We’re Not NPR or PBS

Consortium News’ complete dependence for its existence on its diverse readership makes us totally independent from influence by advertisers, governments, political parties or institutions of any kind. 

National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in the United States run fundraisers at various times of the year. They say their programming relies on “Listeners and viewers like you.”

But NPR and PBS actually rely too on the support of the U.S. Congress and major corporations. They explain their funding this way: 

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) receives a congressional appropriation each year of about $500M. CPB allocates the appropriation mostly to public television and radio stations, with some assigned to NPR and PBS to support national programming.

CPB funding to stations covers a portion of each’s annual operating budget (the percentage varies from station to station but as a general rule the percentage is smaller for larger market stations). Stations rely on generous donations from viewers like you, corporate sponsorships, and foundation grants to cover the rest of their operating budget.”

That is not at all the case with Consortium News. We receive nothing from Congress or from corporate sponsorships and we don’t want to. We don’t need to either, because our readers and viewers fund our total operations. That frees us from any influence of government or corporations. As our readers and viewers who donate have diverse views, we aren’t beholden to any ideology or political line. We are free to pursue the facts and let them dictate our reporting and analysis.

This model has served Consortium News for 27 years and counting, making us the oldest, independent U.S. publication on the internet.  And it’s only because of you. So please make a generous donation today to our Spring Fund Drive so that we can independently continue to serve you. 

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