Public Radio Explosion (1989-2009)

Public radio funding from membership has expanded greatly, according to Corporation for Public Broadcasting data, despite the dominance of television in the 1990s, and the 21st century rise of the Internet.

According to the CPB Fiscal Reports of 1999 and 2007, the average public radio contribution rose from 1989 to 1999 from $48.82 to $73. The number of contributors nationwide almost doubled, from 1,225,000 to 2,414,000.

More recently from 1997 to 2007, public radio contributors have increased from 1.9 million to 2.5 million, by 600,000 people. The average contribution has jumped from $71 to $114.

Despite all the pleas on WYPR, WEAA, and other public stations for funding, public radio listeners nationally, at least, are responding robustly.

WYPR is a slightly different sort of public radio station. For one, their membership contributions in 2008 and 2009 seemed to have remained flat. Furthermore, as station president Tony Brandon told the WYPR Board in May, the station receives 52 percent of its revenue from underwriting, and about 33 percent from members. The average NPR station, according to the NPR’s online financial overview (click to link), receives just 20 percent of revenue from “businesses via corporate underwriting,” and “31 percent from listeners in the form of pledges, memberships, and other donations.” WYPR is much more dependent on business advertising than a typical NPR station.

Writer William Hoynes says that public television especially, and public broadcasting in general, are consciously trying to drive up their membership contributions by tailoring programs to attract a more affluent membership base. In his article “The PBS Brand and the Merchandising of Public Service” (from the book Public Broadcasting and the Public Interest), Hoynes finds that public television has consciously been tailoring its appeal to increasingly affluent audiences, in order to boost membership dollars, and insulate themselves from the political winds in Congress that might tamper with their funding. Hoynes hypothesizes that public television’s targeting of affluent membership is a greater motivator for programming decisions than the influence of corporate underwriting.

Looking at WYPR, one can see how the replacement of The Marc Steiner Show with Midday by Dan Rodricks also fits into Hoynes’ analysis of public broadcasting motivations. This programming change has made WYPR news more friendly and comforting. As the WYPR Web site describes Midday, news is balanced with “good manners” and “gentle laughter.” Steiner (now on WEAA, 88.9 FM) often focuses on how issues impact the lower and middle classes. Rodricks tackles public policy issues too, but often less passionately, and with his signature cynical tone. The controversies of the day just are not as pressing on Midday.

Never mind that, for instance, Wells Fargo is being charged by the city in federal court right now with having targeted African-American Baltimore residents with deceptive subprime loans that have blown up in many people’s faces. (Click here for news link). Never mind that the city is too dangerous, a subject Marc Steiner is covering well on his WEAA show currently (click here for link). Baltimore has a great arts, writing, and music culture (and thankfully WYPR’s The Signal covers it, and it too is linked).

Does WYPR’s homegrown programming reflect the diverse experiences and points-of-view of its wide audience? The homegrown line-up of Maryland Morning, Midday, Tapestry of the Times, and The Signal, does it challenge us as well as entertain?