NPR Gets $750,000 Advertising Boost From Liberal Ford Foundation

On Wednesday, Poynter.org's Andrew Beaujon spotlighted NPR's new targeted ad campaign in four cities: Dallas, Indianapolis, San Diego, and Orlando. Beaujeau noted that the "ads on billboards, trains, in print and online....[are] NPR's first-ever such effort...Funded by a $750,000 grant from the Ford Foundation".

The online writer also pointed out an eyebrow-raising ad campaign from WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station:

Last month Chicago-area public radio station WBEZ launched a tongue-in-cheek ad campaign encouraging listeners to make more babies who will grow up to listen to public radio.

Beaujon wrote about WBEZ's campaign a week earlier on January 28, 2013. Its slogans thwart the stereotype of the left-leaning public radio listener, who might otherwise be inclined to restrict their reproduction, due to the "overpopulation" concerns forwarded by many environmentalists:

As part of the campaign, which launches Friday, the ads will appear in print, online, at train platforms and bus stops, on taxis and T-shirts, with these taglines:

-Do it. For Chicago.
-We want listeners tomorrow. Go make babies today.
- Hey Interesting People, get a room already. And then put a crib in it.
-To anyone NOT currently running a virtual farm: GoMakeBabies.com
-You're an interesting person. Pass it on. Like, literally. Through your DNA....

Chicago Public Media VP Daniel Ash says in a press release he hopes the campaign "will reach, and resonate with, younger news consumers who've never heard of us." I couldn't immediately find CPM's demographic data, but the median age of NPR listeners suggests WBEZ might not scoop up those intelligent babies quickly: It's 49 for broadcast, 40 for online readers and 36 for podcast-listeners.

The writer doesn't indicate how the $400,000 ad campaign from WBEZ is being funded, but it's probably not from the Ford Foundation, as the organization is a longtime champion of population control.