NPR Lays Off 7% of Staff, Cuts 2 Shows

NPR will take two shows off the air and lay off 64 employees—7% of its workforce—to close an unexpected $23 million budget shortfall. Shows getting the ax are "Day to Day" and "News and Notes," both of which sought to diversify NPR's audience. The layoffs are the first organization-wide job cuts in 25 years, the Washington Post reports.

All funding sources have taken a hit, particularly corporate underwriting. And because of declining investment values, NPR won't receive any income this year from a $230 million endowment it received in 2003 from Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc. The Post sees the cutbacks as a retreat from NPR's attempts to lure younger listeners and minorities.