Bursting the Bubble: NPR's role in reporting the financial meltdown

The radio as a medium presents a unique format for journalists to communicate with a broad audience.  Radio, unlike many other mediums, is a free, highly accessible way to obtain information.  According to data released by NPR regarding radio’s reach among the U.S. population, 99% of Americans have access to at least one NPR station.  NPR is a privately supported, non-profit membership organization that is primarily listener supported and receives only 2% of its funding from Federal Government grants.   As a result of this unique funding structure, and limited corporate support, NPR has a greater capacity to deliver unbiased, hard-hitting news.

Many of the limitations and benefits of radio originate from the structure of the medium.  Additionally, how the audience uses the medium also plays a key role in determining whether or not radio can successfully deliver a piece of information.   Individual listeners have the ability to control how actively or passively they process the information sent over the airwaves.  Because of this, radio uses an array of creative techniques and structures to make up for the lack of visual images, and keep listeners engaged.  With radio, active listeners have the ability to become more engaged because the medium pushes them to create images in their own mind.

In Adam Davidson’s “Giant Pool of Money”, he utilizes sound elements within expert interviews and personal accounts.   By examining the human toll, this piece makes the broader story of the economic crisis relevant to the average NPR listener.  In the following example, the reporter elevates the significance of his message by capturing a vulnerable moment that conveys how citizens have been impacted by the crisis. 

 

Giant Pool of Money -- see 2:05

 

This story is also an excellent example of how contrasting multiple interviews that cover different angles of a story can enrich the listener’s understanding of the types and levels of people who are affected by the financial crisis.  Rather than focusing on one individual, like in “Foreclosures Rise with Slowing Housing Market”, the juxtaposition of a top-selling CDO agent versus someone who was given a bad loan allows readers to think about the key players within the financial crisis.

 

NPR’s success in covering the economic crisis can be seen in Adam Davidson’s reporting on “Planet Money: The Financial Crisis One Year Later”, which effectively communicates the current status of the American economy. Davidson and Renee Montagne discuss the events and components leading up to September 7, 2008. Davidson’s firsthand experience covering the crisis makes his analysis and perspective a year later, all the more relevant.  Davidson’s personal account of what happened exposed audiences to an inside perspective on the financial climate. Furthermore, Davidson addresses where the economy is potentially headed. While he stresses the uncertainty of predicting the future in a volatile financial climate, he discusses the potential concerns with the commercial real-estate market. This commercial real-estate issue warrants further investigation, in that this may develop into the next threat to the economy. 

After examining their different approaches in covering the economic crisis from its initial stages to its breaking point and afterwards, NPR seems to be a good outlet for the economic crisis. The outlet explores various storytelling structures, utilizing interviews, music, and reporter commentary. NPR also relies heavily on very well informed and expert sources, adding depth to their coverage. The reporters are conscious of their roles as liaisons between these experts and the public as a whole. However, at times it is apparent that NPR caters to a large and broad audience, one that is not as informed on financial coverage and therefore requires more general and less specific information.  NPR is also not a financial news outlet, creating shorter stories that provide less space for in-depth coverage.