When public radio goes private: The consequences of privatization on the NPR network of stations.

摘要

This dissertation explores the consequences of the privatization of National Public Radio for the NPR network of stations. In Chapter 1, I introduce the major questions posed by this dissertation and review some of its limitations. In Chapter 2, by analyzing the rates of stations' adoption of NPR membership and departure from the network, this research tests several hypotheses from literature on organizational population ecology, crowding in/out theory, and political composition. The results indicate that after an initial wave of departures from NPR in the wake of privatization, the NPR network of stations has continued to grow. At the same time, greater dependence on federal funding tends to be associated with more stability in the network of stations (fewer adoptions and departures), while business funding increases the rate of departures. These findings suggest that in the privatization era of reduced government funding, the NPR network of stations may operate more like a private marketplace. I also find that the concepts of the liability of newness, density delay, and density dependence while significantly shaping the dynamics of the organizational population's pattern of growth, must be significantly adapted to apply to adoptions and departures rather than organizational foundings and mortalities. Finally, the results suggest that, controlling for levels of government funding for the NPR network, Republican control of at least one house of Congress does little to increase the probability of the departure of any individual station, but were associated with higher rates of departures at the national level. Though further research is needed, this finding may suggest that Republican anti-NPR rhetoric creates unease throughout the system that discourages continued membership for stations.;In Chapter 3 and 4, I use two datasets---one from a 1984 internal NPR survey and one from a 1999-2005 Station Resource Group survey---to analyze how privatization of stations may have affected the balance of news and cultural content (Chapter 3) and national and local content (Chapter 4) at NPR stations. These datasets allowed me to test key questions about private funding and market demand in media content as well as broad claims about the death of localism. The findings quite clearly indicate a radical shift in the programming content of NPR stations between the 1980s and the early 2000s. By the 2000s, stations were airing far more news than local content (a reversal from the 1980s) and a somewhat greater proportion of national rather than local content. In Chapter 3, the findings of several analyses of the sample from the 2000s indicate that more privatized stations (i.e., those with a greater dependence on subscriber funds) tend to follow the patterns of market demand, giving listeners the news content they want. By contrast, for various reasons, stations with more funding from the government and business were more able to resist market demand, providing more cultural content. In the pre-privatization sample from 1984, I observed no such patterns.;While the findings regarding news and cultural content from Chapter 3 tend to support a market demand theory of privatization, Chapter 4 suggests that market demand effects do not fully extend to the balance of national and local content. In 1984, federal funds had the effect of increasing local programming, supporting one of the stated missions of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. By the 2000s, greater federal and business funds actually increased the proportion of national programming, resisting the observed demand for less national and more local content. On the other hand, increased levels of subscriber funding exerted no affect on the programming content of the stations. This finding suggests that though federal and business funds may affect stations ability to purchase more national programming, NPR stations are not directly responding to market demand when more reliant on subscriber funds. In both the results from Chapters 3 and 4, the effect of national political composition on local programming decisions was highly limited.;In Chapter 5, I conclude by reviewing the implications of the findings for theory on privatization, media funding and market demand, organizational population ecology, and crowding in/out theory. I also discuss what our model of public radio means for informed citizenship in a democratic society. Finally, I consider some recent changes in the NPR's business model and what they may mean for the future of the NPR network of stations.