Dear KALW family,
As leader of an NPR-affiliated station, I want to respond directly to the misinformation being spread by Twitter. The platform has labeled NPR’s official account as “state-affiliated media.” This designation is usually given to government-controlled media outlets, which NPR is not. Here are the facts:
NPR's is a nonprofit media organization that produces and distributes news and cultural programming to a network of more than 1,000 public radio stations in the United States. While NPR provides programming to these stations for a fee, each station is independently owned and operated and has editorial control over the programming it airs.
NPR is not directly funded by the U.S. government, although it does receive some funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 to promote public broadcasting. NPR receives less than 1% of its annual operating budget from CPB, according to its own financial reporting. NPR is required by law to maintain editorial independence from the CPB and any other government entity.
NPR is governed by a Board of Directors, which is composed of NPR member station managers, journalists, and representatives from the public, who oversee the organization's operations and make strategic decisions. This board is responsible for ensuring that NPR adheres to its mission of providing high-quality, independent journalism and programming to create a more informed public.
NPR's editorial independence is further protected by its code of ethics, which outlines the principles and standards that guide its reporting and programming. NPR journalists are expected to maintain their independence and objectivity, and they are not subject to editorial direction or pressure from any outside sources.
Thanks to my industry colleague A. Rima Dael, General Manager of WSHU Public Radio in Fairfield, Connecticut, for gathering and writing much of that information.
Both KALW and NPR are subject to various regulations and guidelines related to their use of public airwaves. For example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires all broadcasters to operate in the public interest and to provide a certain amount of programming that meets specific educational and cultural standards.
KALW is operated by the non-profit organization KALW Public Media, which has a governing board. Our station’s broadcast license is held by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), from which we also have editorial independence.
KALW receives no money from NPR. In fact, we pay NPR more than $300,000 per year for its programming and services. NPR is one of many distribution partners we have including American Public Media, the BBC, and PRX. We also produce our own programming, with a news department renowned for training aspiring journalists, several public interest programs, and a robust music department.
KALW utilizes firewalls to separate revenue from editorial content. We cultivate multiple revenue streams to ensure we’re not over-reliant on any one source. Approximately 2% of our funding comes from the CPB. Approximately 67% of our funding comes directly from listener support. That is why we accurately identify as “listener supported public media.”
KALW is rooted in the Bay Area and inspired by the world. We create and curate programming that is informative, innovative, inclusive, and entertaining. We nurture new and underrepresented voices. Our goal is to engage the individual and strengthen the connections between us. You can learn more about us by clicking this link.
We are here for the community. That is our agenda. If you listen, you know.
Thank you being part of the KALW family. Please email us with any thoughts you want to share at feedback@kalw.org.
Sincerely,
Ben Trefny
KALW Interim Executive Director