NPR CEO Mocks Huckabee's Call to Defund Channel – Says Government Contributions Are Insignificant
Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, October 21, 2010, 12:04 PM
Rodney Ho at the Atlanta-Journal Constitution was the first reporter to interview NPR CEO Vivian Schiller on Juan Williams’ firing.
She claims it was not the first time Juan Williams stepped over the line.
Q: So did Juan really get fired over just those Muslim comments? [He said he was uncomfortable with Muslims dressed in traditional garb on airplanes during a Fox News telecast yesterday.]
A: There have been several instances over the last couple of years where we have felt Juan has stepped over the line. He famously said last year something about Michelle Obama and Stokely Carmichael. [The quote on Fox News last year: Obama "has this Stokely-Carmichael-in-a-designer-dress thing going" and that she'll be an "albatross" for President Obama.]. This isn’t a case of one strike and you’re out.
Q: So this is obviously not an isolated incident.
A: There’s so much misinformation on the blogosphere, it’s nuts. This has been an on-going issue. When he does that, when anybody does that, it undermines their credibility as a journalist or in Juan’s case, a news analyst for NPR. Those two things cannot go together…
Q: Mike Huckabee is now saying NPR has discredited itself and should have federal funding revoked.
A: Yes, I heard that. This has become a political issue. My God, I’m shocked!
Q: Could NPR live without federal funding?
A: Let’s go on a sidebar. There’s a misperception about federal funding and public radio. There’s the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They receive $90 million a year and a vast majority goes to member public radio stations. Those stations pull in more than $1 billion collectively a year. It’s significant and important but not even close to the lion’s share of revenues for public radio. NPR gets no allocation from CPB. Zero. We are a private 501(c)3. We’ve had journalists call up and ask what department of the government we report to. That’s laughable. Have you listened to our shows? We do apply for competitive grants from the likes of the Ford Foundation and the Knight Foundation. As a result, some money from CPB does come to us when we win grants. Depending on the year, it represents just one to three percent of our total budget.
Q: What is your annual budget?
A: $160 million a year from station fees and dues, corporate underwriting, philanthropic contributions from individuals and corporation and earned income and earnings from our endowment.
By the way… It was Think Progress and the Soros-funded Media Matters who raised a stink about Juan’s Stokely Carmichael comments, too.
If NPR CEO Vivian Schiller is so unappreciative of the government contributions to NPR then she shouldn’t miss the cash if Republicans move to defund the far left news outlet.
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Published May 24, 2012 at 8:46 pm - 91 Comments
Centra commented:
defund them NOW!!
Edouard commented:
Fine. If the taxpayer funding for NPR is so insignificant, we want all of it back. Permanently.
Granny commented:
Here is what Wiki has to say about NPR funding -
According to the 2005 financial statement, NPR makes just over half of its money from the fees and dues it charges member stations to receive programming. Public funding accounts for 16% of the average member station’s revenue, with 10% of this coming in the form of grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a federally funded organization.[14][15][16] Some more of that money originates from local and state governments and government-funded universities subsidizing member stations’ fees and dues to NPR.[17] Member stations that serve rural and “minority” communities receive significantly more funding from the CPB; in some cases up to 70%.[14] About 2% of NPR’s non-membership created funding comes from bidding on government grants and programs, chiefly the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; the remainder comes from member station dues, foundation grants, and corporate underwriting. Typically, NPR member stations raise funds through on-air pledge drives, corporate underwriting, and grants from state governments, universities, and the CPB itself.
Over the years, the portion of the total NPR budget that comes from government funding has decreased. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the majority of NPR funding came from the federal government. Steps were taken during the 1980s to completely wean NPR from government support, but the 1983 funding crisis forced the network to make immediate changes. More money to fund the NPR network was raised from listeners, charitable foundations and corporations, and less from the federal government.
