Report: Non-Profit NPR To Make A ‘Modest Margin’ This Year

by Alex Alvarez | 9:33 am, March 25th, 2011

» 22 comments

Ongoing discussions about whether NPR has a liberal bias usually end up revolving around the question of whether the multi-platform news network merits partial funding from governments grants and the (federally funded) Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

That debate reached a veritable boiling point when undercover footage produced by conservative activist James O’Keefe‘s Project Veritas showed NPR executive Ron Schiller sharing that NPR did not require federal funding. That footage was later revealed to have been edited, but the argument, for many, stands firm.

Now, a deeper look into NPR’s finances shows the nonprofit outlet stands to make a “modest margin” this year. Daily Finance reports:

As a whole, NPR — as is common for a nonprofit — usually runs a deficit. According to audited financial statements, NPR’s revenue ran a $8.3 million deficit in the 2010 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. Revenues rose to $184.3 million from $148.7 million a year earlier, while expenses jumped to $192.5 last year from $166.6 million in 2009. But after cutting staff and scaling back benefits in 2008, NPR expects to make a “modest margin” this year, according to spokeswoman Dana Davis Rehm.

Critics of NPR’s funding methods – who count some Republican lawmakers among their fold – argue that government funding for NPR constitutes “nonessential government spending” in the face of mounting national debt.

One of NPR’s most vocal detractors, ousted NPR contributor Juan Williams, has said that his former employer “prostitutes itself for money,” and that it does indeed have a set political agenda:

They will say things to your face about how there’s no liberal orthodoxy at NPR, how they play it straight, but now you see it for what it is. They prostitute themselves for money.

He adds that NPR has “all sorts of ways to do advertising,” including sponsorship announcements that he likens to commercials, despite the outlet’s policy of not running traditional advertisements.

Revelations regarding the annual salaries of NPR’s top talent (according to Daily Finance, via NPR’s latest 990 filing, among other sources) simply add fuel to the fire for its critics, who say NPR staffers make too much for working at a nonprofit:

Fresh Air host / executive producer Terry Gross: $245,563 in 2008

This American Life host Ira Glass: earned $170,605 in 2008

Morning Edition host Renee Montagne: $405,140

Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep: $356,499

All Things Considered anchor Robert Siegel: $358,653

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon: $364,465

Funding, Grants, Nonprofit, NPR

Black and Gold Brad

Fresh Air host / executive producer Terry Gross: $245,563 in 2008

This American Life host Ira Glass: earned $170,605 in 2008

Morning Edition host Renee Montagne: $405,140

Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep: $356,499

All Things Considered anchor Robert Siegel: $358,653

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon: $364,465

– Nice work, if you can get it.
skyfet

Black and Gold Brad said:
Fresh Air host / executive producer Terry Gross: $245,563 in 2008

This American Life host Ira Glass: earned $170,605 in 2008

Morning Edition host Renee Montagne: $405,140

Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep: $356,499

All Things Considered anchor Robert Siegel: $358,653

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon: $364,465

– Nice work, if you can get it.

Peanuts compared to the loud mouths on talk radio.
skyfet

Using Juan Williams as a source of reference to show the negative sides of NPR doesn’t make any sense to me. He was fired by them, of course he would have a bias against them, he has got an Axe to grind. Maybe next time you should get one of NPR’s staff as a source of reference to write an unbiased article about NPR, let’s see how that goes.
http://politicallyincorrectlibertarian.wordpress.com PoliticallyIncorrectLibertarian

Juan Williams worked for years at NPR, just because he got fired doesn’t mean his testimony is invalid.
http://libertarians4freedom.blogspot.com/
slickerwick

If they make a ‘modest margin’ (code word for ‘profit’?) why do they need taxpayer subsidies? What product do they offer that can’t be found on any of the cable channels or radio stations or, for that matter, on the internet? There is a plethora of entertainment, information, and news out there. I simply don’t see how they can justify sucking the public tit.
slickerwick

skyfet said:
Peanuts compared to the loud mouths on talk radio.

Damn, skyfet, I only wish I was being paid those kinds of “peanuts.”
slickerwick

Skyfet doesn’t mind NPR hosts being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. It ain’t coming out of his pocket. Oh, wait, yes it is.
Barack Must Go

I wonder why there’s no mention of the tens of millions in salary and bonuses the leadership has been taking, even though doing so caused a yearly deficit until this year?

These are just your run of the mill liberal pigs feeding at the public through, while vilifying the banks and Wall Street, both of whom paid back the public money the Obama administration forced them to take, plus a ton of interest. NPR, liberal hypocrites of the highest order…..oink, oink.
tatboy

skyfet said:
Peanuts compared to the loud mouths on talk radio.

I don’t support them with my taxes.
blurgh.

Barack Must Go said:
These are just your run of the mill liberal pigs feeding at the public through, while vilifying the banks and Wall Street, both of whom paid back the public money the Obama administration forced them to take, plus a ton of interest. NPR, liberal hypocrites of the highest order…..oink, oink.

