Public Broadcasting 101

Go to http://www.170millionamericans.org/

Recent controversy surrounding NPR has renewed calls in Congress to de-fund public broadcasting in America, particularly National Public Radio.

This is distressing for us at KAXE. Public radio is not the same as NPR. The public broadcasting system is more complicated than that.

Public broadcasting is a system. National Public Radio is a nonprofit organization that creates programming for the system. Some stations elect to buy programs from NPR, but NPR is not the public broadcasting system itself.

The public broadcasting system is made up of 900 local public radio stations and more than 300 local PBS TV stations. If Congress takes away the funding from the public broadcasting system, the money will come directly out of the budgets of local stations.

Here’s how federal funding works for KAXE:

KAXE receives about 20% of its annual revenue—or about $140,000—from federal funds. These funds come from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or CPB. They are KAXE’s third largest source of funding, after membership and underwriting.

About 1/4 of the CPB money going to every public radio station is restricted. We have to use it to buy programming that is distributed nationally and serves a national audience.  KAXE has always used its restricted money to buy programs and satellite services from NPR. We buy All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Car Talk and World Cafe. Other public radio stations (most of the other CPB-funded AMPERS stations in Minnesota, for example) choose to buy programs from other producers like PRI or American Public Media or others.

After that, we are allowed to use the other 3/4 of the money to operate KAXE. Federal money helps us pay for all of our other expenses, like operating our 100,000-watt transmitter, buying equipment and producing local programs like the Morning Show, On the River, the Phenology Show, RealGoodWords, Currents and Between You and Me.

For big stations in large cities, CPB funding is a smaller share of the budget. For small, rural stations like KAXE and rural public TV, it is a much larger share.

In our smaller market, government funding makes a crucial difference in our ability to do a good job for our community. NPR would be inconvenienced by the loss of government funding (it makes up about 2% of their budget), but entire stations—especially small, minority and rural public radio and TV stations—would be severely hurt by this same loss.

We hope you keep this in mind as you consider contacting your legislators, or as you hold discussions with your friends and family in and around our community about public broadcasting’s future.

.--Maggie Montgomery, General Manager, Northern Community Radio

Please Join 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting

If you love 91.7 KAXE and Northern Community Radio, keep reading!

Public broadcasting is the subject of a critical debate in Washington. The question under consideration is whether to keep funding public television and radio to ensure quality news and cultural programming for our communities–or not! 170 Million Americans listen to public radio stations like KAXE, or watch public TV, or use other kinds of public media every month.  If you are reading this blog, you’re one of that 170 million, and we’re asking you to add your voice to this debate. To do that, go to 170MillionAmericans.org and sign up for the 170 Million Americans campaign. When you register you will receive email updates about the status of this situation, and an occasional request to take action.

• More than half of all Americans use some form of public media every month.
  170 million Americans connect through 368 public television stations, 934 public radio stations, hundreds of online services, and in-person events and activities.
• Public broadcasting is one of the most effective public/private partnerships in America.
  Annual federal funding amounts to only $1.35 per American and is leveraged by local stations to raise six times that amount from other sources.
• Public broadcasting supports lifelong learning for all Americans.
  Investments in children’s educational, cultural, public affairs and news programming, digital classroom resources, teacher training, and distance learning have made public broadcasting a leader in lifelong learning.
• Public broadcasting strengthens our democracy. The free flow of ideas and debate helps us participate in the political process as informed citizens.
  

KAXE is proud to participate in the 170 Million Americans campaign. It’s an unprecedented collaboration of public radio and television stations, public broadcasting organizations, and listeners and viewers throughout the country, all in favor of strong public media in the United States. KAXE receives more than 1/4 of its $700,000 total budget through the combined investment of many citizens at the federal and state levels. KAXE relies more on federal and state support than most public broadcasting organizations do because we are a rural station. For any one person, this investment is very small, but when it's all put together it does a lot. Taking the "public" out of public broadcasting is a serious issue with many potential consequences. To help ensure the continued health of small stations like KAXE, and of large news and cultural organizations like NPR and PBS, go to 170MillionAmericans.org now and join the campaign. Thank you very much!