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NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

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Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#281
post #52
post #22

Is NPR state funded? (real question - I actually don't know). What is the definition of state funded? Here in Canada all the media take government subsidies especially the big ones - a lot of that I think is the economics, they simply don't generate enough revenue on their own to sustain themselves so in the process of being subsidized by the federal govt they take on the viewpoint that can be considered statist. You…

34% of their budget comes from CPB, which is federal funding for local radio stations, and which NPR gets the money through local stations. They downplay this funding source and only mention the 1-4% that they get directly from local/state/federal government sources but clearly NPR would be dead without federal funding. [1] https://gigafact.org/fact-briefs/does-npr-receive-less-1-its...

> 34% of their budget comes from CPB

No. 34% goes to affiliate stations. A portion of that 34% goes to NPR indirectly through the fees they charge the affiliates to carry the programming.

The affiliates are not NPR.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#282
post #53

> It receives less than 1 percent Why do they keep saying they receive almost nothing, yet at the same time say government funding is essential to their operation?

Because every penny counts. What business would turn around and say : "We don't need that 1%, you can have it back". It's state affiliated. Like Tesla. Like any company who received covid relief. Tax breaks etc. Less than 1 percentage is simply not influential. It's disingenuous to say it's owned by the government.

> It's state affiliated. Like Tesla. Like any company who received covid relief. Tax breaks etc.

So... everyone and everything is state affiliated and should be labeled as such?

That's obviously not the case. State affiliated should be limited to organizations that are influenced/controlled significantly by the state, which NPR is not. This is actually the definition that Twitter advertises.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#283

I wonder if this will have any domino effect, right now the only thing holding Twitter together is its network effects. According to the article on NPR's site[0], they have 8.7 million followers and run 52 different accounts so Twitter is losing a pretty important partner. Also, no mention of Mastodon in this announcement. It sounds like they're just going to use Facebook for the time being. 0: https://www.npr.org/20…

>8.7 million followers and run 52 different accounts so Twitter is losing a pretty important partner

Nah.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#284

Here's what NPR's own website says about their federal funding: "Federal funding is essential to public radio's service to the American public and its continuation is critical for both stations and program producers, including NPR." "Public radio stations receive annual grants directly from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)" "The loss of federal funding would undermine the stations' ability to pay NPR for…

That excerpt isn't about their funding. The CPB funds (in part) public radio stations . Many of those public radio stations purchase NPR-produced content . (And from other similar providers like American Public Media (Marketplace), PRX (This American Life), etc.) NPR's customers can't afford NPR's offerings without said Federal funding, which is why NPR's particularly interested in it.

An agency that is federally funded through 1 layer of intermediaries is still, in the most practical sense, federally funded.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#285

Why "falsely"? I've been an NPR fan my whole life, but there is no denying at all that their coverage of american politics is nowhere near impartial. So as long as current party in power is aligned with them, they are de-factor state-aligned.

Why "falsely"?

Because "nowhere near impartial" != "state-affiliated". And your attempt to tie the two is a bit lacking.

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#286

I've seen government-funded ads on Twitter. Wouldn't it be ironic if Twitter's revenue share from government sources is larger than NPR's 1-2%?

It's also interesting that we don't see the state affiliated label on SpaceX yet.

It's also interesting that you think SpaceX is a media company

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#289
post #61
post #3

It's so wild witnessing the degradation of Twitter.

[flagged]

>... why is it bad to let people know?

It's not, as long as you're not doing it to specifically target one company or be a dick about it. Is he going to label his own companies with the same thing?

>According to a Los Angeles Times investigation, Musk's companies had received an estimated $4.9 billion in government support by 2015, and they've gotten more since.[1]

[1]https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-list-government-su...

Re: NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

#290

How on earth can anyone say "falsely labeled"? NPR does get money from the federal government, that is an undisputable fact. How are they not "state-affilated"? I don't care how small a % of the budget is money from the government. The fact they take any money at all from the gov makes them sate-affilated.

So if you were, say, a restaurant where your local park rangers held their annual employee appreciation dinner, you are now state affiliated?
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