NPR Layoffs: The Trickle Down Effect

Much of the news content you hear on public radio is created by independent producers.  NPR has always been a primary source of paid work for independents, so the recent layoffs and show cancellations at NPR have seriously impacted a lot of producers who rely on piecework to survive.

Sue Schardt, the Executive Director of AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio, wrote in the recent members’ newsletter:

The loss of Day-to-Day and Weekend America hits producers especially hard. These two programs were the most reliable outlets for getting independent work to a national audience. These two “farm teams” served a critical function for our industry that many of you are not likely aware of; investing in and cultivating our best, most promising producers whose work extends beyond the two programs, bringing benefit to us all.

These developments, coupled with the uncertain future of the Third Coast International Audio Festival — the annual producer gathering hosted by WBEZ these last eight years – threaten to further weaken the already fragile economy for public radio producers.

What does this have to do with classical music radio, you ask?  Day-to-Day and Weekend America never did much for classical music.  In fact, those of us in the biz had already been marginalized by NPR years ago.  NPR almost never takes independently produced classical music features on its news programs, and it never took them on its flagship programs Performance Today or SymphonyCast either.  Now that NPR has dropped most of its on-air classical programming and American Public Media has picked it up, there’s still no room for independent producers.

Occasionally it’s possible to get independently produced classical music features on individual stations by talking to program directors.

But the only way independent classical music producers can get material on the air nationally is to find their own funding and then

a) self-distribute
b) convince NPR, APM, or PRI to distribute for them (the odds aren’t good)
or
c)  pay a syndicator like WFMT Network.

It’s not easy to get stations to carry independent productions, either.  And the few that do take them don’t expect to pay for them, because traditionally, independent producers are so desperate to get their shows on the air they’ll offer them for free.  If stations have money for to pay for produced pieces, they can afford to hire their own producers.

I tell you this first-hand, as an independent producer.  The media landscape for independents is dicey in a good economy.  In a bad one many of us have to find other jobs.

I’m very grateful to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for my current work, but like everyone else, we are being forced to cut across the board. Another independent gig I’ve had for years was just cancelled entirely.

The bad economy is hurting independent producers disproportionately.  They already live on the edge, with no benefits or severance pay.  And the decline trickles down to the hosts, engineers, audio editors, writers, transcribers, and even the marketers who contribute to independent productions.

The upside is that those of us in the independent production world are experienced at scrambling for a living, and we have our home studios set up.  Those who have been living off the fat of NPR have to start from scratch.  We’re here to help you, guys.