Please help with this Case National Public Radio Many Voices Serving Many Needs

illustration

When the word "organization" or "company" or "firm" comes up in conversations with your friends and classmates, the focus is most often on large for-profit businesses. Sometimes it's a smaller and local business, or even a franchise operation. The common ground among them, large or small, is actively working to generate profits for owners and shareholders. They do this by selling goods and services with a "bottom line goal" - to generate sales revenues that are greater than costs incurred.

There are other types of organizations that don't always get the attention they deserve. Instead of seeking profits, these "nonprofits" focus on public service and the common good. Think about the American Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Teach for America, Make-a-Wish Foundation, American Heart Association, United Way, National Audubon Society, Habitat for Humanity, and even nongovernmental organizations like the United Nations.

The underlying mission of a nonprofit organization isn't to generate a financial return for investors. Instead, it is typically to serve some kind of broad public purpose, provide help or services to a particular segment of the population, or to improve the lives of people living in a given community. The revenues that are generated by a nonprofit - if any - or the donations that it collects from community-minded patrons, are used to cover costs while advancing the cause that defines the underlying mission of the organization.

Speaking of donations in support of nonprofits, how often have you tuned in to your local National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate and listened to fund-raising appeals? NPR's stated mission is "to create a more informed public - one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures."1 But how does NPR approach this goal? How does it survive financially? How does a "national" public radio service link with "local" communities? In answering such questions, you'll find that NPR, like other nonprofits, is just as complex to organize and manage as a for-profit business.

National Public Radio was formally incorporated in 1970 by a group of 90 charter stations for the purpose of providing national news programming.2 Unlike for-profit corporations which generate returns through the sale of products or services, or commercial broadcasters which sell advertising spots during their programming, NPR's operating budget depends fundamentally on the donations it receives through pledge drives. NPR also receives operating capital from corporate underwriting, state and local government funding, contributions made by institutions of higher education, and allocations made by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which itself is a federally funded media organization.3

For-profit media typically operates as a group of television or radio stations that broadcast content provided by the same source. Local affiliates of a parent company are under obligation to broadcast integrated content, which generates branding benefits for the parent company and can create larger markets for the network's content.4 The parent company distributes its own, exclusive, program content between affiliates,5 who are responsible for broadcasting it and generating revenues from advertisers.

NPR is linked to local affiliates through a broadcasting syndication.6 Programming is typically either "live" or "pre-recorded" just prior to the broadcast. This programming is then distributed over the Internet or via satellite feed to local stations who pay for the content. NPR doesn't bind affiliates to an exclusive agreement. Affiliates can broadcast their own slate of programs, which can include NPR content, or other content of their choosing.

NPR collaborates with some 1,000 locally owned and operated member stations. Dispersed across the United States, they distribute content generated by 17 domestic and 17 global news bureaus. It is estimated that NPR content reaches more than 100 million consumers across its radio, smart speaker, social media, apps, and podcast platforms.7

What distinguishes the NPR organizational model from the increasingly prevalent consolidation among media corporations8 is that each member station has autonomy to choose its own slate of programming, its own broadcast schedule, and its own format, to incorporate broadcasting content produced by other radio stations and produce its own content based on the tastes and needs of local consumers.9 The relationship between local affiliates and NPR is also reciprocal. Local affiliates that generate content based on local stories of interest can funnel this content through the network of regional bureaus. If this content has national appeal, then it is broadcast nationally, which is why local stories are often heard on nationally broadcast programs.

NPR collaborates with local affiliates across the nation, making relevant and timely content available to affiliates, in order to advance the civic goal of helping to create a more informed and educated public. Affiliates participate in this broader goal in many different ways according the specific needs and attributes of the local markets they serve.

Case Analysis Questions

1. Discussion What are the implications of NPR's operating approach in contrast to the that of for-profit media? How might this decision be related to NPRs not-for-profit status? What kinds of issues are likely to play a role in how successful this model is, moving forward, in light of the massive consolidation in the media industry?

2. Discussion How does the structure of NPR relate to questions relating to branding? What about quality control? Would this kind of "organic" organizational structure work in a not-for-profit setting? Why or why not? What other kinds of businesses might benefit from this kind of loose conglomeration? Why, specifically? What about higher education?

3. Problem Solving Draw a diagram that shows what you believe NPR's present organization structure looks like. Be sure to include all possible components in the structure. Consider this structure from the standpoint of an organization design consultant. How could this structure be improved? How can NPR provide even more compelling local and national content without losing its authenticity and independence from major commercial media sponsors?