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I've worked for an NPR affiliate for almost twenty years and, yes, it has changed considerably. I'm not defending everything that's been done but I'd like to offer some insights if I may.
First, the homogonization we've seen slowly taking over is the direct result of the 104th Congress and Newt Gingrich's promise to shake things up. One of the first things he proposed was to eliminate funding for public broadcasting because "everyone has cable." That ignited a backlash from the public and he backed off from eliminating the funding completely but did succeed in getting the criteria for federal funding changed. Before the 104th Congress, federal funds for public broadcasting were based on market size which made it possible for public broadcasters to reach out with eclectic and non-traditional programming. My own station had a wonderful program that consisted of a husband and wife team who brought in a suitcase full of doo-wop 45 records every Friday night. It was a great program which had a very small number of dedicated fans. Unfortunately, the criteria for funding changed from market size to audience size as determined by Arbitron. Our fun little show didn't even show up in the ratings so we had to replace it with jazz, our main musical format, making our programming a little more predictable. It broke our hearts to drop it but we had no choice. This is a big reason why so many stations made the switch from music to news/talk. News/talk attracts more listeners.
While funding wasn't eliminated at that time, it was reduced, making NPR, PBS, and all their member stations more dependent on corporate and individual funds. The networks, NPR and PBS, are particularly dependent on corporate support as they don't raise funds directly from individuals. So that's why you hear more corporate messages on both networks and, while I have no actual proof of that, it's probably why network programming has gotten blander. NPR and PBS aren't corporate mouthpieces the way their commerical counterparts but they also know the need for corporate contributions to keep them afloat and perhaps (and I stress the perhaps because I really don't know) that has kept them from some of the more radical and hard hitting programming we prefer.
Finally, public broadcasting is faced with an aging audience. The baby boom generation is at its peak giving years but that will begin to fall off in the next five to ten years. New audiences are essential to keeping the industry alive and viable and the next generation is very different from the previous. For one thing, it's about half the size of the baby boomers. Second, it's far less idealistic and much more cynical than its predecessor, and third -- and probably most important -- it has many, MANY more media choices. Public broadcasting has to find a way to appeal to this generation if it's to survive. While we love the measured thoughtfulness of Bob Edwards on Morning Edition, the next generation prefers the glib snarkiness of Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne. NPR tried to balance this by having Renee Montagne co-host with Bob Edwards but Bob refused to take a co-host. I personally can't stand Steve Inskeep, both because of his snarkiness and because of what I see as his contempt for the US auto industry and his personal love affair with Toyota (which I've brought up to him), but the new generation of listeners do like him. And if I want my station to survive, I have to accept that. I'd still prefer to listen to him than any commercial broadcaster.
NPR and PBS have their flaws but our media landscape would be drastically and detrimentally changed without them. There are already three bills introduced in Congress this session to reduce or eliminate funding for CPB. If that happens, thousands of people across the country will lose their jobs and many communites will lose their only balanced voice for news and public information. More than 170 million Americans use public broadcasting every week and a grassroots advocacy effort has begun to have those users let Congress know that we need public broadcasting (warts and all). You can find more information at www.170millionamericans.org.
Thanks for reading.
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