A Letter from NYPR’s President and CEO, LaFontaine E. Oliver

On the day the House voted in favor of rescinding previously-approved funding for public media, Nieman Lab reported a story about a painful paradox: Americans have considerably more trust in local news than in national media, but few say they are willing to pay for it.

That’s discouraging for those of us who believe in the importance of local journalism. But local public media is a light in the darkness: our audiences choose to pay for something they could get for free. We have no paywall, no monthly subscription fee. Heck, you don’t even need access to the internet (though of course you can find us there too). And yet people place a value on what we provide, and make a choice to support us.

That’s what makes the American public broadcasting system one of the strongest, most successful examples of a public-private partnership around, for nearly six decades running. For every dollar the federal government invests, public media generates another $7. It comes out to about $1.60 per American per year – cheaper than a cup of coffee. The other funding comes from major donors, foundations, corporate sponsors. But the biggest source of funding is from our listeners.

So why do they give?

Certainly local news is a big part of it. We live in an intensely polarized environment, but on a day to day basis, everybody wants to know if the subway is delayed and whether or not they’re going to need an umbrella. They want to know what’s happening in the schools, on the street, and in City Hall. What are our leaders doing to alleviate the rising cost of housing, to ease public safety concerns, to help small businesses make it in the big city, and hey, why is there always scaffolding on everything everywhere all at once?

Inquiring minds want to know, and the WNYC / Gothamist newsroom inquires. And follows up. And when that doesn’t work, they chase the answers down. Their work has changed hearts, minds, and sometimes even laws and policies. Did you hear the question at the Democratic primary for Mayor about whether or not Riker’s – plagued with abuse and mismanagement – could be closed by 2027, and all 7 candidates – in a rare moment of universal agreement –  said no? Read up on Gothamist’s dogged, sustained, award-winning reporting, and you’ll know why.

The Nieman article encouraged local news outlets to try to build audiences by soliciting and answering specific questions. That’s been public radio’s bread and butter for decades. For over 35 years, Brian Lehrer has hosted a weekday show that brings together newsmakers, news reporters, elected officials, and the public to hash out the news of the day. Questions are asked, answered, and when necessary, fact-checked. And, on Brian’s show, the public truly is everyone. When he does call-outs for specific audience segments to call in – cab drivers, parents of public school kids, ex-pats, police officers, church-goers, truck drivers, domestic workers, high schoolers, folks from every borough and the ‘burbs – the phone lines light up, and New Yorkers get to know their neighbors and their world just a little bit better.

And yet, even with all that, local news is only part of what we do.

• Against the backdrop of another crisis we face – the loneliness epidemic – we don’t just report on the community we serve, we help build it. Alison Stewart and the “All of It” team convene a monthly book club with the New York Public Library, and at The Greene Space, we bring people together in-person for community conversations and artistic performances. And sometimes, we bring the show right to you, with live pop-up radio broadcasts from local community spaces. Last stop Jamaica, Queens, next stop Throgs Neck, The Bronx, and see you at the Apollo next MLK weekend.
• WQXR brings live performances of classical music from the city’s world-class performance venues, allowing millions to enjoy this treasured artform whether or not a ticket to the concert hall is in the family budget. And if you haven’t experienced the romantic, marriage-enhancing potential of WQXR’s Met Opera broadcasts, you’re seriously missing out.
• And last but not least, our nationally-syndicated programs bring the pulse of the city to audiences across the country and the world. Radiolab explores everything from the smallest particles on Earth to the stars in the cosmos. Terrestrials engages the natural world – from rats to camels – for kids. The New Yorker Radio Hour brings riveting one-on-one conversations with thinkers across the political spectrum. And On the Media helps us navigate the rapidly changing media landscape that shapes – and sometimes distorts – our understanding of the world.

All that for $1.60 per year from the American taxpayer.  News, culture, conversation, community, and companionship. And what we’re doing here, stations in every Congressional district are doing for their communities with their own local flavor, responsive to the local needs of the people they serve. At a time when there are seemingly unbreachable divides, a recent Pew Research poll reveals that relying on and valuing public media is one of the few things a majority of Americans still agree on. 

With the Senate vote on cutting public media on the horizon, there’s so much at stake and so much to lose. With a longstanding crisis in local journalism and with cuts to the arts, libraries, sciences, and health, the programming we provide is needed even more. 

Please visit www.wnyc.org/stand to urge your lawmakers to protect public media, and learn how else to support our essential public services.