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NPR To Lay Off 7% Of Its Staff

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The Associated Press

Published: December 11, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - National Public Radio said Wednesday that it's laying off 7 percent of its staff, its first layoffs in 12 years, after experiencing sharp declines in funding, especially from corporate sponsors.

NPR said the layoffs affect 64 full-time employees, of whom half are in news and programming. The rest are in station services, engineering, information technology, communications, research, digital media and administration. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Twenty-two of the job cuts will come from the cancellation of two shows, "Day to Day" and "News and Notes," which have not received the audience traction, station carriage and corporate sponsorship that could make the shows self-sustaining.

Mitch Praver, chief operating officer, said NPR is projecting a $23 million shortfall in operating revenue for fiscal 2009, an 8 percent decline to $145 million.

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