America’s NPR Network Review

The NPR National Public Radio in the U.S.A is a private and public funded, non profit membership media organization that was created in 1970 and syndicates to 797 public radio stations across the United States.

The station produces and distributes news and cultural programs that are then sent to other public radio stations. However these individual public radio stations are not forced or required to broadcast everything that NPR produces.

NPR consists of program segments of stories that affect the people of America. While listening I encountered a story about birds migration across America and a radio presenter attempted to follow the birds migration.

Some of the programs on NPR are:
• All Songs Considered
• Jazz Profiles
• Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! NPR News quiz
• On Point: public affairs call in show
• The Diane Rehm Show: public affairs call-in show
• Latino USA
• Justice Talking
• On the Media
• American Radio Works
• America Abroad
• Car Talk
• Says You!
• The Business
• World Café
• Engines of Our Ingenuity

While the air of the programming does not seem to be quite as serious as the BBC World’s Service it is still quite formal and informative. I preferred listening to NPR rather than the World Service as NPR changes direction and themes quite often and has segments and little stories constantly rather than focusing on major issues for long lengths of time.

Interestingly in a poll conducted by Harris in 2005 found that NPR was the most trusted news source in the U.S.A