government agency (don't remember the name at the moment) but it's only about 10% of their budget and they are free to act however they wish. NPR is not state media. That would be Voice of America, which is not allowed to broadcast in the US.
- tormeh 12y ago
  I just looked it up and it is allowed to broadcast domestically since 2013. Anyway it kind of seems a bit quaint in the face of BBC world service.
gee_totes 12y ago
No, it's not government-owned. "According to the 2009 financial statement, about 50% of NPR revenues come from the fees it charges member stations for programming and distribution charges."[0] [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Npr#Funding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Npr#Funding
theg2 12y ago
They are not government owned. They take grants but they are prohibited from taking money directly. A large part of their income comes from member stations who pay for access to shows, content, and support.
taude 12y ago
I don't actually think the government owns it. The government provides some of it's funding (not all, though, which is why there's always a fund-raising drive?). *edit - now seeing all the answers below
gerbal 12y ago
NPR is not a public broadcaster in the sense of other nation's public broadcasters. It was founded, initially, with funding from congress, as an independent, non-profit broadcaster. Currently, NPR receives very little to no funding from the Government. Something like 2% of NPR's funding comes from state, local, and national government. Though individual stations may receive radically varying amounts of government funding. It is Public in the sense that it serves the public interest and is funded by listeners.

But it's NPR... It's government-owned, right? A public broadcaster? Can they legally charge for anything?

by tormeh 12y ago

But it's NPR... It's government-owned, right? A public broadcaster? Can they legally charge for anything?

mesh 12y ago

fyi, NPR is is publicly and privately funded, but is not owned by the government. There is a good article here on its status: http://www.npr.org/yourturn/ombudsman/2001/011228.html http://www.npr.org/yourturn/ombudsman/2001/011228.html "Legally speaking, NPR is a private, not-for-profit corporation chartered by the District of Columbia and qualified by the Internal Revenue Service as a "501(c)(3)" organization exempt from taxation. "

MBCook 12y ago

They're not government owned. They're get a subsidy through the appropriate government agency (don't remember the name at the moment) but it's only about 10% of their budget and they are free to act however they wish. NPR is not state media. That would be Voice of America, which is not allowed to broadcast in the US.

tormeh 12y ago
I just looked it up and it is allowed to broadcast domestically since 2013. Anyway it kind of seems a bit quaint in the face of BBC world service.

gee_totes 12y ago

No, it's not government-owned. "According to the 2009 financial statement, about 50% of NPR revenues come from the fees it charges member stations for programming and distribution charges."[0] [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Npr#Funding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Npr#Funding

theg2 12y ago

They are not government owned. They take grants but they are prohibited from taking money directly. A large part of their income comes from member stations who pay for access to shows, content, and support.

taude 12y ago

I don't actually think the government owns it. The government provides some of it's funding (not all, though, which is why there's always a fund-raising drive?). *edit - now seeing all the answers below

gerbal 12y ago

NPR is not a public broadcaster in the sense of other nation's public broadcasters. It was founded, initially, with funding from congress, as an independent, non-profit broadcaster. Currently, NPR receives very little to no funding from the Government. Something like 2% of NPR's funding comes from state, local, and national government. Though individual stations may receive radically varying amounts of government funding. It is Public in the sense that it serves the public interest and is funded by listeners.