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NPR Buyouts: Plan To Cut Staff By 10%

NPR announced on Friday that it will attempt to reduce its staff by about 10% through voluntary buyouts, in order to balance the budget. NPR is a very popular source of news and entertainment for many...
NPR Buyouts: Plan To Cut Staff By 10%
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  • NPR announced on Friday that it will attempt to reduce its staff by about 10% through voluntary buyouts, in order to balance the budget. NPR is a very popular source of news and entertainment for many people, and it is sad to hear of news like this. Hopefully people will not have to miss out on too many of their favorite programs because of this decision. The economy of this country is struggling and since radio broadcasting is a dying business in some aspects, they are forced to analyze their budget and see where they are able to slim down.

    More information about the buyouts is supposed to be available next week, while their last significant cutback came in 2008, letting go of about 8% of their staff at that time. A number of other people have been hired since then certainly, but many of them have been sent to work for their other up and coming outlets such as NPR.org and the various apps that they offer. This announcement was depicted as one of the most significant staff cutbacks in the history of the public radio organization, according to the New York Times. A spokeswoman for the organization was also quoted saying that if the desired reductions are not achieved through buyouts alone, “involuntary measures will need to be considered.”

    Hard times cause people to not be able to be quite as generous to their favorite radio stations, while advertisers are not able to do all that they used to do either. The plans were prepared by a team that was led by NPR’s chief executive Gary E. Knell, hoping to present a balanced-budget plan before departing from the company. Knell announced last month that he would be taking over for the National Geographic Society. NPR, based out of Washington, has said that the buyout is necessary in order to close a continuing deficit, which is projected at $6 million in its upcoming fiscal year.

    NPR and the radio industry as a whole have certainly suffered through the recession, with unfavorable solutions on the rise. This buyout and other measures are intended to help NPR break even in the fiscal year beginning in October of 2014. The organization currently has 840 full and part time employees. NPR states that the recent recession hit NPR and most other media outlets as well, after contributors and advertisers began to scale back on their support. NPR does a lot for the music and entertainment industry as well, with their popular programs such as “Prairie Home Companion” featuring Garrison Keilor and “All Songs Considered,” which features new songs for people to check out.

    The public radio station is in trouble in the struggling business world of today’s society. Is there anything the public can do in order to help?

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