[edit] Underwriting spots vs. commercials
In contrast with commercial radio, NPR does not carry traditional commercials, but has advertising in the form of brief statements from major donors, such as Allstate, Merck, and Archer Daniels Midland. These statements are called “underwriting spots”, not commercials, and, unlike commercials, are governed by FCC restrictions; they cannot advocate a product or contain any “call to action”. In 2005, corporate sponsorship made up 23% of the NPR budget.[18] NPR is not as dependent on revenue from underwriting spots as commercial stations are on revenue from advertising.[citation needed]
[edit] Joan Kroc Grant
On November 6, 2003, NPR was given over US$225 million from the estate of the late Joan B. Kroc, the widow of Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s Corporation. This was a record—the largest monetary gift ever to a cultural institution.[19][20] For context, the 2003 annual budget of NPR was US$101 million. In 2004 that number increased by over 50% to US$153 million due to the Kroc gift. US$34 million of the money was deposited in its endowment.[21] The endowment fund before the gift totaled $35 million.[19] NPR will use the interest from the bequest to expand its news staff and reduce some member stations’ fees.[citation needed] The 2005 budget was about US$120 million.
[edit] George Soros grant
In October 2010, NPR accepted a $1.8 million grant from George Soros, given through his Open Society Foundation.[22]
Paul A'Barge commented:
Take a look:
“http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1240&bih=725&q=NPR+CEO+Vivian+Schiller&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=”
This is the mutt who thrives on your tax dollars.
Aren’t you happy now?
toby928 commented:
Says Government Contributions Are Insignificant
So, no great loss then. Thanks.
Militant Conservative commented:
National=Federal=Government.
Thus
NPR=Government Radio
Government Radio=Propaganda
powder is dry, defund right after the swearing in and the ethics trials.
tarpon commented:
Well if then … So if they don’t need the money we sure do.
olm commented:
Good, then defund and the wackos can do whatever they want. No more public money, period.
NPR=NSR and change the name too.
newton commented:
“Says Government Contributions Are Insignificant”
So why are you not privatizing it and paying for it YOURSELVES? You have the money, after all!
Not to mention, doesn’t Daddy Soros give you plenty of money for it? NPR can accept blood money for all I care!
If Soros pays, I don’t want to. NPR can accept blood money
WE SHALL PAY NO TAX MONEY FOR YOUR GARBAGE! NOT ONE CENT FOR TRIBUTE, NPR!
Jingo commented:
The CEO says they won’t miss the federal money. Perfect.
This interview should be Exhibit A in the bill to defund NPR.
Ed commented:
“Insignifiant” That’s good..then you won’t miss it when they defund you…..
Spike commented:
Is Rodney really a Ho?
Rock commented:
Hey if the money is so insignificant, defund now, I’m Sure George Soros will be more than happy to carry the financial load for National Progressive Radio. Should end some of the confusion as to the groups true roots and agenda.
Paddy commented:
Defunding NPR/NPB is not enough. Kill them. Fire all of their employees, sell off the assets, and let the market place replace them, if replacement is useful and can be cost effective.
While the next Congress is at it, the rest of the government sponsored enterprises, such as Fannie, Freddie, Amtrak, and the Postal Service should be privatized. Ending the cost and subsidy drain, and revenue from sales and new tax payers will be substantial.
This proposal is win/win for sure.
jojo commented:
Heh-
Charles Jaco has room for Juan and Rick Sanchez under his fake palm tree!
Taqiyyotomist commented:
Paul #4
I wonder how many Saabs she owns.
How many island paradises, seaside resorts, and mountain villas does she frequent (or own)?
BABYLON.
That is the only word you need to know about today’s progressives.
Taqiyyotomist commented:
Rock #14
Damn good comment.
If it’s so insignificant, why all the panic?
Reaganite Republican commented:
If it’s insignificant he wont miss it, eh
De fund NPR Feb 2011- cut them off and let them choke in the marketplace like Air America.
