An article from the Wall Street Journal online by Sarah McBride contains a bar graph that shows an increase from @13.5 MIL listeners in 1998 to 25 MIL listeners today. (For some reason I couldn't copy the graph here).
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113772679531051643-Pt_a63TYswZPdXClpBqY8SbIua0_20070120.html?mod=blogsI know there are several here who sometimes bemoan NPR's lack of coverage on various issues, but from where I'm at, out in the middle of Limbaugh Land, it's like water in the desert. I'm glad to see they're doing so well, especially now that Tomlinson's been forced to retrench from his conservative agenda for the time being.
Other interesting tidbits:
When Ted Koppel appeared on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" in 2002, he plugged National Public Radio to so much studio applause that host Jon Stewart cracked, "Somebody got themselves a tote bag."
<snip>
As for Mr. Koppel, who will be working primarily for the Discovery Channel, "I'm not in any danger of becoming excessively rich at the expense of NPR," he jokes. Jay Kernis, NPR's senior vice president of programming, said he made clear from the start of negotiations that public radio salaries were lower than Mr. Koppel's usual compensation.
"We said, 'You have to find somebody else who will pay you a lot of money, so we can pay you a little money,' " Mr. Kernis recalls, and Mr. Koppel concurred. "He said, 'Jay, this is not about the money.' "