POWIP Piece of Work In Progress – Former Abode of Dan Collins

Not Particularly Reliable

Good thing NPR doesn't count on government monies:

NPR apologist Norah O'Donnell also tossed out the 1 percent to 3 percent range, and AP reporter Brett Zongker reported, "Federal grants provide less than 2 percent – or $3.3 million – of NPR's $166 million annual budget."

But almost one-quarter – 23 percent – of the money NPR gets comes from the taxpayers, meaning congressional chatter about defunding NPR over the Juan Williams firing could pose a serious threat to the organization.

Mark Browning, at The American Thinker, calculated NPR's taxpayer subsidy numbers based on figures publicly available on NPR's own website.

Look down the road and what do you see? Check out "Restoring the Republic: A Clear, Concise, and Colorful Blueprint for America’s Future"

Browning estimates that NPR's 900 member stations receive approximately 41 percent of their funding directly or indirectly from taxpayers, primarily through tax deductions, grants from government-funded universities, and direct grants by federal, state and local governments.

Just for old time's sake, here was the lowdown on NPR's top earners in 2008:

Josh Gerstein, a former reporter for ABC News and the New York Sun, blogged about how National Public Radio -- now laying off 64 employees and shutting down two programs -- has some perhaps surprising salary figures for a somewhat public media outlet:

NPR reported its five highest paid employees were:
1. Managing Editor Barbara Rehm, $383,139
2. All Things Considered host Robert Siegel [pictured], $350,288
3. Morning Edition host Renee Montagne, $332,160
4. Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep, $331,242
5. NPR afternoon programming director Richard L. Harris, $190,267.

The most eye-catching salary ever reported on an NPR tax form is probably the $505,132 paid to broadcaster Bob Edwards in FY2004, the year he was ousted as host of Morning Edition, quit, and went to XM Radio. He hosted his last NPR show in April, five months before the end of the fiscal year, so the half-million dollar salary (presumably including some kind of severance) seems to have been for just seven months work....

So, while I think that Juan Williams' $2 million for 3 years is a lot for Fox to pay, it's not exactly outrageous, considering what some of the folks at NPR take in. In case you're wondering what public relations genius V-Schill makes, keep wondering:

Chastened by its experience with Stern [previous CEO who got $1.3 million severance], NPR did not offer Schiller an employment contract -- an unusual move at large nonprofits, and even at for-profit corporations, where contracts customarily guarantee payouts if the CEO and board of directors part ways. But NPR has had to tighten its belt. Facing a projected $8.5 million deficit in FY2010, it's eliminated 102 positions and currently employs 840. Staff, including NPR's senior VPs, have agreed to five days of unpaid furlough.

For the last two weeks of the fiscal year, Schiller and NPR's top management earned no payment; Schiller even cut her own salary, which amounts to two more unpaid weeks this year. NPR calls Schiller's working for free "an important step to take" to show solidarity with its unionized workforce.

Schiller, "arguably the nation's most powerful woman in media" per More magazine, has also worked at overhauling NPR. She has added new VPs of development and strategic operations, and its revamped Web site lets nonprofits post its archival footage free of charge.

NPR did not disclose Schiller's salary, but pays its top talent less than commercial media does. Steve Inskeep and Renee Montaigne, co-hosts of NPR's Morning Edition, each earn more than $300,000 a year, according to IRS filings provided by Guidestar. By comparison, Brian Williams, anchor of NBC Nightly News, earns roughly $6 million annually, according to The Boston Globe.

So, next time NPR lectures you on America's dependency on this or that, remember. And remember, too: Katie Couric loves you.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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