And NPR was right when they saw the TEA Party as a mortal threat… we are. Congress will be hounded relentlessly until we’re no longer paying for this little Psy-Op ministry…
TXBitty commented:
Does the NPR hate people of color?
http://mije.org/richardprince/nabj-questions-npr-diversity
DocScience commented:
As they said, they don’t need the money.
Others do.
Time for CPB/NPR/PBS to make it on their own.
Taqiyyotomist commented:
RR, it ain’t little. Every other item you buy, from potato chips to beer to electronics? It’s makers donate (or, more to the point, are shaken down for) money to green, LGBTQQ?@WoofMooBaaaaNAMBLA, Communist, “Artiste” and other assorted “separate” organizations by the millions each year.
This “psy-op ministry” is so gargantuan, (to quote a Negativland sample) “It’s not even funny.”
Schools, publishing houses, universities, broadcast media outlets, NGOs, “community organizations”, and even the “pastors” of a huge percentage of “”"”"”Christian”"”"” churches,…
All part and parcel of the same demonic org.
Not little at all.
—-
EVEN IF WE WIN HUGE, THEY STILL FFFFING CONTROL ALL THAT. K-12 thru Ph-D. 99% of the TV AIRWAVES. 99% of the PUBLISHERS.
—
Sorry to seem to be emulating Cassandra here.
Off_the_Air commented:
CEO Schiller has the audacity to say “This has become a political issue. My God, I’m shocked!” . . . Please! NPR has moved beyond the illusory and entered the world of pure deception. George Soros can have ALL of it as far as I’m concerned — Let NPR be remembered as yet another captured play-thing in Soros media collection. For one, I welcome the day when NPR’s monotone in-depth offerings on the migratory habits of South African Swallows are replaced with static. I can find the classical music elsewhere. Good riddance.
Marsh commented:
If it’s so insignificant then just remove the government funding. Then they can rename themselves to something more appropriate like pravda.
Kevin P commented:
“They receive $90 million a year and a vast majority goes to member public radio stations.”
That equates to the entire average yearly earnings of 1,429 private sector employees, or 699 public sector employees.
Stop defunding the tax paying – and start defunding the piggies at the trough!
Taqiyyotomist commented:
Off The Air #25
“For one, I welcome the day when NPR’s monotone in-depth offerings on the migratory habits of South African Swallows [and how their very existance is threatened by humans, but especially Americans, and more specifically White Capitalist Christian and Jewish Americans] are replaced with static”
Fixed that for ya.
Great comment, still.
bg commented:
++
USDA Declares War on Potatoes. Soros Funds $1 Million MMA War on Fox News and Glenn Beck. UPDATE: Soros Funds $1 Million to NPR..
Now MMA Wants NPR’s Mara Liasson Fired
[You. Just. Cannot. Make. This. Stuff. Up. This is not, I repeat, NOT a joke. First of all, the Obama USDA has decided that the consumption of potatoes by poor people and school children must be controlled!
[..]
UPDATE: It never ends with this #$%^& people. The Daily Caller reports:
Media Matters columnist Eric Boehlert Thursday in a post entitled “What about Mara Liasson?” “[I]f you look at NPR’s code of ethics, there’s simply no way Liasson should be making appearances on Fox.” . . .
Boehlert said that since Fox News pushes a “political agenda,”
Liasson’s association violates the organization’s code of ethics.
In 2009, it was reported that NPR pressured Liasson to cut her ties with Fox News, a network she has contributed to since 1997. Liasson did not immediately return a request for comment.
Media Matters and NPR both announced this week they were receiving million-dollar grants from left-wing billionaire George Soros.
Doesn’t MMA know Mara’s an Obama defender?]
something tells me the useful tools are no longer helping
their cause, ergo, time to bring in the big guns so to speak..
we keep putting up with this nonsense, and
a couple of years from now we be well done..
==
Taqiyyotomist commented:
World’s Shortest Lists, no. 21
Nature Shows which don’t impugn Ameicans and Consumers and Capitalists, but instead focus on nature and it’s amazing, captivating, enlightening features.
