National Public Radio (NPR)

NPR is a nonprofit membership corporation incorporated in 1970. It produces and distributes news, cultural programmes and podcasts for nearly 250 member stations and for digital audiences. Katherine Maher has been president and chief executive since March 2024.

Media assets

• Radio programmes: Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other national shows carried by member stations.
• Digital: NPR.org, the NPR app and podcasts including Up First and Planet Money.

Ownership and governance

NPR has no government owner, and no board seat is filled by government appointment. Its 23-member board consists of 12 member-station managers elected by the members, nine public directors elected by the board and confirmed by the members, the chair of the NPR Foundation board and NPR’s president. Jo Lambert, a public director since 2022, was elected chair on 20 November 2025.

Source of funding and budget

NPR’s audited accounts for FY2025, which ended on 30 September 2025, report total revenues, gains and other support of US$363.1 million, up from US$336.6 million in FY2024, and expenses of US$342.6 million, up from US$322.3 million. Programming fees paid by stations rose to US$101.0 million from US$99.3 million, corporate sponsorship fell to US$95.7 million from US$101.8 million, and unrestricted contributions rose to US$81.9 million from US$39.8 million.

Before Congress rescinded CPB’s funding in July 2025, roughly 1% of NPR’s funds came directly from the federal government. A settlement with CPB on 17 November 2025 secured US$35.962 million in previously appropriated federal funds for NPR’s operation of the Public Radio Satellite System, under a five-year agreement. In May 2026 NPR reported a US$8 million gap in its US$300 million budget and expected US$15 million less in station fees. The restructuring that followed brought 10 layoffs and at least 18 buyouts.

Editorial independence

NPR publishes an Ethics Handbook, a corrections page and the work of a Public Editor who serves as “the public’s representative to NPR”. On 31 March 2026 Judge Randolph Moss permanently barred the administration from enforcing Executive Order 14290’s instruction to cease funding NPR and PBS. The government did not appeal. The ruling did not restore the CPB appropriations that Congress had rescinded.

AI and digital policy

Since October 2023 the Ethics Handbook has included a section on generative AI. It holds staff accountable for their work, requires verification of AI output and disclosure when AI plays a significant role in reporting, and bars staff from entering NPR material into AI systems that NPR has not approved. It states that “what audiences see and hear from NPR has always been, and always will be, the product of human beings”.

Classification rationale

NPR has been classified IP in every review cycle since 2022. Its public-service mission, member-led governance and editorial accountability mechanisms support its independence. The end of regular CPB funding did not give government any control over its governance or journalism.

October 2026