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Public Radio Journalism

American public radio journalism consists of the news and public affairs programs that can be heard on noncommercial radio stations and includes a variety of formats, from news magazines to public affairs programs to listener call-in programs. At a time when commercial radio's news content is declining (generally limited to brief newscasts), public radio offers listeners a wide range of news, analysis, and discussion. Public radio journalism offers greater variety and depth than is typically provided on commercial stations, covering not only breaking news but also science and the arts.

The main producers of such programming are National Public Radio (NPR), Public Radio International (PRI), American Public Media (APM), and Pacifica Broadcasting. Programs are also produced by several local public radio stations and independent radio producers and are distributed by NPR, PRI, or APM.

History

NPR, which came into existence as a result of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, started broadcasting in 1971 and is a major producer of news programming on public radio. APM is the second largest producer of public radio programs which include news, culture, and music. APM is the name under which Minnesota Public Radio produces and distributes programs nationally. Public Radio International, which began as American Public Radio, was founded in 1983 as a way to distribute programs from public radio stations around the country and diversify offerings on public radio stations. In 1994 its name was changed to Public Radio International (PRI) to reflect its mission of bringing, as it says on its website, “global perspectives to the public airwaves.” Through partnerships with public radio stations, independent producers, and the BBC World Service in the United Kingdom, in 2008 it offered over 400 programs per week that were broadcast and streamed online by affiliate stations around the country.

Pacifica Broadcasting was founded in San Francisco in 1949 by Lewis Kimball Hill, a pacifist who saw community radio as a place to begin a dialogue about the betterment of society. The Pacifica Network consists of five radio stations in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Washington, D.C., as well as many independent public radio stations that are affiliates. Its goal was to give voice to those without power and to become a place for progressive viewpoints that questioned the status quo with regard to political discourse, art, and culture on radio. Today it is seen as a place on the radio for a unique point of view that fills a gap in mainstream media coverage and offers alternative analysis and interpretation.

News Programming

News magazines are an especially important part of public radio journalism. NPR's flagship news magazines are the late weekday afternoon All Things Considered and the similar but earlier Morning Edition and Weekend Edition. All Things Considered (ATC) was created in 1971 as a news program designed to be distinctly different from what commercial radio had to offer and that embodied the NPR mission of celebrating the variety of human experience. The format has evolved over the years and become more structured. ATC starts off with headlines on the hour followed by longer stories with in-depth reporting. This long form journalism is characteristic of public radio as is its ability to explain complex issues, take unusual angles on news stories, and offer news with a global reach that makes for greater breadth of coverage.

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