Chicago Public Radio has put out the word that it needs additional community support to keep podcasting free. FACT: The ‘free’ podcasts (such as This American Life) that we listen to via NPR, really cost them some $150,000 a year. “That’s not staff. Not computers. Just the bandwidth.,” they say.
WBEZ Chicago saw some recent layoffs, wants to avoid more, and is asking for small contributions.
But it’s not just podcasts that may be cut at the knees. There’s good radio journalism. Last December a reporter Ketzel Levine, began working in a story -actually a series of stories– about layoffs. While doing it she was laid off by NPR as well.
End of story.