I was born in ’71, and I can’t remember ever having seen, heard, or read one that didn’t end with:
“….and the evil human capitalist West, especially America, and more specifically white Christian and Jewish and non-Fellow Travellers in America….are KILLING ALL OF THIS!!!!111eleventy”
Never once. I bet even “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” had that Moral of the Story most of the time. I was too young to notice, but I bet they did.
Taqiyyotomist commented:
Wow, I gotta stay away from the MGD’s for a few. I misspelled “Americans.”
NOT GOOD.
Stuart commented:
If there’s no NPR how in the world am I going to figure out what is wrong with my car?
Although I suspect Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers could get their own show elsewhere.
But where?
But where?
Wait!! Wait!! Don’t tell me.
bg commented:
++
Paul A’Barge @ 12:45 pm #4
here you go..
and here i go..
BIO, as of April 15, 2008 anyways..
[Vivian Schiller was named senior vice president and general manager
of NYTimes.com in May 2006. In this role, she leads the day-to-day operations of NYTimes.com, the largest newspaper Web site on the Internet. Ms. Schiller had previously served as senior vice president, Television and Video for The New York Times and also executive vice president and general manager for the Discovery Times Channel, a joint venture with Discovery Communications. She has been with the Times Company since May 2002.
Under Ms. Schiller's leadership, Discovery Times Channel distribution grew from 14 million households to more than 39 million, achieving early profitability and critical acclaim. During her tenure, The Discovery Times Channel also received numerous awards including three Emmys, two Overseas Press Club Awards and three National Headliner Awards.
Before joining the Times Company, Ms. Schiller worked for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. as executive vice president for CNN Productions. In this position, she led the CNN Newsgroup's long-form programming efforts, including the development and launch of People in the News (with People magazine) and CNN Presents. During her tenure with CNN, Ms. Schiller received numerous awards, including five Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Schiller served as vice president and general manager of Turner Original Productions where she managed the documentary division of the Turner Entertainment Networks. In addition, she was senior producer for Turner's first-ever Oscar nominated program, Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream, among other Peabody- and Emmy-winning productions. She began her career at Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. in 1988 as a Russian interpreter and production coordinator on projects in the former Soviet Union.
Ms. Schiller earned her master's degree in Russian from Middlebury College in 1984 and her bachelor's degree in Russian and Soviet Studies from Cornell University in 1983.]
nothing to see there huh.. /s/
==
John Foster commented:
My understanding is that the public funding of NPR is largely indirect. As Schiller says, the direct government funding of NPR is small, on the order of 1-3%. The key is her passing reference to member station fees. The CPB sends taxpayer monies to the member stations, which then in turn pays NPR for “content.” So the entity to defund is actually the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
illiniguy commented:
The direct funding may be small…but the tax exempt status of “member” stations is NOT. If entities lose their exempt status then contributions from “do gooders” drys up.
befuddled commented:
“Says Government Contributions Are Insignificant”
correction: “Republican Contributions Are Insignificant”
If a bunch of far left kooks pay your bills, than why bother with the pretense of being objective. Know your enemy.
Cover Up commented:
So how much money is coming from Muslim-related funding?
kyle commented:
Then someone over at the IRS ought to look very carefully at the entity’s 501(c)(3) status.
Valerie commented:
We need to de-fund both CPB and NPR.
Rob Crawford commented:
If it’s such a small portion, they won’t miss it.
DEFUND THEM NOW!
AJ Lynch commented:
She did the old mis-direction play. We have to follow the money.
Here is how it works: The CPB gives money to the individual public stations [i.e Philly station WHYY gets $4 Million a year] and then NPR charges WHYY “fees” so some of that CPB money ends in NPR coffers.
Schiller used to work for the NY Times so we know she is a hideous liberal liar.
ScurvyOaks commented:
John Foster #35 nails it. The indirect funding through member stations is significant, so it’s the CPB that should be defunded.
