Recently, NPR announced that its organizational accounts would no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine NPR’s credibility by falsely implying that NPR is not editorially independent.
Last week, Twitter labeled NPR’s official twitter account as “state-affiliated media,” a designation usually given to government-controlled media outlets. Twitter later changed that label to “government-funded media.” Both labels are inaccurate.
As a result of this inaccurate labeling and NPR’s decision to render their Twitter accounts inactive, Yellowstone Public Radio will pause its activity on Twitter until such time as NPR’s publicly funded journalism is no longer inaccurately and misleadingly labeled, leaving no question of NPR’s or Yellowstone Public Radio’s journalistic integrity and independence.
NPR is not directly funded by the U.S. government, although it does receive some funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 to promote public broadcasting. This funding accounts for around 1% of NPR's total budget, and NPR is required by law to maintain editorial independence from the CPB and any other government entity.
Furthermore, NPR is governed by a Board of Directors, which is composed of NPR member station managers, journalists, and representatives from the public, who oversee the organization's operations and make strategic decisions. This board is responsible for ensuring that NPR adheres to its mission of providing high-quality, independent journalism and programming.
Lastly, NPR's editorial independence is further protected by its code of ethics, which outlines the principles and standards that guide its reporting and programming. NPR journalists are expected to maintain their independence, and they are not subject to editorial direction or pressure from any outside sources.
Yellowstone Public Radio is proud to provide NPR’s high-quality programming to our audiences in the communities we serve. YPR, like all NPR-affiliated stations, is independently owned and operated. YPR has complete editorial control over the programming we produce and provide to our audience.
Like NPR, YPR receives a small amount of funding from CPB, but this funding makes up around 8% of our overall budget. By contrast, support from individuals and businesses in our region makes up over two-thirds of our budget. This further underscores YPR’s independence, in that we are primarily reliant on and accountable to the communities we serve.
YPR does not receive any funding from NPR. On the contrary, we pay NPR over $250,000 a year for programs that we air. We do the same with American Public Media and other national program distributors.
We feel that these are important distinctions to make. Any misleading or inaccurate portrayals surrounding public media’s journalistic integrity or independence undermines our ability to bring you the high-quality journalism and programming you’ve come to expect from us.
In the meantime, please continue to use our website, visit our Facebook and Instagram pages, or get the YPR app at the Apple App Store or on Google Play for the latest news and information from YPR.