NPR announced today that they are closing News & Notes and Day to Day, programs that were responsible for 20 percent of NPR’s book coverage in mid-November.
The numbers vary from week to week, but the two programs always lead public radio’s literary coverage. According to the excellent Book Publicity blog, from 11/14 until 11/20, the two programs covered five of the 24 book stories on NPR that week; from 10/3 until 10/9, the two programs covered three of the 22 book stories on NPR that week.
FishbowlDC has followed the story all day, leading with this memo explaining the cuts: “[NPR] will reduce its workforce by 7 percent and cut expenses … A significant number of the personnel cuts result from the upcoming cancellation of two NPR produced programs — Day to Day and News & Notes. Both programs, broadcast on NPR Member stations nationwide, will remain on the air through March 20, 2009.”