publicradiointernational:

Although the bill has been widely covered, the focus has been limited to the effect on NPR. The measure, though, would bar public radio stations from using federal funds to acquire programming from any source — left, right or center. That could be a severe blow to programmers and to small stations that rely on federal dollars for at least part of their content budgets.

One example of the former is Minneapolis-based Public Radio International, which distributes “This American Life,” “The World” and the “BBC World Service,” among other programs. “About 50% of our revenue comes from station fees, so that would be difficult for us from a financial standpoint,” said Julia Yager, vice president of brand management and marketing strategy for PRI.

Of course, money is fungible. Stations could arrange their ledgers to show federal dollars going to salaries, utilities and fundraising, with private dollars being used to buy programs from NPR, PRI and other sources. It’s not clear how the feds could stop that even if HR 1076 became law.

That’s why the most likely effect would be on the little guys. “Many, many public broadcasting stations are small stations that only have a couple of staff and volunteers,” Yager said. Those are the outlets that are most dependent on federal dollars to fill their airwaves with programming.

PRI FTW!

We’re huge fans of Ira Glass and “This American Life”…