ScurvyOaks commented:
Defunding CPB won’t kill off NPR, of course. They have plenty of Kroc money and will continue to raise a lot of money from liberal contributors, who obviously can do anything with their money that they want to do. I just don’t want our tax money going to this.
Redwine commented:
Thanks, BG (#34)
“She began her career at Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. in 1988 as a Russian interpreter and production coordinator on projects in the former Soviet Union.
Ms. Schiller earned her master’s degree in Russian from Middlebury College in 1984 and her bachelor’s degree in Russian and Soviet Studies from Cornell University in 1983.”
Hmmmm. A probable communist running a US government-funded media organization. Connect the dots with Soros, Barry Hussein…
OxyCon commented:
Again, weaselzippers has a post up about Soros giving Vivian Shill and NPR $1.8 dollars at around the same time Soros gave MediaMatters another $1 million.
The way Soros is financing NPR, ThinkProgress and MediaMatters, you could say that Vivian Shill was just listening to her real boss when she fired Juan Williams.
aprilnovember811 commented:
No shock who pushed for this. The front for Islamic Jihad, CAIR!
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/10/hamas-linked-muslim-brotherhood-cair-demand-for-action-juan-williams-fired-.html
Maria commented:
I think we should take a look and see exactly where NPR gets ALL of its funding. Since it’s government-funded, inquiring minds want to know.
Marie commented:
Well, if the public funding are so insignificant then NPR won’t miss the funding when the Republicans pull the plug on their money next year.
jenny commented:
Yank the funding. Period. PBS and NPR should not be getting taxpayer money. Sounds like a good place to start defunding waste in government.
aprilnovember811 commented:
http://weaselzippers.us/2010/10/21/coincidence-george-soros-open-society-foundation-just-gave-npr-1-8-million-to-hire-new-journalists/
Hmmm: George Soros “Open Society Foundation” Just Gave NPR $1.8 Million to Hire New Journalists…
aprilnovember811 commented:
I wish this ugly NAZI sympathizer, and Obama puppet master, the actual president would go to be with his mentor soon, Adolf Hitler in Hell!
Redwine commented:
Yes, aprilnovember. But Islamic terror front group, CAIR, is just the messenger. CAIR has penetrated deep into the US government and federal agencies, thanks to sympathizer Barry Hussein. You can be sure funding for this came from Soros. If Soros going after Beck and Fox News now, I am terribly afraid of what will happen to conservative talk radio and blogs after Nov. 2.
Kevin W. commented:
Typical out of touch Alinsky child, referring to our tax money going to NPR as “Government contributions”.
Speech Nazi’s like Vivian Schiller will never get it will they? And they wonder why we look down at them for the snobs they are.
Tom of the Missouri commented:
I say defund them last year. Palin and Huckabee are making NPR’s argument for them by arguing that we should defund them because of this latest incident. The latest incident is just a reminder of their far left politics. There are 8 gazillion private radio stations in the USA and there is no reason NPR could not become another, I don’t want my tax money going to this political soapbox or any political soapbox. Where is it in the constitution that I should be forced at the point of a gun to fund my political enemies or that the USA should be in the radio business. Is this too interstate commerce? Palin and Huckabee should argue the principal, not the incident. Arguing the incident implies that that they must otherwise approve of this gross misappropriation of our precious tax dollars. Arguing the incident allows them to pull off the shelf some rare show favorable to conservatives and then the argument becomes one of weight, which is an argument that conservatives are extreme and unreasonable and one they will lose. Good grief my fellow American’s, if we cannot say no to this speck in the federal budget how can we have any hope. Ditto for all of the above to PBS, too, and the local affiliates of both.
TXBitty commented:
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/11806
…..Through AIM we urged reductions of the budget of the Corporation for Public Broad-casting; we failed, the CPB is requesting $483 million for Fiscal Year 2011. CPB funds 356 public TV stations through the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and 860 public radio stations through National Public Radio (NPR). The funding was only at $340 million when Bush took office.
