NPR unveils politics-free news live stream

If you want to know what’s going on in the world but you’re sick to death of US politics, NPR has the answer. The US-based national public radio network is set to unveil “DCFree,” a new live stream scrubbed completely of all national political news.

“DC fatigue is a real issue for many of our listeners,” said Jenna Wilson, NPR senior vice president for news and editorial director. “In survey after survey, when we ask listeners about programming, the call comes through, loud and clear. Less politics, please,” she said.

Taking their polling to the next level, it was an obvious choice to create a news stream completely devoid of national politics coverage. The service is expected to be unveiled in midsummer. At first it will be accessible only via HD radio, the digital subchannel technology most major-market NPR stations have enabled in recent years.

“Of course, accessing the stream on air will require an HD radio, but the NPR store offers several models of compatible HD radios,” Wilson explained. “And when you buy an HD radio from NPR, a portion of the sale price is used to support programming. It’s considered a tax-eligible contribution,” she said.

NPR is working on developing the live stream for satellite radio as well. But the big boom for the radio network could likely come in the form of a premium service, accessible exclusively to subscribers. “NPR depends on many income streams to keep producing the high-quality programming our subscribers expect,” Wilson said. “The demand for politics-free news coverage is very high and it dovetails nicely with other premium benefits our members enjoy, like Passport.” Passport is the subscription-only service members access to binge-watch TV shows and listen to NPR programs on demand.

Experts predict a massive increase in membership once the service goes live.

“This could be the biggest thing to hit national broadcasting since Downton Abbey,” said Michael Miller, news analyst at the Herman Beck Center for Media and Public Discourse at Upsala University near New York City. “Forget the logo mugs. This could be the gravy train,” he said.

But Miller was quick to caution about criticism for monetizing a service with less content. “I could see a potential backlash. I mean, why not just stop covering politics completely, on the free services, too? It’s completely justified. Washington has devolved into a national embarrassment, a three-ring circus of grandstanding, bloviating, showbiz wannabees competing for TV ratings. The problem, of course, is that the sideshow spectacle is catnip for broadcasters trying to win the same ratings wars and boost ad revenue. Any national broadcaster willing to say no to that particular drug could go down as a hero to the American public. Of course, they could also just go down. In flames,” he said.

NPR’s Wilson said her network considered the option. “As crude and uncouth as the national political landscape has become, it’s still a primary responsibility of any public news organization to cover it, to challenge those who would abuse the system. It’s a dirty job but it’s critically important to the future of our democracy,” she said.

On the more money for less content issue, Wilson threw cold water on the very premise. “It’s really not eliminating content. It’s substituting content our members want for content they don’t want,” she explained. A few examples she mentioned include more essays read by author David Sedaris, Terry Gross interviews, a potential expansion of the news quiz, Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me and more ballet coverage.

Ballet? On radio?

“We have a big grant for that,” Wilson said.

medianewspolitics