Friday, March 25, 2011

If NPR's Market is Expanding, Why Should it be Subsidized?

Logo of NPR News.Image via Wikipedia
Don Boudreaux of Cafe Hayek sent the following letter to The Wall Street Journal:
NPR anchorman Steve Inskeep contends that “NPR’s audience keeps expanding because Americans want more than toxic political attacks” (“Liberal Bias at NPR?” March 24).

Excellent news!

So I trust that, given their successful formula for pleasing listeners and winning expansive market share, Mr. Inskeep and his NPR colleagues no longer require further subsidies from taxpayers. All things considered, products that are genuinely valued by consumers (intensely enough to justify the costs of producing these products) survive in competitive, unsubsidized markets. Suppliers of these products do not need to receive corporate welfare.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
The reality is that NPR's growth has come at the expense of their privately financed competitors as Inskeep admits in the WSJ:
Not much of the media pays attention to the middle of the country, but NPR and its local stations do. Many NPR stations have added news staff as local newspapers have declined.
Without the competitive advantage provided by the government financing that NPR enjoys, privately owned media businesses might be thriving.

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