NPR Has Record Ratings… Local Stations Growing as Papers Shrink

NPR Has Record Ratings… Local Stations Growing as Papers Shrink

National pubic radio has has had the highest ratings period in its history, some 20.5 million weekly listeners for its news progarmming, according to a report by Arbitron published last month in the Washington Post.

This number does not include digital consumption including podcasts and audio streaming.

Earlier this month at NPR headquarters in Washington, I sat down with Vivian Schiller, the newly appointed President and CEO at National Public Radio, to chat about the changing media landscape.

She says that while the financial crisis is negataively impacting sponsorships and revenue from investments, many of its local stations, listenership is up.

She says that fundraising is strong for many stations as communities increasingly see their local stations as an important local news and information source. She says the closing of local papers is highlighting the value of local papers.

— Andy Plesser, Executive Producer