NPR reviews

All those buyouts and layoffs I mentioned earlier certainly are among the negatives. The departures and the fear of more exits have sapped morale across NPR. The company has been trying to close deficits for most of the past two to three years as revenues from corporate sponsorships fell during the recession and never came back sufficiently. Meanwhile, NPR has for decades had a reputation for bad management and leadership. That record, unfortunately, remains unbroken. While there are some very good mid-level managers who have somehow managed to keep their integrity and provide the kind of leadership that makes for productive and engaged employees, something about NPR must bleed these qualities out of most senior managers, if they ever had them to begin with. As a journalism organization, NPR's supposed to be about transparency and truth. Its leaders too often seem to forget this, not being honest with employees. In this, NPR isn't alone. (New York Times, are you listening?) Managers also seem to get away with a fair amount of mismanagement without being held accountable. The Juan Williams fiasco is that rare exception. NPR's oversight structure is also a problem. Managers from its member stations make up its board. That produces a conflict of interest since what's good for the stations (not allowing NPR to compete with them in fundraising from donors in the member stations' markets, for instance) isn't always what's best for the company and vice versa. To change the governance would require the board's approval. Don't hold your breath for that one.

NPR is slow to implement change due to a heavily bureaucratic culture. Senior managers seem more concerned with creating the appearance of change rather than implementing real change. Department heads tend to be authoritarian and unyielding. Everyone seems more concerned about their own department than the network as a whole. Lack of coordinated focus. NPR preaches diversity, but as a workplace it is not friendly toward people from minority groups, who tend to be marginalized or written off.