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Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

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Re: Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

#11

Post by domenicd »

e1ven wrote: post #4

I love NPR. I'm glad they're doing well, and hope they will continue to make quality programs. But one of the major advantages which has set them apart for me is that they aren't as advertising dependent as so many of their alternatives. Avoiding ads makes it easier for them to be independent, and able to report without fear of corporations withdrawing their support. It's also just much more pleasant to listen to. I…

As someone who only vaguely remembers NPR from their childhood, my primary association of NPR is with their podcasts. And those things are full of ads. So I initially found this post very confusing.

I guess in the past there might have been something called NPR which did not have ads?

Re: Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

#13

Post by geitir »

xref wrote: post #10

If you want a contrary take on NPR and particularly how their political coverage is awful, Erik Loomis, a professor of union labor history and about as far left as you can get, has a number of articles on how NPR fails the national discussion http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2019/07/our-worthless-me...

This guy is a professor? Kind of ironic right off the bat he dismisses his wife's opinion and then claims journalism that refrains from labels is toxic.

Re: Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

#14

Post by Townley »

domenicd wrote: post #11
e1ven wrote: post #4

I love NPR. I'm glad they're doing well, and hope they will continue to make quality programs. But one of the major advantages which has set them apart for me is that they aren't as advertising dependent as so many of their alternatives. Avoiding ads makes it easier for them to be independent, and able to report without fear of corporations withdrawing their support. It's also just much more pleasant to listen to. I…

As someone who only vaguely remembers NPR from their childhood, my primary association of NPR is with their podcasts. And those things are full of ads. So I initially found this post very confusing. I guess in the past there might have been something called NPR which did not have ads?

This wasn't the case as recently as a few years ago. I used to listen to the podcast version of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me exclusively, and remember musical interludes that immediately went right back to the show.

One time I was driving in the car at just the right time and heard Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on the radio for the first time (as opposed to in podcast form) and was startled that there were ads. Now of course there are a ton of ads, but I remember being surprised by how NPR seemed to be a holdout to the Mailchimp/Casper/Blue Apron-fueled ad craze.

Re: Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

#15

Post by TylerE »

duxup wrote: post #3

NPR is such a national treasure. Here in Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio is one of the few places that does detailed stories on rural area outside the cities.

That's MPR, not NPR. NPR is basically just a content provider, much like when you read a national AP story in your local paper.

Re: Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

#16

Post by viburnum »

xref wrote: post #10

If you want a contrary take on NPR and particularly how their political coverage is awful, Erik Loomis, a professor of union labor history and about as far left as you can get, has a number of articles on how NPR fails the national discussion http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2019/07/our-worthless-me...

I think the main problem with NPR news is they always play dumb. If somebody tells them "2+2=5," they just repeat it, if even it's been proven a lie, even if they've been saying the same lie for 30 years. It's not objectivity, it's just enabling liars.

Re: Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

#17

Post by DoofusOfDeath »

One beef I have with NPR podcasts is that they often crank up the loudness of the ads way higher than the rest of the podcast.

When I already have the volume adjusted so I can hear the podcast over local background noise, the commercials are genuinely painful. Especially when I'm wearing earbuds and can't instantly lower the volume.

I'm sure they have reasons, but it really pisses me off.

Re: Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

#18

Post by alrs »

diafygi wrote: post #5

I have mixed feelings about this, since on several NPR podcasts Exxon has sponsored and advertised their carbon capture investment, despite it being a greenwashing campaign that comprises such a tiny percent of their overall new investment. How can NPR not ultimately be captured by corporate interests with for-profit sponsorships?

Because it's already a state-media propaganda apparatus?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_operations_(Unit...

Re: Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

#19

Post by gbrown »

dgaudet wrote: post #2

this pleases me in so many ways. as a former public radio listener, who grew increasingly tired of finding something else to listen to during the all-too-regular fund drives, i very much appreciate the ability to skip forward on podcasts. i'm also happier paying for good audio content than i am willing to pay for a dozen different news site subscriptions. my regular day is full of visual-attention-required tasks, and…

They've experimented with "silent" fund drives lately in Iowa, where if they raise a target amount then the full fund drive is skipped. I like that a lot, as well as the fact that their programs are all podcasted.

Re: Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR’s financial growth

#20

Post by gbrown »

alrs wrote: post #18
diafygi wrote: post #5

I have mixed feelings about this, since on several NPR podcasts Exxon has sponsored and advertised their carbon capture investment, despite it being a greenwashing campaign that comprises such a tiny percent of their overall new investment. How can NPR not ultimately be captured by corporate interests with for-profit sponsorships?

Because it's already a state-media propaganda apparatus? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_operations_(Unit...

NPR is not perfect - in particular, I have some issues with the artifical equivalency between our two major parties implied by NPR interview programs.

With that being said, your claim is 100% complete and utter bullshit, unsupported by even your own source.

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