…..In addition to National Public Radio, the “progressives” also can tap the Pacifica Network, consisting of five stations owned by the Pacifica Foundation, one associate station, and close to 150 affiliated stations. The Pacifica Foundation, which gets about $1.4 million a year in federal money, puts about $46,000 into Democracy Now!, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. This radio/TV show itself got $150,000 from Bill Moyers’ Schumann Center for Media and Democracy. Goodman says her show is airing on over 750 stations and has a bigger audience than Larry King on CNN or the MSNBC cable channel. Her Democracy Now Productions! ran on a $2.4 million budget in 2007.
…Meanwhile, the Ford Foundation is a major underwriter of the Center for Social Media of American University, a project headed by left-wing activist Patricia Aufderheide, who says that “Taxpayer funds are crucial…” to creating new “public media.” This group got money under a $50 million Ford Foundation program to create and strengthen “public media.”
….This is the direction many of the “progressive” groups are going. In fact, a socialist-oriented “media reform” group with ties to the Obama Administration has called for new federal programs and the spending of tens of billions of dollars to keep journalists employed at liberal media outlets and to put them to work in new “public media.”
Tom of the Missouri commented:
I may have got my acronyms wrong, CPB, NPR, PBS, it is all the same and should all be cut off from taxpayer money. The point is the same for all.
If that is true I say tough sh*t. It is not true though. Are people afraid that there are not enough libs to fund a lib point of view? Has anyone been to a Hollywood movie lately? Private capitalism seems to have no problem finding billions of dollars for product there. I hate their product there too, but I am not paying for it so I have no right to complain except to not buy tickets, which is what I mostly do.
How about lib points of view on the internet? There is simply no argument to continue using taxpayer money for this nonsense.
bg commented:
++
Muslims speak out against NPR’s political correctness
[Stephen Schwartz, executive director of the Center for Islamic
Pluralism, echoed Fatah and Jasser. Schwartz told TheDC that
he and his organization opposed NPR’s reaction to Williams’
comments.
“Mr. Williams is basically an opinion journalist and he offered an opinion based on an undeniable reality: American Muslims have so far failed in our duty to prevent negative perceptions among our non-Muslim neighbors, and many, unfortunately, have taken the existing concerns among non-Muslims as a challenge to assert Muslim identity more aggressively, through forms of dress as well as speech that are often extravagant and excessive,” Schwartz wrote in an e-mail to TheDC.
“Mr. Williams spoke to this reality in an understated, candid way. He did not express hatred or incite violence against Muslims. He should not have been dismissed.”]
more @ link & much more here..
==
donh commented:
If NPR has all this money, they are in fine position to pay a large settlement to Juan for wrongful termination.
zipity commented:
OK. Let’s end the direct taxpayer subsidy to NPR. And then the indirect subsidy. End the tax deduction for contributing to NPR. Then you’ll hear them squeal like stuck pigs….
Bill commented:
It is funny how they claim how little money they get so we should not worry about it. Gee…wasn’t ACORN saying the same thing and wow look what happened when the federal money stopped coming in! POOF ACORN GONE!
They are playing a shell game claiming no part of the grants to local stations which are laundered through the mandatory fees to the national liberal program – sounds like the Mafia!
I bet if the funding is cut, the go under and the lie will be exposed.
bg commented:
++
Tom of the Missouri @ 3:33 pm #70
re: [How about lib points of view on the internet?]
their argument is to call upon a God they do not believe in to defend their feigned dignity, scream you’re wrong in your ear, stomp their feet and walk away waving their hands in the air and shaking their heads in disbelief..
afraid they do pretty much the same thing via the net, only they substitute all of the above thusly: me, me, me (as in all about them), ad hominem attack, ad hominem attack, ad hominem attack (as in all about you), blame, blame, blame (as in denial of their culpability)..
==