NPR: The Trials and Triumphs of National Public Radio [Hardcover]

Michael McCauley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0231121601 | ISBN-13: 978-0231121606

The people who shaped America's public broadcasting system thought it should be "a civilized voice in a civilized community" -- a clear alternative to commercial broadcasting. This book tells the story of how NPR has tried to embody this idea. Michael P. McCauley describes NPR's evolution from virtual obscurity in the early 1970s, when it was riddled with difficulties -- political battles, unseasoned leadership, funding problems -- to a first-rate broadcast organization.

The book draws on a wealth of primary evidence, including fifty-seven interviews with people who have been central to the NPR story, and it places the network within the historical context of the wider U.S. radio industry. Since the late 1970s, NPR has worked hard to understand the characteristics of its audience. Because of this, its content is now targeted toward its most loyal listeners -- highly educated baby-boomers, for the most part -- who help support their local stations through pledges and fund drives.

(Summer 2005)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Any history of a large corporation must cover finances and bureaucracy to some degree, but McCauley's account of NPR's past rarely ventures beyond these subjects. The author, who worked in radio for 15 years and is now a communications professor at the University of Maine, says he wanted to understand what makes NPR appeal to listeners, but rather than offering background on its acclaimed programming or talented journalists, his book is largely taken up with dry accounts of hirings, firings and budget difficulties. Certainly, such considerations are crucial, for NPR has long struggled with them: in the early years, it had to fight for funding from lawmakers and lobbyists who preferred television, and then, just as it was hitting its stride, it fell into a damaging debt crisis. Politicians on both sides of the ideological spectrum are forever finding fault with it, and internal politics have also been complicated, with clashes of philosophy and management style often hindering the network's projects. McCauley interviewed many of the people involved with NPR's evolution, but his writing is short on quotes or anecdotes that would bring NPR to life. The final chapter is more engaging, as he discusses NPR's use of new media, like the Internet and satellite radio, and discusses the network's possible future trajectory. Overall, though, this methodical, often monotonous narrative rarely addresses the substance of NPR's charms and is unlikely to appeal to the listeners who have made it successful.
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Review

In a highly readable work, McCauley offers a well-documented look at the people of NPR.

(Johanna Cleary American Journalism )

A book worth reading. Recommended.

(Choice )

[A] valuable contribution to the historiography of radio.

(David Dzikowski The Communication Review )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231121601
• ISBN-13: 978-0231121606
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #796,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Meticulously Researched Non-Profit Corporate History (whew!), July 25, 2006

By 

Bart King (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NPR: The Trials and Triumphs of National Public Radio (Hardcover)

I'll confess that NPR (the book, not the radio network) was not quite what I expected. I anticipated a semi-lightweight book that combined weighty historical events with a deft, humorous hand, sort of like NPR itself. Opening it up, I looked forward to reading misty-eyed reminisces with Scott Simon and Terri Gross, or Bob Edwards and Susan Stamberg relating their experiences during the early days of NPR.

Nope. This book may be a relatively quick read (130 pages, not counting the extensive end-notes), but it is a dense, meticulously researched, and quite serious history of the genesis and evolution of NPR. Particular attention is paid to the political processes that spawned it, as well as to the funding and leadership crises and challenges that it has experienced.

In short, while this isn't the fun stuff, it is the "brass tacks" important stuff.

While on-air personalities are not ignored, they get no more text allotted to them than NPR producers, news directors, and human resource managers. Thus, NPR (the book) is a non-profit corporate history. As someone with a high tolerance for the minutiae, I liked it. And others may as well, provided they know what they are getting into.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well researched history, lack of critical faculty, October 8, 2008

By 

Z. Stiegler "stiegler_z" (Iowa City, IA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NPR: The Trials and Triumphs of National Public Radio (Hardcover)

First, the good: McCauley's research is admirable, and if what you're looking for is a history of NPR as a network/institution, this book excels in that respect.

However, I take issue with McCauley's general approach. From its first pages, it is clear that he is a cheerleader for NPR. Which is fine - a lot of people love NPR, and I'm not of the belief that scholars should mask their passions. However, McCauley's love of the network produces a rather biased narrative.

There is an overwhelming lack of critical views in the book. While McCauley occasionally raises criticisms that circulate about NPR, he quickly dismisses them with little reasoning or support. This is perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the book. I'm not asking for McCauley to advocate such criticisms, but I at least expect a project such as this to address them thoroughly, even if to construct a well reasoned counterclaim. In this respect, McCauley inadequately addresses NPR's alleged catering to elite, upper middle class audiences, acceptance of corporate underwriting and address/inclusion of minority audiences and programming. (In the book's final chapter, McCauley essentially argues for the ghettoization of minority audiences by creating entirely new NPR networks, which he concedes is financially unreasonable.) There is also no address over the highly controversial position NPR took against the LPFM license beginning in 1999.

Thus, the book paints a rather rosy picture of NPR without really investigating the issues. But as I said, it does provide a concise institutional history, and that is the source of this book's value.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inside History of NPR, July 21, 2005

By 

Scott Sherman - See all my reviews
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This review is from: NPR: The Trials and Triumphs of National Public Radio (Hardcover)

No scholar or writer knows more about the history of National Public Radio than Michael McCauley, and his book is packed with fascinating tidbits and shrewd insights about an institution many of us are addicted to. Very little of substance has been written about NPR, and this book, which contains fragments from scores of interviews the author conducted with NPR insiders, is the place to begin. The footnotes also make good reading. --Scott Sherman