So now the bailouts were good? Hypocrites indeed.
skyfet

tatboy said:
I don’t support them with my taxes.

You do by listening to the crap coming out of their mouth.
blurgh.

slickerwick said:
Skyfet doesn’t mind NPR hosts being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. It ain’t coming out of his pocket. Oh, wait, yes it is.

No, it’s not. Nor is it coming out of yours. Being a nonprofit, only a very small part of NPR funds comes directly from the government. The larger part of subsidies go to smaller radio stations across the country that are not owned or operated by NPR choose but air NPR programming.
cjd ohio 1

skyfet said:
You do by listening to the crap coming out of their mouth.

true, but he has choice to support them or not, a little different with NPR
Barack Must Go

blurgh. said:
So now the bailouts were good? Hypocrites indeed.

What do you mean ‘ now ‘ ?
Laker

The on air people at NPR are not the ones getting the big bucks. The following is a list of management people and what they earned a couple of years ago. If someone has more recent numbers I would like to see them. Former NPR C.E.O. Kenneth Stern, who departed in 2008, is atop the pubcasting list, receiving $1,319,541 as part of his four-year contract. Another former exec, PBS C.O.O. Wayne Godwin, who served from 2000 to 2008, was paid $398,063. Current PBS C.E.O. Paula Kerger, $534,500, up from $424,209 at end of fiscal 2007. Rounding out the list, in descending order: Laura Walker, c.e.o. of WNYC Radio, $474,808; Al Jerome, KCET president, $426,688; Jeff Clarke, c.e.o., Northern California Public Broadcasting, $406,501; Neal Shapiro, WNET president, $400,570; Sharon Percy Rockefeller, WETA president, $391,904; Thomas Conway, WNET v.p., $374,321; Daniel Schmidt, WTTW president, $347,491; William Kling, Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media president, $347,217; Jonathan Abbott, WGBH president, $337,870; Jon McTaggart, MPR/APR c.e.o., $313,967; Joseph Bruns, WETA executive v.p., $303,108; Linda O’Bryon, Northern California Public Broadcasting chief content officer, $282,360; Paula Apsell, senior exec producer at WGBH, $278,209; Dean Cappello, chief creative officer, WNYC Radio, $272,072; Deborah Hinton, KCET exec v.p., $251,446; Dennis Haarsager, NPR interim c.e.o., $219,369; and Reese Marcusson, WTTW c.f.o., $214,397.
More Liberty5

If politicians can’t bring themselves to cut the taxdollars “given” to NPR, then they are not serious about cutting the real money. This is corruption. The government, via threat of force/prison, take money from individuals and gives it to someone else.
slickerwick

blurgh. said:
No, it’s not. Nor is it coming out of yours. Being a nonprofit, only a very small part of NPR funds comes directly from the government. The larger part of subsidies go to smaller radio stations across the country that are not owned or operated by NPR choose but air NPR programming.

You do realize you completely contradicted your own statement, right? First you say they don’t get govt. (taxpayers) money and then you say they do. The amount doesn’t matter. They should not be getting any taxpayer money. Why the hell should they?
Pablo

skyfet said:
Peanuts compared to the loud mouths on talk radio.

It is talk radio, genius.
illusive man

If NPR can make money on it’s own then that is proof that taxpayer money is no longer necessary to fund it.
jrcmi

When public broadcasting became more dependent on “underwriters” (glorified advertisers), the quality of its journalism suffered. They stopped doing investigative reporting that might reflect negatively on current or potential underwriters.

The executive salaries mentioned are utterly dwarfed by the tens/hundreds of millions paid to private sector execs. These NPR/PBS execs live in high-cost areas like NYC, LA and DC.

The on-air salaries are fairly modest for people who are on nationwide radio outlets. Nobody gets rich working for public broadcasting. I’m sure Williams makes much more $$$ working for Fakes “News.” Sure, he sold his soul – but he held out for a good price!

Super-wealthy gluttons like the Koch brothers and Rupert Moredreck want us to drag each other down while THEY laugh all the way to the bank. They support opportunistic thimble-brains like WI Gov. Scott Walker, who is seeking to instigate class warfare between middle-class people by making unsubstantiated – and provably wrong – claims about how much better some middle-class public workers are faring than their middle-class private-sector contemporaries; a specious and vile tactic.

The U.S. is the only developed country that doesn’t strongly support its public broadcasting. Britain’s taxpayer supported BBC is highly regarded, worldwide, for the quality and impartiality of its news reporting.

Far too much of our media is captive to special interests rather than PUBLIC ones. Public broadcasting should be fully taxpayer supported. The modest cost would be more than offset by their improved ability to serve the best interests of our citizens and our country.
BadGenome

So, wait. Is Car Talk safe or not?
X-3

Proof beyond certain that they no longer need taxpayer funding.